Washington ( CNN ) -- Is bipartisanship in Washington really dead ? Not for a pair of junior senators from different parties who flew to the other side of the world to see whether they could experience across-the-aisle cooperation by living for a week on a deserted island with almost no provisions . Sen. Jeff Flake , R-Arizona , and Sen. Martin Heinrich , D-New Mexico , came back to the Capitol from their survivalist adventure in the Marshall Islands last month -- which was shot for an upcoming Discovery channel special -- poking fun at each other like best friends and finishing each others ' sentences like brothers . `` All of a sudden he thought he was part of the Screen Actors Guild , '' Flake joshed . `` Five o'clock . No more fishing . '' `` 20 hour limit to the day , '' Heinrich deadpanned . They stood for an impromptu session with a small group of reporters Thursday , after stepping off the Senate floor where they had voted , perhaps not surprisingly , opposite one another on a campaign finance bill . They said the idea for the trip was sparked a year ago during a late-night series of floor votes where they compared past trips each had taken to spear fish . `` Jeff had his iPad and showed me some pictures of the last trip he did with his kids . Then I started to show him pictures of fish I had speared on various trips , '' said Heinrich . `` He speared bigger fish than I had , '' Flake said . `` So I thought ... '' `` Hey , there might be some value here , '' Heinrich interjected , completing Flake 's thought . Flake knew what he needed because he has some previous survivalist experience . A year ago , he and his sons spent a week on a similar deserted island . Discovery allowed them to take only three provisions on the sandy atoll but the senators refused to say what they were -- `` tune in , '' they responded in unison . But they had clothes . `` That was a nonstarter , '' Flake said . `` We were afraid but not naked . '' Asked what skill the other person had for which they were grateful , Flake said , `` I 'm glad Martin 's the engineer type . Because I would n't have known how to put together a shelter . '' `` He opens coconuts with a machete faster than anyone I 've ever seen , '' Heinrich responded . `` That came in handy because that 's all we had to drink for a long time , '' Flake replied . They were asked whether they think the trip will open doors for them to work together in the future , and they seemed upbeat . `` I think what 's missing most around here is trust , and that 's mostly because people do n't know each other very well , '' Heinrich said . `` I think you need to know each other before you can figure out where you can work together . '' Flake said they considered bringing their own GoPro cameras and documenting the trips themselves but then thought Discovery might do a better job . Discovery `` convinced us that if this is to have some value in terms of promoting bipartisanship and trust , it 's better for people to see and hear the dialogue between us , '' he explained . Asked whether there were any tensions between the men , Heinrich acknowledged `` it was pretty stressful . '' `` This was not a resort experience , '' he said . `` It was competitive , '' Flake said .
Sen. Martin Heinrich and Sen. Jeff Flake spent Thursday on a deserted island . It was a survivalist adventure in the Marshall Islands . The Discovery channel filmed them for a special . Heinrich is a Democrat , and Heinrich is a Democrat .