Survivor Nicaragua

Survivor Nicaragua Pits Old Against Young

Finale

Fabio knew that he was in trouble, and that he had to win challenges to stay in the game. That's exactly what he did. By winning three challenges in a row, he was able to earn a spot in the final three.

Dan was voted out first. He wasn't part of the main alliance of Holly, Sash, and Chase, and was an easy boot for them. After Fabio won the second challenge in a row, they had to get rid of one of their own. They all decided that Holly would be the biggest threat in the final three, and voted her out.

Sash evidently had not earned the respect of many on the jury. He ended up receiving no votes. Jane (who won Sprint Player of the Season) called him a "New York City river rat." Chase performed well in the final tribal council, but it wasn't quite enough to take away the victory from Fabio, who had been friendly with everyone and had not made any enemies. The vote went Fabio's way, 5-4.

During the Reunion show, the next season was announced, with the Redemption Island theme.

You can read more about the Survivor Nicaragua Finale and Survivor Nicaragua Reunion at the provided links. I will have more information about Survivor Redemption Island in the upcoming days.

Episode 13

This is Going to Hurt

Episode 12

Not Sure Where I Stand

Episode 11

You Started, You're Finishing

The rains start pouring down again. Naonka and Kelly S. are miserable. Kelly is just cold; Naonka has a medical condition that makes her joints hurt (I am familiar with this medical condition and can vouch that cold can make you miserable and even land you in the hospital when you have it). During the reward challenge, Naonka announces that she plans on quitting at the end of the day; Kelly adds that she wants to quit too.

Jeff tells them to think about it for the day to be sure that they really want to quit. Meanwhile, he makes an offer: if one of the winners of the reward (Naonka, Dan, Benry, Chase, or Holly) gives up their reward, he would give them more rice and another tarp. Although it was Naonka's last day, Holly decides to make the sacrifice for the good of the tribe.

Even though some of the Survivors try to talk them out of it, Naonka and Kelly S. do decide to quit. This is the first time in Survivor history where two people have quit at the same tribal council.

A longer recap of Survivor Nicaragua episode 11 is available.

Episode 10

Stuck in the Middle

Episode 9

Run the Camp

Who is top dog at camp? Marty likes to think that it's him; he uses his perceived power to try to get rid of Jane and flush out Naonka's immunity idol in one fell swoop. Brenda and Sash think that they are in control, and don't want to take orders from him. Naonka doesn't claim to be in control, but she just likes to stir up the pot.

In a completely random draw, the men end up competing against the women for the reward. Since it was a challenge that required strength, the men won. They were able to go down a zip line in the jungle and eat. Everyone strategised, whether they were on the reward or back at camp.

Brenda won immunity after she was able to memorize a sequence of pictures better than the others. Although Marty wanted his friends to vote for Jane, they decide to keep Jane around for a while and get rid of him. Naonka was her normal rude self at tribal council, but some still have the idea to keep her around, thinking that she'd be easy to beat in the final 3.

Episode 8

Company Will Be Arriving Soon

Episode 7

What Goes Around, Comes Around

In Survivor Nicaragua episode 7, Marty figures out that Jane had written his name down. He had never been nice to her. "What goes around comes around," she notes on camera. The same goes for lazy tribemates, evidently; while out fishing, she kept one of the fish for herself before going back to camp. Sash convinced Marty to give up his immunity idol in exchange for not getting voted out. While people normally don't keep their word, this time, they voted out Jill instead.

See the link for a longer recap of Survivor Nicaragua Episode 7.

Episode 6

Worst Case Scenario

Episode 5

Turf Wars

In Survivor Nicaragua episode 5, Marty and Naonka think that they are on top of their game -- until Jeff tells them to drop their buffs and the tribes shuffle. Naonka is miserable in the rain under her new shelter at Espada, while some of Marty's new La Flor tribemates see him as arrogant.

Although the new Espada tribe wins the reward challenge (and chickens), they lose immunity. Some of Tyrone's new tribemates don't like his leadership style -- or how he takes more than his fair share of chicken -- and vote him off. Click on the link for a longer review of Survivor Nicaragua episode 5.

Episode 4

Pulling the Trigger

In Survivor Nicaragua episode 4, Jimmy T. is annoying everybody on his tribe. He says that they're all hard to get along with and he's easy-going, but that's not really true; he keeps asking for a chance to be a leader to people that don't want him to lead.

The challenge is for both immunity and reward. The tribemates retrieve objects while blindfolded, with one person calling out directions. La Flor wins, and gets a set of knives, fishing gear, and a tarp. Naonka breaks out the claws and tells Alina and Kelly B. that she doesn't like them.

At tribal council, Jimmy T. resigns to taking a role as follower, but it is too late. His tribemates decide to vote him out in order to improve tribal chemistry. For a longer review on Survivor Nicaragua episode 4, click on the link.

Episode 3

Glitter in Their Eyes

In Survivor Nicaragua episode 3, Marty and Jimmy T. aren't exactly thrilled with some of their tribemate's reactions to Jimmy Johnson. Meanwhile, over at La Flor, Naonka is being her old selfish self, pushing aside Kelly B. in order to get the clue to the hidden immunity idol. While she may be in the dominant alliance, I'm not sure how far she's going to make it with that attitude. At the challenge, La Flor decides not to use the Medallion of Power, but they end up winning anyway.

Marty decides to push to get Jimmy Johnson voted out. He sees him as a threat, and convinces others that he has to go. Other people want to vote Dan out because he is having trouble physically. Marty ends up persuading everyone to vote the coach out.

For a longer recap, you can visit Survivor Samoa Episode 3 at Associated Content.

Episode 2

Fatigue Makes Cowards of Us All

Both tribes are not 100% unified. Holly dumps Dan's $1600 alligator shoes in the river after filing them with sand (who takes $1600 alligator shoes to Survivor anyway?). Naonka loses her socks and decides to steal a pair from Judson (Fabio), then she gets attitude with him when he complains.

The Espada tribe won immunity and fishing gear after using the Medallion of Power in the challenge. When La Flor went to tribal, all hell broke loose. There has never been a tribal council this crazy this early on in the game. Shannon, who asked one of his tribemates if he was gay during tribal council, ended up getting voted out. Visit the link for a longer recap of Survivor Nicaragua Episode 2.

Episode 1

Young at Heart

During Survivor Nicaragua Episode 1, the castaways were already divided up into groups when they arrived. There was a twist though: the groups were not their tribes. La Flor would be composed of Survivors 30 years and younger, and Espada would be composed of Survivors over the age of 40. Before they left for camp, Jeff announced that there was a Medallion of Power that would give one tribe an undisclosed advantage. Brenda from La Flor found it; the younger tribe could keep it or trade it for flint and fishing gear; whichever they did not choose would go to the other tribe.

Jimmy Johnson stole a lot of air time in this first episode. He publicly stated that he was only here for the adventure and didn't expect to win, but not everybody was buying it. I think that his "rah team" attitude might start to grate on some people's nerves as the series progresses.

Although the immunity challenge was not one where the older people would be at a disadvantage, they still lost. They chose not to use the Medallion of Power because they wanted to make a statement that they didn't need it (in this case, they did). When the medallion is used, it will go to the other tribe.

Wendy was voted out. The other members of Espada thought that she tended to be a little bit weak. She sealed her fate when she started talking too much during Tribal Council. See Associated Content for a longer recap of Survivor Nicaragua Episode 1.

Facts about Nicaragua

Perhaps Nicaragua evokes thoughts of the Iran-Contra affair and the Sandanistas... that's old history. The war did devastate the country's infrastructure, but nowadays, the country has a growing tourist industry. It is primarily an agricultural country, and it is also a country with a lot of natural beauty. There are plenty of great locations that CBS could pick to film on. It is unknown whether Survivor 21 will be filmed inland or on an island; Nicaragua provides the opportunity for either.

CBS will probably be filming back-to-back locations to save money, but this doesn't mean that they would have to choose two island locations, or two inland locations. The diversity of Nicaragua is great enough so that they could film in two completely different environments, while using the same crew infrastructure.

Survivor Nicaragua Cast

Jud Birza

Sole Survivor

Jud is a 21 year old surfer from Venice Beach, California. At camp, he received the nickname "Fabio". While he may be physically fit, he will probably be shocked by the conditions at camp; he is probably a recruit. He doesn't seem to be the brightest bulb in the box, but sometimes looks can be deceiving. He was smart enough to be the winner.

Chase Rice

Received Four Votes to Become Runner Up

Chase is a pro race car jackman from Fairview, North Carolina. He likes hunting and describes himself as adventurous. He seems like a likable guy. He has been caught in lies, which doesn't really look good for him as he tries to make it to the final three and convince the other jury members to vote for him.

Matthew "Sash" Lenahan

Final Three

Matthew is a real estate broker in New York. He also seems to have a rather large ego. He is a fast runner, which should keep him around to mid-game. He thinks that he's charming. So far, he has done well.

Holly Hoffman

Seventeenth to leave the game; fifteenth voted out.

Holly Hoffman is a 44 year old swim coach and mom from South Dakota who has raised three children. She seems friendly enough, and she is likely to be athletic enough to survive the first round or two of cuts. She has overcome a lot to make it this far in the game.

Dan Lembo

Sixteenth to leave the game; fourteenth voted out.

Dan Lembo is a real estate executive from Watermill, New York. Although he is 63 years old, he enjoys weight lifting, and it is apparent that he is strong just by looking at him. He doesn't have great knees, and doesn't succeed in the challenges, but he has convinced his tribemates so far not to vote him out. His tribemates might take him to the finals, believing that he has no chance for the million.

Jane Bright

Fifteenth to leave the game, thirteenth voted out.

Jane is a 56 year old dog trainer from Jackson Springs, North Carolina. She works on a farm and likes to snow and water ski. Although she thinks that she is athletic. She was likable, strong, and had a great ability to fish. While these are strengths in the game, she was a bit too likeable. None of the players thought that they could compete against her for the million and win; they were probably right. My guess is that she will win the Player of the Season award.

Ben Henry

Fourteenth to leave the game, twelvth voted out.

Ben is a club promoter from Los Angeles, California; he is probably a recruit. His biography lists snowboarding as one of his interests, but other than that, he doesn't seem to be much of an outdoorsy person. He likes to party, and has been a cameraman for Girls Gone Wild. He survived quite a while in the game, and only left when the alliance of Holly, Jane, Sash, and Chase decided that he needed to go.

Kelly Shinn

Thirteenth out; quit.

Kelly Shinn is a nursing student at the University of Hawaii. She likes surfboarding and wake boarding. She was likable enough, but she didn't have the mental fortitude to make it to the end. Every time it rained, she felt like quitting. When Naonka said that she was going to go, Kelly decided to join her. Kelly was not part of the dominant alliance at the time she quit, but she may have gone a lot farther if she had decided to stick it out.

Na Onka Mixon

Twelfth out; quit.

Na Onka Mixon is a PE teacher from Los Angeles, California. She was certainly unique. She was one of the most selfish Survivor players ever. Her selfish moves included stealing socks, stealing food, knocking down Kelly B. for the immunity idol clue, and not giving up her spot at the reward in exchange for a tarp and food for others, even though she had already decided to quit. Had she not quit, people might have taken her to the end as someone they could easily win against, but she wouldn't have had a chance with the jury.

Brenda Lowe

Eleventh voted out.

Brenda is from Miami Florida. She is a former Hispanic beauty pageant winner. She does like paddle boating and mountain biking, although she claims to have a limited amount of patience. For most of the game, she did quite well. Unfortunately, she got a little too sure of herself. Although she thought of herself as king, her "subjects" had other plans and turned against her.

Marty Piombo

Tenth voted out.

Marty is a 48 year old technology executive (for Yahoo) from Mill Valley, California. He is athletic and finds Boston Rob and Russell as his inspiration. Although he intended to play like these people, others saw him as a schemer. He chose to go against Jane, who ended up making friends after the teams shuffled themselves around. His schemes ended up being his undoing.

Alina Wilson

Ninth voted out.

Alina Wilson is an art student from UC Fullerton. She seems athletic but creative; I'm guessing that she is a recruit. Her biggest problem was that she never really hit it off with the primary alliance in the game. Although she hung around for quite a while, she was voted out right after the merge and became the first jury member.

Jill Behm

Eighth voted out.

Jill is a 43 year old ER doctor from Erie Pennsylvania. She seems to be well-rounded athletically: she likes hunting and paintball, and has done things like spear fishing in the past. She seemed nice enough and got along well with the other players, but she allied with Marty, and when the tribes shuffled around, she ended up on the outside, which led to her downfall.

Yve Rojas

Seventh voted out.

Yve is a 41 year old mom from Kansas City, Missouri. She got along well with others, but people saw her as a threat and thought that she needed to go.

Kelly Bruno

Sixth voted out.

Kelly is a medical student from Durham, North Carolina. Despite her amputated leg, she is a champion triathlete and should be able to compete with the others. She also seemed quite friendly. While she did well in the challenges, some people thought that she could get sympathy votes in the final three, and decided to get rid of her as soon as they could.

Tyrone Davis

Fifth voted out.

Tyrone is a 42 year old fire captain from Inglewood, California. His job requires him to have physical fitness; he also enjoys triathlons. Although he is confident and may have been a leader in the civilian world, his leadership style was not well-received by the younger members of the former La Flor tribe.

Jimmy Tarantino

Fourth voted out.

Jimmy is a 48 year old commercial fisherman from Gloucester, Massachusetts. Hiking and rowing are among his hobbies, and fishing is not a job for the physically weak... but he is also nearly 50 years old. He had strength, but his insecurity and insistence on taking a leadership role proved to be his undoing.

Jimmy Johnson

Third voted out.

Jimmy Johnson is a former NFL football coach and a sports broadcaster. Unlike Taj, who was able to hide the fact that she was a Grammy-winning musician during her time on Survivor, the other Survivors already know who this guy is. He is old. While his life as a coach might help him get along with others, his age, money, and celebrity status are likely to work against him. He wanted to convince others that he's safe to take to the end because nobody would vote for him, but the strategy didn't work. As I predicted, he was an early boot. Although he was well-liked by most, Marty and Jimmy T. saw him as a threat and wanted him to go.

Shannon Elkins

Second voted out.

Shannon is a business owner from Lafayette, Louisiana. He tells it like it is, which ended up hurting him. He was already on the chopping block for appearing to scheme a bit too much; when he asked Sash if he was gay at tribal council, and then made a few other uncalled for comments, the tribe decided to boot him.

Wendy DeSmidt-Kohlhoff

First voted out.

Wendy is a 48 year old goat rancher from Fromberg, Montana. She likes to hunt, and will probably have made it through the physical difficulties, although she might not have excelled at challenges. She likes to talk a lot, and this was her downfall. Right before the first vote, she interrupted Jeff to try to make a final bid to not get voted out. This had the opposite affect on her tribemates.