Survivor Samoa - October 22/09

Welcome to day 15 of Survivor Samoa. It has now been raining for 5 days on the remaining 14 Survivors. They are cold. Even as I write this I have to go and get my fleece jacket. THAT's how cold it is. Mick has stuffed himself into the depression of a tree trunk to stay warm and tells us that he is a little bit jealous of Ashley, who presumably is warm, dry and eating bon bons by now. Meanwhile, Jaison is laughing hysterically while trembling from the cold. All in all, it looks like Foa Foa may be losing their grip on reality. Except, of course, for the EGG-man who is having the time of his life. It's just water he tells us. EGG feels his tribe- mates are just lazy babies.

Things aren't exactly rosy over at Camp Galu either. In fact, disparaging glances are being sent Russell's way for choosing blankets instead of the tarp in a recent reward challenge.Erik crawls out of his hole in a tree trunk after 26 hours of confinement. As he does so the rain stops and there is a rainbow. They all stand and gaze at the rainbow and the blue sky with an intensity usually observed in men looking at women with implants.

The prize in the reward challenge is a pizza which the winning tribe gets to eat in front of the losing tribe at Tribal Council. However both tribes are told that they will be voting someone off. For the reward challenge, one member of each tribe is put into a huge wicker ball. From there they must guide their blindfolded tribe mates in rolling the ball along a path. At the end of the path is a platform with a table maze. They must roll the ball up onto the platform. From there the tribe member inside the ball verbally directs her tribe mates to get a small ball through a table maze. Things are going well for Foa Foa who have taken an a-mazing (hehehe) lead. Suddenly, Russell the Good begins to stagger. Then he rests his head on the corner of the maze table. Finally he collapses, held up only by his t-shirt which gets caught on the corner of the table. Once Dimples realizes that something is really wrong he calls a halt to the challenge and calls in the Aussie medics. As it turns out Russell's blood pressure is low and his heart rate is up and down like a toilet seat. Dimples makes the call and pulls him from the game. A devastated Russell breaks down and cries (possibly because Dimples spends ten minutes telling him how he had it all and how unfortunate this is). The other Survivors are all sent away without pizza.

At Galu the rain has started again. They are now leaderless. Worst of all they have to go back to Tribal Council to vote off another member. The women of Galu think Shambo should go but the men are more appreciative of Shambo's contribution and think Monica should be the one packing her bags. At Foa Foa the decision is between Natalie and Elizabeth with EGG-man pushing for Elizabeth.

At Tribal Council emotions are high. Erik tears up when asked about the rain and the harsh conditions, and when Foa Foa talks about making a come-back Erik tells them that Galu will be putting Russell's sweat into every challenge (ewwwww). After asking the usual in-depth questions and making my poor Erik cry, Dimples tells them that no one will be going home this night. Due to the unprecedented events (the first time ever a challenge has not been completed) Dimples tells them that everyone can stay for a while longer. And so, dear pool members, we are safe for another week. Until next time...

Outwit, Outplay, Outlast

Pat (aka Erik I just get so emotional when I pray inside a tree Cardona)