Survivor Nicaragua - October 13/10

It is the night of Tribal Council and Espada has just returned to camp. Holly is shocked that Jimmy T. has been voted out. She also knows she is on the outs with her tribe. Meanwhile, Marty believes he is in complete control of the tribe.Holly will, indeed, be the next to go. Marty tells Danny that he can see two tribal councils into the future with total certainty. His plan can only be disrupted by some cataclysmic event.You gotta know that this is going to end badly when the cameramen start focusing on talk like that.

At Camp LaFlor, NaOnka says she is proud of her young tribe. She has cleaned off her shoes and fixed her hair on the theory that "if you look good and feel good you do good." Apparently looking good doesn't get you good grammar though!

Imagine the surprise on the faces of all these intensely confident people when they arrive at the challenge to have Dimples tell them to drop their buffs. Old vs Young is done. The Medallion of Power is done. Espada and LaFlor live on but with different members. Brenda and Holly draw coloured stones and so get to select the teams. When its all done, LaFlor (in yellow) consists of Marty, Brenda, Jud, Jill, Jane, Sash, Kelly B. and Kelly Purple. Espada (in blue) is comprised of NaOnka, Danny, Holly, Chase Alina, Tyrone, Benry and Yve.

The challenge is a reward challenge, the prize being two live chickens and a rooster. The game involves some tribe members tossing balls up to the top of a slanted board. From there they roll down, bouncing and ricocheting off wooden blocks (Bob Barker used to play a game like this, not that I am old enough to remember it). Tribe members stand in pairs at the bottom and try to catch the ball as it comes down. A dropped ball is a point for the other Tribe. Espada wins and happily totes their chickens back to camp. Once there, Tyrone comments that he will miss his old tribe but he is thoroughly enjoying the younger bodies in their scanty clothes. Tyrone also decides to fill the newcomers in on the camp rules. Keep it clean, put it back, let someone know if you are using it. Whaaaaat? say the youngsters. We didn't have rules back where we come from! Holly is delighted with her new situation and plays the cool old person role (not very well) for "the kids". In a turn of events totally unforseen by NaOnka just a few hours ago, she now finds herself in an improbably alliance with Alina and Holly.

At the yellow camp the LaFlorines are also getting to know one another. There is talk of rules at this camp as well(everyone pull their weight, share the work etc). Again the response by the young tribe members shows a major generation gap. We're pretty laid back, says Brenda. Jane likes the more relaxed approach of the younger tribe members. She is sick of rules. She tells some of the younger ones that they should consider getting rid of Marty and Jill as they are "as tight as ticks". To prove he is a team player, Marty volunteers to the group that he has an idol. Brenda is not impressed, telling us that Marty is already setting himself up to be king and that revealing that he had the idol was the stupidest thing he could have done.

The night brings rain. Lots and lots of rain. Espada suffers the most because they have a poor shelter. NaOnka breaks down and her former rival Alina is left to comfort her. NaOnka thinks she might be ready to go home. Alina tells her to stay but privately tells us that NaOnka is like a high school girl who is constantly having her period. Chase takes over comforting NaOnka with a story about the day his dad died. Chase and NaOnka are both crying during the story so I didn't really get the whole thing but it involved a rainbow and a pick-up truck. If it didn't cheer NaOnka up it could easily be material for a country song.

For the Immunity Challenge, three Survivors from each tribe are strapped onto giant water wheels which are then spun by their tribe-mates. For brief periods, each of the water wheel people are under water. During this period they must fill their mouths with water and, at the appropriate time, spit it into a bowl at the top of the wheel. When they have spit enough water into the container a ball is released. Another team member must then use the ball to break 5 ceramic tiles. LaFlor wins this challenge. Espada returns to camp hungry. Several of them want to kill a chicken and eat it but Tyrone is against the idea on the grounds that it will reduce their egg supply. May I just point out here that there was a rooster in that pen. Roosters don't lay eggs, nor will they be around long enough to raise a bunch of baby chickens. Eat the damned rooster! But in the end both Tyrone and I are over ruled. Chase kills one of the hens and the tribe feasts on boiled chicken. Tyrone sits off to the side, apparently a little pouty that no one listened to him. But when the chicken is served Tyrone takes his share and then some. The target on Tyrone's back has just grown by several inches. Alina tells us that she, Chase Holly and Benry are firmly in control of the tribe. Benry is uncertain whether the vote should go to the weepy NaOnka or to the annoying Tyrone. At Tribal Council Dimples asks NaOnka what was the hardest thing she did prior to Survivor. She responds that getting divorced at 26 was the hardest thing but that she has more support here. Ouch, was that a ripple of pity that just passed through my body. No. Wait. That was amazement because I wouldn't have put NaOnka much past 14.

When Dimples tallies the vote it is Tyrone who is heading home in a blindside. Not a vote for team strength, but maybe for team unity. With Tyrone goes Donna from the pool. Georgia and Mitzi both picked Tyrone to be the winner so they can kiss their Survivor buffs goodbye for this season.

Until next week,
Outwit, Outplay, Outlast
Pat (aka Jill uh oh the vultures are circling Behm)