The Men's Tribe, TAMBAQUI (meaning fish), which would always wear blue, consisted of: Alex Bell, Butch Lockley, Daniel Lue, Dave Johnson, Matthew Von Ertfelda, Rob Cesternino, Roger Sexton and Ryan Aiken.
The Women's Tribe, JABURU (meaning bird), which would always wear yellow, consited of: Christy Smith, Deena Bennett, Heidi Strobel, Janet Koth, Jeanne Hebert, Jenna Morasca, Joanna Ward and Shawna Mitchell.
FIRST THINGS FIRST
After distributing the buffs, Jeff directed the ladies to the left and the men to the right. They were to paddle until they found their flag and at their camps, they would find meager supplies awaiting them. With that, the two Tribes paddled off to their new homes and the game began.
Tambaqui arrived at their camp first, all the while bragging about how there's NO WAY the women could beat them in ANY challenge! Way too much testosterone in that little boat. Upon reaching their beach, they found an axe in the top of a wooden box and used it to open the box. Inside they found machetes, 5 gallons of fresh water, fish hooks, kerosene, lanterns, flint, a large container of flour and a mystery box that was not to be opened until instructed. The first order of business was setting up camp. At Butch's suggestion, they all walked around to find the perfect spot for their shelter. Eventually, they all met up and decided they had found their place. It was on higher ground, relatively flat and had a bit of a slope so the rain wouldn't cause puddles for them. They split up into tasks, two making fire, two clearing and the rest cutting wood. They had no problem whatsoever making a fire. They chopped enough wood to fashion a floor for their shelter and these guys were well on their way. As the sun set, the men went to sleep on a bed of palm fronds. Butch brought out his luxury item, which was a banner that said "Believe In Yourself" which impressed everyone else. They talked into the night about how weak and miserable the women must be and eventually slept.
Jaburu finally arrived at their beach and before they could get very far, Christy stopped them and told them that she is deaf. She needed to be able to read their lips when they spoke and she asked that they keep this from the other Tribe. After that, the girls set about setting up camp. They had a LOT of trouble getting their fire started and decided that 8 women were not necessary to the task. So they split into two teams. One team did fire and one team did wood chopping for the shelter. As the sun set, it had taken 5 or 6 hours to start the fire and they had only cut four logs. So the women sat around the fire having girl talk and dissing the men. Unfortunately, Christy could no longer see their lips and felt left out.
Next morning at Tambaqui, the shelter building continued. Roger had taken control and was telling the other guys to do this, do that and it was getting on several nerves. Roger was becoming frustrated with Ryan and Daniel since they weren't doing as much as everyone else. Soon the shelter was really taking shape. They had a floor and a roof and one side closed off. It looked very good and one of them commented that Home & Garden was soon coming to take pictures. LOL! They then pondered what the women were doing.... "Building cell phones and crying to their boyfriends to come and help them." Rob brought out his luxury item, which was a Magic 8 Ball. He told them they could ask any question of it, except for ANYTHING to do with winning or losing challenges. So they all started asking if specific women on the Jaburu Tribe would get together with them eventually. *sigh* Testosterone overload.
Next morning at Jaburu, the women were lamenting their night's sleep. They had been crawling with bugs as they slept on the ground. They found a Tarantula right in the middle of them and were freaked out by it. They killed it and put it on the fire. They all decided first and foremost that they needed to make a shelter. They divided into groups of two and six... six to make the shelter and four to do the food gathering. Unfortunately, no-one told Christy and she was left standing there by the fire. So she decided to tend it and do whatever she could, not knowing where the others had gone or what they were doing. Eventually, the floor started to take shape but the women decided there were other important issues to take care of. They started boiling and washing their underwear and buffs. Soon the start of their shelter floor was being used as a clothes rack to dry personal items. After a while, Jenna, Janet and Heidi took the fishing lines and nets and set about fishing. Janet was feeling very sick and was scared that if there was a challenge, she'd let them down... she said she could barely walk anymore. The women caught one tiny little fish and brought it back to camp. After the gutted it, they turned it into a paste and gave everyone a wee little bit.
It was time for Immunity Challenge. The two Tribes paddled out and met Jeff on Challenge Beach. Jeff produced the Immunity Idol and explained the game. It was a physical challenge involving an obstacle course. They had to start by being roped together and pad locked. The first leg of the course was a "tough nut." Once they made it through, they retrieved a key and unlocked one lock, splitting the team into two groups of four. The two teams then had to traverse a large net to get to a puzzle where one group of four had to decode a puzzle using a dial that lined up with letters. Once the code was revealed, it would lead them to the next key that would unlock 4 locks and break the teams into twos. Those teams then had to get across a balance beam and wait for all eight players to get across it before they could get the next key that would separate them into 8 individuals. Two players then had to solve a big puzzle which, when solved, would give them the clue to get their next key. One player takes that key, races up the ladder and unlocks the "flying fox" which that player takes to get to the last key. That key unlocks a gate where the other teammates are behind and they have to dash across the finish line to win Immunity. Initially, the men were ahead of the women. The women had a really rough time with the code puzzle, but kept at it. The men got stuck at the balance beam and gave the women time to catch up to them. They were even at the big puzzle and the women solved it first and surpassed the men. In the end, the women won the first Immunity Challenge, sending the men to the first Tribal Council.
Over at Tambaqui, the men were eating Humble Pie. They never for a second considered they'd lose a challenge. Dave called the guys over and had a quick chat with them about being arrogant. He told them he has integrity and character and this cocky attitude was bringing him down and ticking him off. He told them it was not necessary to lie to the women and be boastful. Some of the guys agreed with him and some thought he was being foolish. Now the scramble was on to form alliances. Roger started to get some guys to vote against Ryan and Ryan started to get some guys to vote against Roger. Rob told both parties that he would vote with them... he was playing both sides against each other.
At Tribal Council, Jeff asked them how humbling this was for them. They all agreed that they were very surprised to have lost the first challenge and alluded to the fact that this would be the only time. They then started talking about the women and how much they'd like to get to know certain women on the other team... mostly Shawna and Heidi. The votes were then cast and, in the end, Daniel got one vote, Roger got three votes and Ryan got four votes.... making him the First to be voted out of the Amazon.
WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE....
Episode TWO opened in the Jaburu Camp as Day Four dawned on them. These women were sleeping all over the ground, wet, cold and miserable. First thing they did was try to delegate duties to each of them. They didn't have any structure or plan at all... they just kept going around in circles while the fire went out, they ran out of water and the shelter was STILL not built. So as they worked away, a torrential storm hit their camp and the ladies had nowhere to keep dry. The women dauntlessly continued to get wood and palm fronds to build their structure. Without fire, howeverm they were cold, wet and miserable.
Meanwhile, over at Tambaqui, the well-organized men were sitting comfortably in their shelter and cooking themselves some hot cakes. Afterwards, they went out in the boat and cast their net to the water to try and get some fish. It was a co-ordinated effort that showed remarkable teamwork. After a while, they saw thunder clouds looming and were hit with a major storm. However, they were all dry and confortable in their shelter.
Both teams paddled over and met Jeff at Challenge Beach for the first Reward Challenge. This Challenge revolved around communication. The teams had to locate 30 pieces of a huge puzzle and put the puzzle together to win. But it's never as easy as that! One Tribe Member had to be the guide while the others were blind-folded. The guide had to direct the others to the scattered pieces, bring them back to the puzzle board and once all 30 pieces were there, they could remove the blind-folds and put the puzzle together. The first team to finish would win the Reward, which was fish bait. Since the women had one extra player, they sat Christy out. (She'd never be able to hear the directions and being blind-folded would be HORRIBLE for her!). The women had a wonderful lead... putting their puzzle together while the men were still searching out their pieces. In the end, the women completed first and won the Reward.
Back at Tambaqui, the men were moaning about not being accustomed to losing against women. They were definitely feeling the pressure of losing two in a row and vowed that they would do everything they could to win Immunity. A deep discussion ensued about people living their lives and not pushing their beliefs on anyone else. Alex and Roger had quite a discussion, but the upshot of it was that Roger seemed to be a bit of a bigot. Later on, tree mail came announcing the next Immunity Challenge. With a do-or-die attitude, the men psyched themselves up to win this one.
Over at Jaburu, the women's spirits were up after their win. They had nibbles on their fish hooks with the bait but nothing yet. Janet actually caught one, got excited and dropped the pole. The fish came off the hook! LOL! As night fell, the women worked on keeping the fire going and did not sleep well as thunder rumbled above them. Joanna moaned about the Immunity Idol being called an Idol. She quoted chapter and verse from the Bible about not worshipping Idols and prayed for the rain to stay away. It was wearing on people's nerves. Jeanne and Christy went for a walk and Christy asked what the ladies talk about at night since she is at a disadvantage in that way. Jeanne told her that Joanna was not happy about the "Idol" and Christy said, "Well that's stupid." Joanna heard that and came after Christy in a BIG way. Joanna got into her face and told her not to get in on her conversations or she'd stop it, and put her hand up in Christy's face. Christy was offended and they went sniping back and forth at each other like angry vipers. The last thing Joanna said to her, nose-to-nose, was: "Leave me alone and get out of my face." Christy said, "Okay" and, crying, turned back to face Jeanne (who had wisely stayed right out of it). Later, the women made a discovery in their food box. There was a Granola Bar wrapper at the bottom and no-one was fessing up to who's it was. They picked it up and put it in the fire, even though they were hungry. Jeanne was convinced it belonged to Janet and shared that theory with the rest of the women.
Over at Challenge Beach, Jeff greeted them with an explanation as to how their awareness and attention of their surroundings was critical. The challenge was going to be questions and answers on how well they recall what they see as they explore a miniature village that was set up. With two minutes, the teams went exploring. After Jeff had asked all of his questions, Tambaqui won by a score of 6 - 4. Jaburu would go to Tribal Council.
Back at camp, the women of Jaburu were quiet in contemplation. Christy was working on the shelter and asked for a volunteer to help her with it. No-one helped. So later when the girls brought palm fronds to Christy, she said she didn't want to, she wanted to go fishing. Christy told them that she felt everyone should work together and she had been working on that shelter with no help at all. So why should she drop what she was doing because they deemed it time to do so. Janet called them together and told them it was NOT her Granola Bar and if she was going to be voted out, it had better not be for that reason. Over at Tribal Council, Jeff asked how everything was going. They told him they have no shelter, they have no plan. Christy said she thought the shelter should have been built days ago. Joanna shook her head negatively. Jeff asked why. Joanna said, "After we came back with the palm fronds, somebody asked her about completing the shelter, and she was like, No! I want to go fishing!" Christy said, "Well that was today. Because I worked hard and people were sitting around and doing nothing, and here I am trying to put a shelter together and I get no help, no support. I ask questions, I get no answers... so I felt, and you want me to help you now?" Jeff asked if she thought she was being excluded. Yes. Did she feel it was because she was deaf? Yes. Without question. Christy said, "When there's something important going on, I have no idea what's going on. I don't know when I need to join the group, everytime I'm there people just move away or they just don't include me. I work harder than them and I don't feel like they're working. It's harder when your team doesn't accept you." Jenna disagreed that Christy was being excluded, she said it was about surviving in the jungle without food and water and attitudes were bound to be touchy. After the votes were cast, Janet was voted out of the Amazon.
BOY MEETS GIRL
Episode THREE opened on the morning of Day Seven at the Tambaqui Tribe. There had been a rain storm so the men were working to fix their roof. Eventually Roger asked Daniel to go and get some water. Dan said "Sure" but Roger then said, "Okay, I'll go do it" and went off to get the water. There was a definite personality clash between these two men. There were many grumblings to other Tribe members from each of them about each other. What was interesting was that when Dan was talking to Matthew, they both spoke Mandaron Cantonese together. This was a very good secret for them and helped in their alliance.
Over at Jaburu, the camp was looking horrendous. There were wasps all over the food and another Tarantula getting into their food. They had to scoop and throw out the moldy stuff from in there. Each of the women were off in their own directions, doing whatever they wanted. So they called a meeting and decided that they needed to elect a leader. They all agreed that Deena would be good in that position and she accepted, under the condition that she would be called "delegator" instead of leader. Soon Deena had the women working well together and LOTS got done!
Both Tribes then met Jeff on Challenge Beach for Reward. This challenge was to test their mental abilities and their capacity for remembering. Each member of each tribe had a box with five items in it. Their task was to, one at a time, ask somebody from either Tribe if they had a particular item. If there was a match, the person asking would collect the two items and it would count as a point. The Tribe that collected the most matching pairs would win the Reward... which was soap, toothpaste, deoderant, toothbrush, shampoo, nail clippers, and other items all in a basket. In the end, the women won the Reward.
That night at Tambaqui, the men were all going on and on about the women and their chances of getting together with them. *yawn* Gosh they were pigs. These guys need a life. Next day the guys started talking strategy. The Tribe seemed split down the middle between Roger and Daniel as the next to go. Alex seemed to be the swing vote, having been approached by both. They also tried their hand at fishing and brought back three wee minnow-looking things. The brave hunters returned and they did what they could to eat the meager catch.
Over at Jaburu the next day, the women put their toiletries to work and went to a stream to take baths. The camermen obviously could not get enough of that and it went on for a while. *yawn* Afterwards, the women worked their camp and actually had some results! the camp was completely cleared out of debris, there were five pots of water boiled and the shelter actually had a roof! Way to go Deena! Two of them women then went off fishing and were a lot more successful than the men. The fish they caught were a very good size and provided a much needed source of protein.
The Immunity Challenge came up then. They met Jeff on Challenge Beach, who explained to the Tribes that they had to work together to get through this one. First, the two Tribes would be trapped in a cage and work their way through a rope web of knots to get to a machete. They would take the machete and cut another rope which would release a pole. They would take the pole and reach for three different sets of keys ~ one at a time, and unlock the three padlocks on three chains that were keeping the escape hatch closed. Once the three locks were released and the chains taken down, they had to open the escape hatch and would win Immunity. In the end, the women won by a huge lead, sending the men to Tribal Council again.
The men arrived back at camp very disheartened and still not believing that they were losing to the women. More private conferences were held as to who was going that night. Alex still found himself in the middle, as the swing vote, between Dan and Roger. At Tribal Council, Jeff asked them how they were doing and they all agreed that they hoped to pull it together and win some of these challenges in the future. Jeff then asked them how hungry they were and it was fairly unanimous that on a scale of 1 - 10, they were at an 8. Jeff asked Dan if he had formed any friendships out there and Dan told him that he was close to Matthew and that they both spoke Mandarin Cantonese. You SHOULD have seen Matthew's face! He was devastated and shocked by this disclosure as Dan had inadvertently let a secret out that they had going for them behind everyone else's backs. When the votes were read, Dan was voted out of the Amazon by a vote of 6-1.
HERE, FISHY FISHY
After an hour's worth of Presidential Patter, Episode FOUR opened on Jaburu Camp on Day 10. Joanna and Jeanne were already up and working on the camp while the other ladies slept peacefully. They sharpened the machete, got the fire wood, got the fire re-started and, some would comment, shoot the sleepers nasty looks for still relaxing. When everyone was up, the fishing brought them one little fish that they happily cooked up. A definite division was becoming apparent in the Tribe between the "older" women and the "pretty little girls" and it was causing friction and hard feelings. This whole nonsense of the girls with "good bodies" and the "others" was becoming exhausting to listen to. Certain members of this Tribe think WAY too much of themselves. An alliance formed between Shawna, Heidi and Jenna.... those who decided they were too good looking for the Amazon. They then approached Deena and tried to get her on their side. She decided to go with them because she figured she could be the strongest voice with these "kids."
Meanwhile, over at Tambaqui, the men were up and fishing. They commented at length as to how hungry they were. Unfortunately, they were unsuccessful in their venture, so the Tribe went off on a worm hunting expidition. In that, they were successful. Imagine, actually thinking to get bait for their fish hooks! Wow, these guys are really on top of things. Matthew commented that he was fairly sure that if they were to go to Tribal Council, he would be voted out. He was feeling like quite an outsider and needed to do something to secure his position on the team. With their bait, the men went out to fish again and Matthew was successful, catching a really good sized Peacock Bass for the team. It provided a really good meal for them and Matthew's position was safe for at least a little while.
At Challenge Beach, Jeff described the Reward Challenge. This one was all about fire. The Tribes had to build a fire under a rope and burn through it so that a part of their banner would unfurl. When the first part was exposed, the had to move the fire to rope #2 and burn through that rope to expose part two of the banner.... and so on until they had burned through four ropes, revealing an entire banner. First team to be successful in this won a working refrigerator stocked with every kind of Coca Cola there is. The men won and sent the women back to camp thirsty.
Back at Jaburu, a disheartened women's team reached camp and sat around. Shawna went into SERIOUS whine mode and started crying about how her energy was non-existent, she had no motivation and she was so tired. The women all sat around and listened to her, tried to reason with her, telling her she needed to rehydrate... but Shawna just kept crying about being a sorry, sad teammate. That night, Deena and Heidi went to Tree Mail and found a clue for their Immunity Challenge.
At Tambaqui, the men's morale boosted, they found their stocked refrigerator. They counted the cans of Coke and then read the can... happy to have something to read. They then cooked up the fish and ate well. That night, Rob decided it was kareoke time and started singing "You've Lost That Loving Feeling" and was half-heartedly joined by the others. It did not sound as good as you might think. LOL! No American Idols in this group.
At Challenge Beach, Jeff met the two Tribes at the crack of dawn. This Immunity Challenge was simple. Whichever team caught the most fish by weight would be saved from Tribal Council. The winners would also be allowed to take all of the fish back to camp with them. Jeff warned them to be very careful of Pirahhna, which were highly concentrated in the area. The fishing lasted one hour and in the end, the men's fish weighed more than the women's, sending the women back to Tribal Council.
At Jaburu, strategy came back into play. As much as Shawna had stated that she wanted to go home, Deena, Jenna and Heidi disagreed that she should be sent home due to the fact that it would leave their alliance short in numbers. They decided that it was Joanna that had to go, to alleviate the Tribe of her attitude and strong personality. So at Tribal Council, Joanna was the fourth contestant to be voted out of the Amazon.
Episode FIVE opened at Camp Jaburu on Day 13. Deena was up and had the fire going. With Joanna gone, Deena figured she was now Alpha Female in the Tribe. She noted how upset Jeanne was with the voting out of Joanna when Shawna was clearly the one who should have gone. Shawna noted that she was totally trapped inside her alliance now and cried (again) and whined (again) how no-one was respecting the fact that she was "totally falling apart" and good grief, girl. Get over it. Later, Jeanne got all the girls together and confronted them with something she had overheard the night before. She said, "I heard Deena say, 'YOUR problem was that you weren't part of the team...' If you think that I wasn't part of the team..." Deena broke in at that moment and said, "I was talking about her!" And pointed to Christy. Christy nodded her acknowledgement. Jeanne had nothing to say and Deena let her know that she was talking about Christy's attitude in the first three days. They shut her up pretty fast and left Jeanne feeling like she was a total outsider.
Over at Tambaqui, the men were up and working. Alex was using the machete to cut a branch in half, and when he had almost cut the entire way through, he pressed down on both sides with his hands and the branch split but his right hand was whipped back up and the machete cut him over his right eye. Rob grabbed a cold Coke to put on the cut to keep the swelling down. They got the first aid kit out and put a bit of a homemade bandaid on it. They commented that Alex looked pretty cool.
The Reward Challenge came up and it was easy. The youngest of each Tribe had to go on a little trip, following a map. That was it! So Dave and Jenna each trekked out and met Jeff at a little clearing where a "bungalow" had been set up. Set up with a shower, food, towels, slippers, robes and a soft bed, they were left for an overnight. Jenna told Dave every little thing about every member of the Jaburu Tribe. Dave gave minor personality traits about each of the men, but didn't venture further than that. They ate, drank, showered and slept. Next morning, after a wonderful breakfast in bed, Jeff reappeared and sat them both down. He put tiles with all of the Tribe Members' names on them and told them it was time to choose new Tribes. Dave went first and chose Heidi. Jenna chose Alex. Dave chose Butch. Jenna chose Deena. Dave chose Christy. Jenna chose Rob. Dave chose Roger. Jenna chose Shawna. Dave got Jeanne and Jenna got Matthew. They were then instructed to go back to camp and tell everyone what had happened and for the three members chosen to go to the other camp.
The Immunity Challenge came up and it was in two parts. First, there was a word scramble. There were 10 images on the board of animals in the Amazon. Only 5 of those animals would be in the word scramble. Once they found the 5, they would get into their canoe and paddle out to some flags in the water and gather up the corresponding 5 flags. First team to get all five flags back to the beach and in the box would win Immunity. It was a close race, but Jaburu won, sending Tambaqui to Tribal Council.
Back at Camp, the Tambaqui Tribe were loath to have to vote someone out. They were obviously divided down the middle between previous Tribal loyalties. It was fairly obvious it would be a 3-3 split until Dave got Heidi aside and told her that he chose her to come to Tambaqui because he wanted her to go through to the merge. He told her that if she voted with him, Roger and Butch to get Jeanne out, they would look after her. Heidi was now having a crisis on conscious. At Tribal Council, everyone voted along their former Tribal lines until Heidi got up there. She spent a long time casting her vote and, in the end, she went with the men and Jeanne was the Fifth person voted out of the Amazon.
EPISODE SIX opened at Tambaqui camp, the night of Tribal Council. Roger explained why Jeanne was voted out of the Tribe over the other two women, as Christy had asked point blank for them to explain it to her. Roger told them that Jeanne brought qualities and strengths that had already existed in the Tribe whereas Heidi and Christy brought something different. Heidi explained that the reason she did what she did was that she didn't believe the new Tribe was or should be divided between men and women. They had to come together to play as a team now and that's why she went with the men to vote Jeanne out. Next morning Heidi fully expected to wake up and be a team. Unfortunately, it was a clear division between men and women again. The men went fishing and the women stayed and did things at camp. She was very disappointed.
Over at Jaburu, the men used the toothbrushes and cleaned their teeth for the first time in 16 days. Matt and Deena had a good long talk about getting along in this new Tribe. Although Deena felt herself as being a target, she really liked getting to know the new guys.
The Reward Challenge came up then and it alluded to the fact that there were spices invloved for their food. They all met Jeff at Challenge Beach, who explained that one-on-one, they would square off against a member of the same sex from the other Tribe on a rolling log. Whoever stayed on the log who earn a point for their team. They would keep competing until one Tribe scored 5 points. That team would win the Reward which was spices for their food as well as a huge platter of fresh fruit. This was exciting! Jaburu sat out a woman, Deena, and the games began. In the end, Christy pulled it off for Tambaqui and won the Reward for them.
Over at Jaburu, they were saying how the Reward would have been nice, but Immunity is so much more important. So they all went and had a bath together. They scrubbed each other's backs and washed each other down. later on Rob and Deena went to do some laundry. Rob noted that Alex was becoming less and less active as he hung around with Shawna. So Rob and Deena, knowing both of them could well be on the chopping block, started making an alliance. They decided to keep matthew because he was such a good fisherman. Then Rob went to Matt when they went fishing and Rob fed Matt a line about staying together and when they merge, tell the men from the other Tribe that they kept true to the original alliance. That night around the campfire, the started playing The Dating Game and the guys had to describe their perfect date with Shawna. *gag* Who cares?
At Tambaqui, a triumphant Tribe came back to camp and dug into the fruit. They ate well and Christy explained how she thought for sure she'd go down against Jenna, but she kept remembering the banner at camp "Believe In Yourself" and clung to that. Then Butch decided to share with them. He said, "In my lifetime there is defining moments when I remember certain details, and there's only about five in my life, or six in my life that I can remember. Yesterday and today, I have another one. And that was last night when Christy realized that we kept her for her talent and for her ability, the smile that came across her face was unbelievable. And then today when she climbed out of that water, I thought she was going to jump out of her skin. She knew her value. You knew that you were one of us, you knew your importance, and you'll never forget that as long as you live. I'll never forget it. That is on my list of defining moments and I mean that from the bottom of my heart. You do not have a disability. That's how I feel about it." Christy was overcome by these words and could only say "Thank you."
The Immunity Challenge came up and had the two Tribes had to have their hands tied behind their backs and work together to get as much meat off of a huge slab of meat with only their teeth. Whomever got the most meat off their slab by weight would win Immunity. It was very close, but Tambaqui won, sending Jaburu to Tribal Council.
At Jaburu, the mood was dismal. Shawna asked, "Any thoughts?" Deena piped up and said in all honesty, she did not want to go. Shawna said she would rather go before either of the other two girls. Alex said he would vote for Matt before any of the girls. So there was the division. At Tribal Council, Jeff immediately picked up on the sad vibe. Shawna said that no-one wanted to see anyone go. Deena talked about the positive energy in the "love shack" and she said that they all got along very well. They went to vote and, in the end, Shawna was the sixth voted out of the Amazon.
EPISODE SEVEN opened at Jaburu after Tribal Council. The tribe members were depressed, but none more than Alex, who was missing Shawna. They then talked strategy for the merge. Rob suggested they stayed together as a Tribe and when the merge happened, they allow the others to think the division was men vs women again, but have their own plan. Everyone seemed to agree. Next morning, they all hiked out to get the Tree Mail. They found the key to the mystery box that has been in their supplies since Day One. They raced back and opened it, found a note that told them it was merge time. So they packed up their personal items and left their camp for a brand new one.
Over at Tambaqui, they had all packed and stopped for a moment to say good-bye to their camp. They then got into their boats and paddled out to meet Jeff. On the way, they hooked up with Jaburu and all paddled in together.
When they met Jeff, he told them to get everything out of the boats as the boats will no longer be used. Jeff explained that they started the game as a Tribe of Men and a Tribe of Women, then integrated into two new Tribes and now, they would finally merge into one new Tribe which would be the last Tribe they live with in the Amazon. He gave them their new buffs (red) and gave them a map which showed them where their new camp would be. In one big boat, the remaining contestants paddled away to find their new home.
Next morning, while everyone else was sleeping, Roger was up and splitting logs. The noise roused everyone else from their sleep and the day started. Deena and Rob spoke about their alliance and agreed how it was going to go. Matthew went fishing and did extremely well again.
At the Immunity Challenge, they met Jeff at a big boat. Jeff told them the challenge was simple. They had to outlast each other by standing on a perch 4 inches wide by 12 inches long on the water. Last person left standing would win Immunity. Heidi and Jenna both said that they would take their clothes off for chocolate and peanut butter. So Jeff produced it, the girls stripped down and left the competiton. At 35 minutes, Roger gave up and jumped in with no "temptation" of food. Then it started raining and the wind picked up. At one hour, Jeff offered them a pizza. Alex, Rob and Butch went for it and jumped down. At two hours, Jeff produced a plate of Buffalo Wings. Dave and Matthew went for that, leaving Deena and Christy. At two and a half hours, Jeff offered them a large plate of spaghetti and meat balls. Deena and Christy did rock/paper/scissors for the necklace and Deena won Immunity. They both jumped down and went to eat their spaghetti and meat balls.
Back at camp, the mood was good. They built their fire and stood around it for warmth. Soon it was time to go to Tribal Council. They packed up and paddled off to meet Jeff. At Tribal Council, Jeff asked how the new Tribe was getting along. They commented that they all got along very well. There were snipes at "someone" being too bossy but that was let go. Deena was then offered the opportunity to pass the Immunity Necklace on to save someone else but she declined and kept it for herself. When the votes were tallied, Roger was voted out of the Amazon.
Episode Eight opened on Day 22. They found a pair of Roger's underwear and hung them up on the shelter. Ha. Ha. Dave and Butch went out to make themselves a dock so the Tribe Members wouldn't have to walk through water to get to the boat anymore. Dave took the machete and was climbing trees to get "logs" for the dock, which was highly amuzing to the others. They all commented on how strong he was and how he was a real threat to them. They agreed that if Dave didn't win Immunity, he'd be the one to go home. meanwhile, back at the camp, Matthew sat and sharpened his machete. Deena asked the others if they were disturbed by the fact that Matt was spending so much time sharpening his machete. Matt promised he would not kill anyone. *GULP* Alex commented that Matt seemed to be "losing it" over the past few days.
The Tribe Members took a long walk and met Jeff in a clearing for the Reward Challenge. This would be a two part challenge where three teams of three would compete against each other in a race to get their flags. The three on each team would be tied together and on a bungie rope and as a team, they'd have to get five flags, one at a time, each one being a little further distant than the last. The first team to get all five flags would then go into a head-to-head competition with each other. The second part involved the same scenario but on an individual basis and there were only three flags. The Reward was a long cool bath, a banana split, brownie sundae and strawberries and cream. Dave won the Reward and was allowed to take someone with him. He decided to choose between the two who got to the final challenge with him and ask they to choose a number. Deena got it right and went to the Reward with Dave.
Dave and Deena arrived for their reward and ate the ice cream which was already half melted. They took their time and enjoyed every bite of it. Then it was bath time. Separated by a sheet, they each got into their tubs and took a long relax as they washed themselves. Soon the conversation turned to alliance. Dave told Deena he knew he was on the chopping block and he would like to stay another three days. Deena told him that he was a great threat to everyone else and the only way she could see it changing is if they got rid of Matthew... and it had been discussed.
Back at camp, the girlie girls were complaining that Dave had won too much and it was ticking them off. So they went off and gave each other a bath. The cameramen, once again, spent way too much time on this. *yawn* Rob commented that "Twigs" and "Sticks" (Jenna and Heidi) were good in the alliance but he knows they'd never pay attention to him out in the real world. Later, Deena and Dave came back to camp and said they were hungry. This did not set well with the others, since they had eaten ice cream earlier. That night, Rob was very aware of the fact that Heidi was snuggling up with Dave. He didn't like the fact that Heidi was "sleeping with the enemy."
Next day, we got a chance to hear about the gnats at camp. These little bugs like to hang around a person's head and they commented how funny it was. Later, Rob and Matt went out for a walk and Matt commented that he was happy to have Rob as a friend since Rob knew the game and Matt was clueless. They talked strategy, but Rob was leading him down a trail of his own making. Soon they went to get the tree mail and there were a bunch of masks and paints. The Tribe Members had to paint up their masks to reflect themselves and would need to take them to the Immunity Challenge.
At Challenge Beach, Jeff explained that he would ask them a series of questions based on basic survivor skills, Brazillian and Amazonian culture. The masks would be hanging in front of suspended logs. Each time they answered a question correctly, they would take their machete and chop at someone else's log. The logs were being held suspended by a rope, fastened in three places. Three chops, and the log would smash the mask. The last one to have their mask in tact would win Immunity. In the end, it came down to "Sticks" and "Twigs" and Jenna won.
Back at camp, Matthew set about cutting his running shoes up. He said they were destroyed by putting them too close to the fire so he was going to try and make sandals out of them. There was some alliance talk between a few of them before they all headed out to Tribal Council. Once there, Jeff asked Matthew if he felt he was fitting in with the Tribe. Matthew said he thought he was fitting in really well now and Rob concurred, saying that he was proud of Matt's progress. Jeff asked Jenna if she wanted to give Immunity up to anyone and she said no. So they cast their votes. In the end, Dave was the Eighth person voted out of the Amazon and the first member of the jury.
Episode Nine opened on the morning of Day 25 and saw Matthew and Rob going off to have a meeting. Rob fed Matt a lot of un-truths and sent him off on a bunch of wild goose chases, allowing him to think he was in the midst of this wonderful alliance. Matt went fishing with Butch and made him wise to the "plans" and told him that He was in charge and would feed Butch the information as needed. Later on, Rob reported to the others what he was having Matt doing... they all laughed. Soon they got the tree mail for the Reward Challenge. The were given bows and arrows, blow darts and spears. They all practiced for what was sure to be a food reward. Matt was doing excellent, while the others did not do so well. He decided that he would not win the competition so he would need seem like a physical threat.
Later they met Jeff at Challenge Beach and he explained that the challenge would be done in three rounds. In the first round, they had to use the blow darts. The four who came in with the higest scores on the dart board would move on to round two. In round two, those four would throw spears and the two with the highest score would move on. In round three, the one closest to the bullseye would win Reward. The Reward this time around was coffee and danishes at a little Amazon Cafe. It came down to Matthew and Alex in the end and Alex won it. He was allowed to take one person with him and took Jenna, without hesitation. Matt was a little put out by that since he had gone all the way to the finals.
At the coffee bar, Alex and Jenna ate and drank everything in front of them and complimented the heck out of each other. Meanwhile, back at the camp, Rob went to go fishing and Heidi, Deena and Christy went with him. They spoke about their alliance and who would go out next. Deena decided that Matt would be next unless he won Immunity... then Alex would go. Back at the Amazon Cafe, Jenna complained about Deena and was wondering where "she was at" in this game. When they got back to camp, they announced that they would take at least the first two fire watches because they were buzzing on the coffee they drank. Then they gave each of the tribe members two cookies each. Matt and Butch were still out fishing, so they saved some crumbs for them. Butch caught a Pirannah and after he had killed it and started to fillet it, the fish BIT HIM! LOL!
That night, Matt and Butch returned from fishing and ate their cookie crumbs. Heidi took Jenna out to the woods and told her EVERYTHING that was going on. Jenna then took Alex aside and told Alex what the big plan was. Alex then took Rob aside and told Rob that Deena had better be the next to go. So Rob was in the middle and everyone was playing behind each other's backs. When everyone was asleep, Heidi was awakened by a bite. Her knee swelled up quite a bit and she was in incredible pain, although she did not cry or scream.
Tree mail arrived for the Immunity Challenge and the clue said, "What do you crave more? Immunity or food?" So they knew there was nourishment ahead. Over at Challenge Beach, Jeff met them and noted that Alex was carrying Heidi. He told her she was lucky it was not a physical challenge this time. He then told the Tribe Members that they have prepared a nice Amazonian menu for them. There were to be four courses. The last two people to finish their meal in each round would be eliminated until there were only two left. Whomever finished the last course first would win Immunity. The food these Tribe Members were looking forward to so desperately turned out to be roasted grass hoppers, coconut worms (10 of them - all alive), 5 roasted beetles and really large live grub. In the end, it came down to Matthew and Deena. Deena stepped aside and let Matt eat it (he swallowed it whole) and win Immunity.
back at camp, Deena and Jenna went off and had a talk. Deena told Jenna that Alex had to go that night since he was too much of a threat. Jenna told the cameras that she felt Deena was stabbing everyone in the back and was going against the initial alliance. Jenna then went to Alex and told him what was going on. Later on at Tribal Council, Jeff asked Heidi about her knee. Heidi told him that in a couple of days she should be good to go again. Alex and Deena both confirmed that the game was getting interesting now as everyone was jockeying for position. Jeff asked Matt if he wanted to pass his Immunity neckalce over to anyone and Matt said that even though he was relatively sure he didn't need it, he was going to keep it. When the votes were read, Deena was the Nineth person voted out of the Amazon and the Second member of the jury.
Typically when one or two have been voted off and join the jury, we get treated to the Recap Episode of the previous days. Most of the time they show us scenes that ended up on the cutting room floor and out of the televised episodes. I always watch this show and look for gems.
As usual, Jeff Probst gave us an on-going commentary of each episode as they unfolded. We didn't really learn anything new until Night 6 when, at Jaburu, the women heard animals and noises near their camp. It totally freaked them out and seeing those nasty eyes glowing in the dark WAS frighteneing. On Day 13, Jeanne decided to get back at the Tribe for voting Joanna out so she went to make them some food. She opened the container on their grain and she saw pink fuzz, green fuzz, white maggots, ants, skinny little worms and half the barrel was mush. She was going to make them eat it. She took the mushy stuff, dipped it in the crunchy stuff, addedd a little green mould and pink mould and rolled it all together into bite-sized meatballs and cooked them on down for the Tribe. They all ate and thought they were fabulous. Jeanne didn't eat one or go near it. Her revenge for voting out Joanna was exacted. LOL!
One thing that was really sweet was the New Tambaqui Tribe (after the Tribes changed members) had Christy teach them some sign language. The really made her feel at home and included her. Christy shone in this inclusive Tribe. After the Merge, Rob and Heidi painted a "history" of how their time had gone in the Amazon so far on a "Calendar Of Events". It was really neat and Rob, of course, was thrilled to be close to Heidi. On Day 22, Dave felt he was in a very bad position since he had allied with Roger and Roger was gone. So that night, while he and Christy tended the fire, he tried to convince her that he was a good guy. Then her got her dancing with him, teaching her how to Swing Dance! LOL! Christy, of course, saw right through his intentions but enjoyed herself anyway!
That really was all we saw that was "new" from the game so far. See you next week!
Episode Ten opened the morning of Day 28. Matt and Butch were off fishing, Christy was gathering wood while Alex, Heidi, Jenna and Rob laid around relaxing. When Matt and Butch came back, they were busy chopping wood and being real busy while those four continued to do nothing. When tree mail arrived, they each got a wallet with $500.00 in them. It was time for the Survivor Auction!
They met Jeff at a clearing for the Reward Challenge... the auction. And so it started. They all ate very well, except for Christy who didn't get ANYTHING! However, Jeff produced some envelopes and in them were letters from home. Christy got that because she had the most money left. Jenna cried and cried and cried over this loss. So Jeff put them up for auction again, with Christy's blessing, and Jenna got her letter from home. I don't think that was fair at all. Christy was so nice to let her do that.
Back at camp, Christy went off on her own and read her letter from her best friend from high school. She was so thrilled to have this encouragement and love. It was very emotional. When Jenna read hers, it was from her Mom, who told her that the cancerous tumor had shrunk by 50%. Jenna was so incredibly happy. Later on, when Matt and Butch were fishing again, they discussed getting Rob onto their side so they could form their own alliance with Christy and get rid of the lazy people.
Next morning, Rob and Alex sat and talked about them being in the final four. Alex told Rob that if they got to the final four, he would vote Rob out before the women. This obviously did not sit well with Rob, but Alex was trying to be upfront and honest with him. Tree Mail came then and they each had a questionnaire. They had to separate themselves off and answer all of the questions as honestly as they could. This would come into play later at the Immunity Challenge. Later on, Rob took Matt aside and told him that he had been dishonest with him and had, indeed, been feeding him lies. Rob laid it all out for him and went on to tell Matt that they needed to band together to get Alex out. Rob told Matt what Alex had told him earlier about the final four. Matt and Rob agreed that they would band together with Christy and Butch and take everyone else out. This is what Matt wanted to hear because he and Butch had already spoken about it. Rob then took Christy aside and told her the plan. She was totally ready to do that.
At the Immunity Challenge, Jeff told them that, based on the questions they answered that morning, they had to guess which were the most prominent answers to each question. First player to reach 5 points would win Immunity. In the end, ROB won Immunity. Being the swing vote between the two alliances, Rob was in the best position and Immunity was definitely in the right place.
Next day (Day 30), Alex and Heidi decided it was time for Matt to go. They told Jenna and Rob of their plan. Rob spoke to the camera about his position. If he went with Matt, Christy and Butch, he knew that he'd be turning his back on the three people he'd been allied with for so long ~ AND they'd be on the jury and likely would not vote for him if he made it to the final two. Christy and Matt met up for a moment and agreed on The Plan. So everything was in place. Who would Rob vote for? At Tribal Council, Jeff asked everyone how they were doing. Everyone said they were feeling really good. They spoke about interpersonal relationships and stuff like that. Then they went to vote. In the end, Rob sided with...... Christy, Matt and Butch. Alex was the Tenth voted out of the Amazon and the Third member of the jury.
Episode Eleven opened the night of Tribal Council. Rob had some explaining to do. Back at camp, Jenna and Heidi felt betrayed and could not forgive him. (Remember that, okay?) Rob, noting the tension in the group, told everyone the reason he voted Alex out was because he felt Alex had been deceptive. Matt agreed with that statement. Heidi and Jenna simply didn't say anything, to stunned and agry to speak civilly. Later on, when everyone else was asleep, Jenna and Heidi told Rob how disappointed they were in him. Heidi was crying and saying she would never stab anyone in the back like that.
Next morning, the Tribe Mates had to repair the shelter since a bad rain storm had made the shelter leak really badly. Heidi and Jenna refused to help... or speak to anyone. The others struggled through another rain storm to repair the shelter. Heidi started talking to Christy then, telling her that she'd never lied to her, never done anything to her. Heidi's idea was to get Christy on her side with Jenna and try to get the men off. At least, that way, they'd have a 50% chance of staying. Christy said she'd think about it. Rob later took Christy aside and told her that Jenna and Heidi were ticked off that Christy would go further in the game than them. Christy revealed to Rob that Heidi was trying to talk to her all of a sudden. She felt confident, though, in her alliance with Butch, Matt and Rob.
All of a sudden, it was Reward Challenge time. The met Jeff on Challenge Beach. Jeff explained that they had to race out to grab four paddles buried under some sandy mounds. Since there were six of them and only four paddles, two would be eliminated immediately. Once the four found their paddles, they had to get into their individual boats and paddle out to a buoy which had a question on it. All of the possible answers to the questions would have a color beside it. They'd grab the corresponding colored bag to their answer and paddle back to the shore where they'd open up the bag to reveal puzzle pieces. If they answered correctly, they'd be able to put the puzzle together. If the answer was not correct, the pieces would be black and they'd have to go back. The Reward was that One of them would win a visit from a loved one. Oh yes, Jenna and Heidi started crying again. In the end, Matthew won the Reward. The cry baby chicks started balling again. *YAWN* HOWEVER, Jeff asked Matt if he thought it was better to give than to receive. Obviously, Matt said to give. Jeff told Matt that if he was willing to give up his visit, he'd make sure that all of the other five would get a visit from their loved ones. Matt readily agreed to that and watched as Butch's wife, Christy's boyfriend, Rob's mom, Heidi's mom and Jenna's dad all came out for hugs and kisses. They were all treated to wine and food and fellowship for ten minutes. Then it was time to say goodbye. The family members went off on a boat and Jeff told Matt that he felt like giving too. Matt's mom came in on her own boat and they went off for an evening of food, entertainment and alone time.
Matt and his mom followed some torches to a camp set up with lots of food and drinks. Meanwhile, back at camp, they were cooking food, drinking the rest of the bottles of wine and just celebrating. All facades were dropped and they just revelled in their high spirits after seeing their families. Everyone got way too drunk and crashed out. Meanwhile, back at the Reward, a Tribe of indians came to Matt and his mom and entertained them with music and dancing.
Next morning, hang-over time. Everyone was moving slowly and slept in. Later, Rob and Jenna met in the woods and proposed to her that they go to the final two. Jenna took this in and thought about it... but didn't waste any time telling Heidi what Rob had proposed. So Rob took Heidi aside later and explained that he had told his mom that he had been bad, but his mom said, way to go. That's how to play the game. Heidi then said that she told her mom that she had been playing the game and that she had given up a lot of stuff for other people... and she started to cry... turned around and headed back to camp with Rob following. Jenna saw Heidi in tears and had a total attack at Rob. She said this is where she is drawing the line on this game. She asked everyone if they were aware that Rob had approached her to be in the final two. She asked if Christy was aware of his plans. She said she just didn't understand how he could lie to everyone all the time. He asked her if she thought maybe he had been lying to her? She said that wouldn't surprise her. She accused him of not caring about personal relationships or giving a damn about anyone and lying every time he opens his mouth. She let everyone know that he just doesn't care about anyone but himself.
So...... Later on, (LOL!) Rob was off with Butch and Butch congratulated him for standing there and taking the verbal abuse and the brunt of their anger. Butch said, they have the right to write Rob's name down on the parchment at Tribal Council, just like the alliance is going to write on of their names down. Then..... (LOL!) Rob met with Matt. Matt looked Rob in the eye and said, "They're trying to make it sound like you guys are cooking somthing against me. What are they talking about?" Rob told him they'll try ANYTHING! They're trying to get Christy, they're trying! Matt asked if the alliance is still on. Rob said yes. Meanwhile, Heidi was STILL trying to talk to Christy about going with the girls. Heidi explained that after she and Jenna were gone, Christy would definitely be next. It was time to band together and try and get rid of some of the men. Christy told her she was still thinking about it and she understood Heidi's point. To the camera, Christy laughed about how all of a sudden these two women "needed" her. They never had a moment for her before!
At the Immunity Challenge, they met Jeff at a clearing where Jeff explained that it was going to be done in two rounds. First, they'd have a slingshot and would have to use it to break as many plates with their own name as possible. Once a plate was broken, a disk would fall to the ground. The disks would then be taken to round two where they would play "shuffleboard." Using the disks, in turn, they would try to get closest to the "X" on the board. Whomever got closest would win Immunity. In the end, Jenna won Immunity. Back at camp, Rob was freaking out. What was he going to do now? He asked Christy if she was still on board. Christy said she needed to make the best decision that would get her to the million. So Rob went to talk to Heidi. He explained to Heidi that they all needed to make it easier on themselves and get rid of the one person in the middle of the whole thing. At Tribal Council, Jeff asked if anyone would confess that they really didn't think they'd get this far when the game started. Everyone raised their hands. After some chatter, Jeff asked Jenna if she wanted to give up Immunity or keep it. Jenna immediately gave it up to Heidi to protect her. In the end, in a ***SHOCKER,*** Christy was the Eleventh voted out of the Amazon and the Fourth member of the jury.
Episode Twelve opened on the morning of Day 34. Jenna was complaining that her tonsils were hurting and she felt like she had the flu. Jenna commented that she changed her mind about Rob after the vote the night before.Rob told Heidi and Jenna the truth (this time) and let them know that they were getting his vote in the next two Tribal Councils. They were fine with that, surprisingly. Rob and Butch were off collecting fire wood for the next three days while the girls sat around. It seemed to everyone that Butch was obssessed with firewood. The wood was being stacked everywhere, in the fire shelter, under the floor that they slept on... everywhere. Then Butch started doing a bizarre firewood dance. LOL! It was funny.
Next was the Reward Challenge. Butch stoked up the fire and they set off for Reward. They met Jeff at a clearing where he explained that this challenge would be involved. They would start by escaping a cage by untying a series of knots. Once out of the cage, they would arrive at a puzzle board. They had to flip over the pieces and put the picture together in the right order. Once that was done, they had to go over to a rope and swing across a gully. On the other side they will arrive at a decoding station. Once they decoded the message, they were instructed to open the corresponding numbered bag. Inside the bag was a key that would unlock a "Flying Fox" which they would then take down to the end, where another key waited. The one to get the last key first would win Reward... a Brand New Saturn Ion. The winner would aslo get a tailgate party with hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken and drinks. The Tribe Mates were definitely excited about this one. In the end, Matt won the Reward and, as usual, he was allowed to choose one person to party with him. He told the others that as much as he wanted ALL of them to join him, he had already promised Rob.
Rob and Matt lit the Hibachi and started cooking meat and drinking. They really seemed to be getting along well and enjoying their trerat. When the others arrived back at camp, they discovered, to their utter horror, that the camp had caught fire and everything was burned down. All of their personal possessions, their clothes, the shelter... everything. When Rob and Matt returned, they were shocked by what they saw. Rob said that he had no shirt on and he would freeze at night. Heidi's back pack was the only one spared. They were lucky the whole danged forrest didn't ignite! Butch felt terribly responsible for this fire because of the wood he had stacked all around. Heidi felt so guilty that hers was the only pack that didn't burn. The Tribe Mates were devastated.
So the men got to work on building another shelter the next morning. Thunder was rolling in and time was of the essence. The girls laid around while the three men worked hard to rebuild. The girls figured that since they were next to go, there was no reason for them to work.
Soon they met Jeff for the Immunity Challenge. For this one, they had to navigate their way through a ropes course. In no particular order, they had to go through each obstacle course, retrieve a feather from each one and bring it back to the center, where Jeff waited. First one to get through all five and have five feathers on the pole would win Immunity. Once again, Matt won, saving him from the vote. Back at camp, the men continued to work at rebuilding and Jenna broke down and started crying. She was feeling very ill, tired and frustrated. Heidi went to the guys and told them that Jenna should definitely be the one to go since she was so weak and helpless. Heidi wanted to stay with everything inside her so she campaigned for Jenna to go.
At Tribal Council, they spoke about the fire a bit. Jeff asked Butch is he felt responsible. Butch said at first he did, but there are so many variables involved, he could be totally innocent. Jeff asked Jenna how she is, and Jenna said it's impossible to her to get better with her tonsillitis because she's not resting properly, she's not eating properly and the jungle is not condusive to healing. Then Jeff asked Heidi if she thought she deserved to be in the final two. LOL! Heidi said she definitely deserved it because she played so hard and that she is the "mastermind behind half of the plans that go on day to day." She also said that she's got "three guys here that are scared to death of me right now, that I could beat them." LOL! Matt was asked if he wanted to give up his Immunity. He declined. In the end, when the votes were cast, Heidi (the Master Mind) was the Twelfth voted out of the Amazon and the Fifth member of the jury.
The Season Finale of this most enjoyable Survivor series opened the night of Tribal Council after voting Heidi out. There was a torrential downpour going on and they immediately built a fire to warm themselves. They all congratulated each other for being in the final four and Jenna said she was happy to have these last couple of days with them, seeing as how she was sure she was next to go. Next morning, the guys set to work at the fire as Matt demolished what was left of the old shelter and chopping it up for firewood. Rob asked Butch to do a "Final Four" dance which he did. Butch dancing in the jungle is a thing to behold. Hillarious.
They all headed off for the Immunity Challenge and met Jeff at a giant maze built within the extremely tall grasses of the Amazon Jungle. The rain started pouring again and Jeff told them to never mind the rain, they had an important Immunity to win. The object of the game was to find four necklaces within the maze representing Earth, Wind, Fire and Water... the trick is, they'd be blindfolded and had to follow the arrows directing them by touch. Once all four necklaces were collected, they had to follow the arrow in the center of each clue board and make their way back to the center post. First one to make it back would win Immunity. In the end, Jenna won Immunity.
Back at camp, Rob noted to the camera that the plans had been thrown into chaos. They put their socks by the fire to dry and Matt and Rob took off to get water. Butch asked Jenna what the plan was. She said she didn't know. Butch asked to stay in the final three. Jenna agreed that Rob was, in reality, the only one who has lied to her so she told Butch he was going to be okay. Meanwhile, Rob and Matt talked about what they would do. They decided to give Butch their vote to be removed. Then Matt got ahold of Jenna and told her that Rob deserves to stay because he's played the game the best and he (Matt) deserved to stay because he's worked hard and didn't do any harm to anyone. He promised Jenna he would take her to the final two if he won Immunity. Jenna then told Matt that she would vote for Butch at Tribal Council.
At Tribal Council, Jeff asked them how they outlasted everyone else. Butch said he was quiet, worked hard and was positive with everyone. Matt said he strategized based on honesty and integrity. Rob said he was lucky. He zigged when he should have zigged and zagged when he should have zagged. Jenna said she'd kick herself if she every quit so she kept working hard to get it. When all the votes were cast, Butch was the Thirteenth person voted out of the Amazon, and the Sixth member of the jury.
That night, after Tribal Council, the three of them tried to sleep but were being attacked by moths! These bugs were swarming all over them and smashing into them. It was nasty. Next morning, after the biggest breakfast they'd had in 38 days. They cooked lots of Manioc and ate very well. Then they went for tree mail and found a scale. They all weighed themselves and found they had lost more weight than they thought. The scale was in kilos so they had to do the math to figure out what their actual weight was. This took up a lot of their time. All of a sudden, Jeff showed up at camp. He told them he had a treat for them. They were all to take a sea plane up and look at the Amazon from a different view. The pilot would then put them down at a new canoe. He gave Jenna a map and told them to follow it to their new destination where they would find beads, paints, feathers and a headdress. They needed to decorate themselves up for the final Immunity Challenge. Then they'd take the canoe and meet Jeff back at the Tribal Council area.
After a spectacular plane trip and some awesome scenery, they got in their small canoe and followed the map to their next destination. They found everything Jeff had told them and proceded to paint each other and decorate themselves and their headdress for the final challenge. They then got back in the canoe and went to Tribal Council. Jeff told them their final challenge was one of stamina and endurance. The three remaining contestants had to balance themselves on a very narrow perch in bare feet, holding their headdress above their heads. The one who stayed up longest would win the final Immunity. Matt fell off first, followed by Rob not too long afterwards. Jenna had won Immunity again. Now she had to decide who she was going to take to the final two with her. She alone got up and cast a single vote. Rob was the Fourteenth person voted out of the Amazon and the Seventh member of the jury.
Back at camp, Matt and Jenna marked the last day off on their tree calendar. They sat under the shelter as the rain poured down and decided to remember their former Tribe Mates by painting their names in white paint on a box in the order they left the game. As Matt wrote the names, they reminisced about the personalities and what they meant to them. After it stopped raining, Matt went fishing again one last time as he reflected on the game. Jenna went around picking up bits of wood for kindling and she reflected on her game. They cooked Manioc and fish one last time and enjoyed each other's company. Afterwards, Matt went fishing again and, while out there, he spotted their original boat just floating by. So he tied it to the canoe and toted it back to camp. He filled it with wood and and artifacts from the camp site. The plan was to light it on fire and send it away as a physical expression of closure for their Amazon experience. So Matt lit it and set it adrift. Together, he and Jenna watched the boat burn. They painted their names over the calendar and set off for Tribal Council.
As it was in the beginning, so it was at the end. A battle of the sexes. Man versus Woman. Who would ultimately win? It was time to face the jury. First, Jeff asked them each to address the jury with their opening statements. Jenna said she felt the jury knew enough about her to make an educated decision. She felt she played morally and that meant a lot to her. Matt said that he provided well for the Tribe, he showed his dedication to them, he played with integrity and morality.
Butch stepped up to ask the first question. He asked for a yes or no answer to the question: Did you lie or were you deceitful. Jenna said she lied to Deena. Matt said he lied to Roger and Alex in order to save his own skin. Next was Rob. Rob asked why they thought the person next to them did NOT deserve to be in the final two. Matt said Jenna did not do as much as the rest of the Tribe in helping at camp and when she expressed her desire to give up and go home, Matt felt that affected the emotional stability of the camp and him in particular. Jenna said that Matt did not play the game from the beginning and took the opportunity to tag along with an alliance at the end of the game. She also said that Matt did not need the money, he didn't care about the people, he was just there for another adventure. Alex stepped up and wanted to know what their biggest regret in the game was. Jenna said it was putting too much trust in people. Matt said he regretted his naivity and his decision to support Ryan's alliance. Heidi got up next and asked if there was one person from the jury who they thought deserved to be sitting there instead. Matt said he though Rob deserved to be there instead because he is an amazing strategist and, without Rob, Matt would have been gone long ago. Jenna agreed that Rob should have been the one sitting there too because of strategical gameplay and general wealth of knowledge of the game. Deena got up next and asked Jenna if she thought the jury should base their votes on need instead of how they played the game, going back to when Jenna said that Matt does not need the money. Jenna defended herself by saying that that's how *she* would vote if she were on the jury... by who needs the money more. Deena then told Matt that it had not escaped her notice that he said, a couple of Tribal Councils ago, May The Best MAN Win. Matt said he regretted saying that, if he did say it... and that it was probably based on the alliance he had with the other men left. Christy got up then and asked Matt what his initial reaction was to be competing against a deaf woman. Matt said his reaction was that she would be like everyone else. He said he didn't treat her any differently and thought she had a "funky accent" but that's all. Christy then told Jenna she thought it was fascinating when Jenna said she had a handicap because she was beautiful. Christy wanted Jenna to explain that to her. Jenna said that how she was perceived as a 21 year old swimsuit model that people would automatically think of her as someone who was not tough, not smart and couldn't think for herself was a handicap. She did not in any way mean to offend Christy, it was not meant in the same vein. Finally, Dave got up and asked them both which modern influential leader they emulated in this game and what qualities did they try to bring with them. Matt said Colin Powell for his concept of versatility. Jenna said her Mom because of her fight and strength.
Matt and Jenna had one last chance to tell the jury why they think they should win. Matt admitted to being deceptive and realized that he really shouldn't have preached about integrity and moral character. He played the best he could and learned a lot along the way. Jenna said maybe she wansn't the strongest person to cut down the trees, but she did what she could and her determination took her a long way. She was proud of herself and did the best she could do.
They jury went off and voted. Jeff then told them they'd have to wait to get the results in New York. Fast Forward to New York and Jeff read the votes. Jenna won by a landslide and IS the winner of SURVIVOR AMAZON.
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And the switch was made. When the women arrived at Tambaqui, they were greeted and welcomed with open arms. Christy immediately told them that she was deaf and that at night it was difficult for her to be in on the conversations. Roger commented that he had NO idea she was deaf by watching them in challenges and he was also very impressed that she's come so far in the game. That night, the men made SURE that the torches were bright enough for Christy to see them so she could read their lips and be part of the evening conversation. Christy felt VERY good about them and was quite happy. When the men arrived in the Jaburu Camp, Shawna suddenly came to life and she was "ALL BETTER!" How ridiculous did SHE look?! Not A Question! She was all over Dave and it was quite sickening. Deena worred that Shawna would now side with Alex and her alliance with the women would be totally out the window. It sure looked like that.
HIGHS AND LOWS
THE MERGE
When they arrived, they found a FEAST waiting for them. Hot dogs, hamburgers, Coors Light, pickles, rolls, cookies, chicken, chips and salsa... and they all chowed down VERY happily. As they ate, they discussed the name for the new Tribe. They decided on JACARE, which is Portugese for Alligator. Eventually, they decided to save some of the food and drink and start working on their shelter. Roger took immediate control of the Tribe and started ordering people around. He decided the women could not do the shelter floor (I guess they just weren't smart enough to build) (Sarcasm!). Deena countered most of what Roger was saying but Roger finally got his own way and the building started. He sent the women to get palm fronds for the roof while the men built. While in the forest, Heidi, Jenna and Deena talked strategy. Deena was telling them that they should pick off the strongest men and Dave should go first. Heidi countered that after this vote, the jury would be built and if Roger was on the jury, no matter which woman was in the final two, she would NOT get Roger's vote. Better to have him completely out of the game. Deena saw the logic in that and agreed to go along. Roger would get the vote if he didn't win immunity. While the shelter was being built, three of them worked on the flag. That night, there was a lot of talk around the fire about seual experiences. Everyone was involved except Roger, who was sleeping & snoring.
THE STRONG CAN'T SURVIVE
WHO'S EATING WHAT?
April 17th, 2003 - RECAP EPISODE
TABLES ARE TURNING
THE BACK STABBERS
THE STRONG & THE MIGHTY
THE END
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