Survivor: Guatemala
Season	11
Filming Location	Laguna Yaxhá, Yaxhá-Nakúm-Naranjo National Park, El Petén, Guatemala
Season Run	September 15, 2005 – December 11, 2005
Filming Dates	June 27, 2005 – August 4, 2005
Survivors	18
Winner	Danni Boatwright
Runner(s)-up	» Stephenie LaGrossa
Tribes	██ Nakúm ██ Yaxhá ██ Xhakúm
Opening Sequence
Series Chronology
Previous Season	Palau
Next Season	Panama

Survivor: Guatemala - The Mayan Empire (mostly known simply as Survivor: Guatemala) is the eleventh season of the US reality show Survivor.

Production/CastingEdit

Applications were due January 14, 2005. Around March, 800 applicants were selected for an interview by CBS. Out of these 800, 48 semi-finalists were selected to go to Los Angeles sometime around April 2005. There, 16 of the nominees were chosen to participate on the show. Shooting began in June and ended in August.

This season also features the return of Survivor: Palau fan favorites Stephenie LaGrossa and Bobby Jon Drinkard, raising the number of contestants to 18. Other notable contestants include former beauty queen and model-turned radio announcer Danni Boatwright and ex-NFL quarterback Gary Hogeboom.

Twists/ChangesEdit

• One returnee per tribe: Two former contestants return for another chance to win, one for each tribe.
• Tribe Switch: Occurred on Day 8.
• Double Tribal Council: On one occasion, both tribes have to attend Tribal Council. They play for reward, with the winners competing for individual immunity and the opportunity to observe the losing tribe's Tribal Council, and vote for one person to receive immunity.
• Hidden Immunity Idol: Located around the Xhakúm campsite is a small wooden totem that can be used as a form of individual immunity. Clues are given to winners of challenges. The Idol is played before the vote to detract particular voting blocs from targeting the player in question. Once the idol is played, it is discarded.

CastawaysEdit

Contestant		Original Tribe	Switched Tribe	Merged Tribe	Finish	Votes Against
	Jim Lynch 63, Northglenn, CO	Nakúm			1st Voted Out Day 3	8
	Morgan McDevitt 21, Decatur, IL	Yaxhá			2nd Voted Out Day 6	8
	Brianna Varela 21, Edmonds, WA	Yaxhá			3rd Voted Out Day 8	7
	Brooke Struck 25, Hood River, OR	Nakúm	Nakúm		4th Voted Out Day 11	5
	Blake Towsley 24, Dallas, TX	Nakúm	Yaxhá		5th Voted Out Day 14	5
	Margaret Bobonich 43, Chardon, OH	Nakúm	Nakúm		6th Voted Out Day 15	7
	Brian Corridan 22, New York, NY	Yaxhá	Yaxhá		7th Voted Out Day 15	7
	Amy O'Hara 39, Revere, MA	Yaxhá	Yaxhá		8th Voted Out Day 18	4
	Brandon Bellinger 22, Manhattan, KS	Nakúm	Yaxhá	Xhakúm	9th Voted Out Day 21	6
	Bobby Jon Drinkard 28, Troy, AL Palau	Nakúm	Yaxhá		10th Voted Out 1st Jury Member Day 24	8
	Jamie Newton 24, North Hollywood, CA	Yaxhá	Nakúm		11th Voted Out 2nd Jury Member Day 27	10
	Gary Hogeboom 46, Grand Haven, MI	Yaxhá	Yaxhá		12th Voted Out 3rd Jury Member Day 30	8
	Judd Sergeant 34, Ridgefield, NJ	Nakúm	Nakúm		13th Voted Out 4th Jury Member Day 33	5
	Cindy Hall 31, Naples, FL	Nakúm	Nakúm		14th Voted Out 5th Jury Member Day 36	6
	Lydia Morales 42, Lakewood, WA	Yaxhá	Nakúm		15th Voted Out 6th Jury Member Day 37	10
	Rafe Judkins 22, Providence, RI	Yaxhá	Nakúm		16th Voted Out 7th Jury Member Day 38	2
	Stephenie LaGrossa 25, Philadelphia, PA Palau	Yaxhá	Nakúm		Runner-Up	2
	Danni Boatwright 30, Tonganoxie, KS	Nakúm	Yaxhá		Sole Survivor	1

Season SummaryEdit

Sixteen players were split into two tribes named Nakúm and Yaxhá after two Mayan cities. Each tribe was joined by a contestant from Survivor: Palau, Bobby Jon Drinkard (Nakúm) and Stephenie LaGrossa (Yaxhá).

The first challenge was an 11 mile overnight trek through the jungle to the Mayan ruins, with the tribe to get there first winning additional supplies and the right to to stay at the site, while the losers have to travel to another location to establish their camp. The long trek was hard on both tribes, and continued to affect the contestants' health for the following days. The men of Nakúm were affected the most: Judd Sergeant was nauseous, Jim Lynch tore his biceps, Blake Towsley embedded needles of a poisonous plant, and Bobby Jon collapsed from dehydration and fatigue. Despite all the setbacks, Nakúm was more successful at the challenges in the first nine days, losing only one tribe member (Jim), while Yaxhá went to Tribal Council twice, where they eliminated the least productive members - Morgan McDevitt and Brianna Varela.

Meanwhile, Gary Hogeboom of the Yaxhá tribe was trying to hide his true identity. He knew that he might get voted off if the others find out he was a former NFL player. During one challenge, however, Danni Boatwright, being a sportscaster, identified him. Gary continued to deny it, and claim he was a landscaper, and that his last name is Hawkins, not Hogeboom.

A Tribe Switch occurred on Day 10, leaving Bobby Jon, Danni, Blake, and Brandon Bellinger in the majority at their new tribe - Yaxhá. The new Nakúm had four original members left, and they were joined by four Yaxhá. Immediately after the swap, Stephenie and Jamie Newton formed an alliance with Judd to take control of Nakúm. Rafe Judkins, Cindy Hall, and Lydia Morales also joined this new group. Though the two tribes performances were fairly even in wins and losses, a crucial Immunity Challenge won by Nakúm put them in a decisive 6-4 lead going into the merge. It occurred on Day 18, right after the last pre-merge Tribal Council. The merged tribe's name was Xhakúm a portmanteau of the original tribes' names. Upon merging, the new tribe was informed that a Hidden Immunity Idol was located in the jungle. The advantage Stephenie's alliance had helped them eliminate two of their rivals - Brandon and Bobby Jon at the first post-merge Tribal Councils.

Judd received a clue to the whereabouts of the Hidden Immunity Idol after winning a Reward Challenge. It said that the Idol was hidden somewhere above the ground. To distract the other players, Judd told the other contestants the opposite of what the clue said. Gary, however, wasn't fooled. He followed Judd into the jungle, and saw where he was looking for the Idol. Gary then found it before Judd could, and used it to save himself from being eliminated. Meanwhile, Jamie was becoming increasingly paranoid, and the majority alliance decided to turn against him and spare Gary one more time. Using Judd's lie to his advantage, Gary tried to convince Stephenie's alliance to keep him in the game, but this time it didn't help, and he was the next out. Gary's words did convince the former Nakúm members that Judd could not be trusted. This, combined with his obnoxious behavior, got him blindsided at the next Tribal Council.

With five contestants remaining, Cindy was given an opportunity to gain everybody's favor at a car reward challenge. Jeff Probst reminded Cindy of the infamous "Car Curse", and offered her to give up the car she just won, and give a car to everybody else. Cindy refused and opted to keep her reward. This act angered the four other contestants, and gave them a good reason to vote her out. Lydia, the most likeable of the final four, was next to go. At the final Immunity Challenge, Stephenie was unable to beat Danni, leaving Danni to decide whether to take her to the final instead of Rafe. Danni was told by Rafe that she did not have to stay true to a deal they agreed upon earlier, according to which she would take him to the Final Two. Danni decided that she would fare better against Stephenie, and eliminated Rafe. The Jury at the Final Tribal Council was angry at Stephenie for the way she played the game and her numerous betrayals. Danni, on the other hand, drew less criticism and with six votes to one she was crowned the 11th Sole Survivor.

Episode GuideEdit

Voting HistoryEdit

Survivor: Guatemala Voting History
		Original Tribes			Switched Tribes					Merged Tribe
Episode #:		1	2	3	4	5	6		7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14
Eliminated:		Jim	Morgan	Brianna	Brooke	Blake	Margaret	Brian	Amy	Brandon	Bobby Jon	Jamie	Gary	Judd	Cindy	Lydia	Rafe	Stephenie	Danni
Vote:		8-1	8-1	7-1	5-3	5-2	6-1	5-1	4-1	6-4	6-2-1	6-2	6-1	4-2	4-1	3-1	1-0	6-1
►►	Danni	Jim	—	—	—	Blake	—	Brian	Amy	Jamie	Stephenie	Jamie	Gary	Judd	Cindy	Lydia	Rafe	Jury Vote
►►	Stephenie	—	Morgan	Brianna	Brooke	—	Margaret	—	—	Brandon	Bobby Jon	Jamie	Gary	Judd	Cindy	Lydia	—
►►	Rafe	—	Morgan	Brianna	Brooke	—	Margaret	—	—	Brandon	Bobby Jon	Jamie	Gary	Judd	Cindy	Lydia	—	Stephenie
►►	Lydia	—	Morgan	Brianna	Brooke	—	Margaret	—	—	Brandon	Bobby Jon	Jamie	Gary	Judd	Cindy	Danni			Danni
►►	Cindy	Jim	—	—	Lydia	—	Margaret	—	—	Brandon	Bobby Jon	Jamie	Gary	Lydia	Rafe				Danni
►►	Judd	Jim	—	—	Brooke	—	Margaret	—	—	Brandon	Bobby Jon	Gary	Gary	Lydia					Danni
►►	Gary	—	Morgan	Brianna	—	Blake	—	Brian	Amy	Jamie	Cindy	Jamie	Cindy						Danni
►►	Jamie	—	Morgan	Brianna	Brooke	—	Margaret	—	—	Brandon	Bobby Jon	Gary							Danni
►►	Bobby Jon	Jim	—	—	—	Blake	—	Brian	Amy	Jamie	Stephenie								Danni
►►	Brandon	Jim	—	—	—	Brian	—	Brian	Amy	Jamie
►	Amy	—	Morgan	Brianna	—	Blake	—	Brian	Bobby Jon
►	Brian	—	Morgan	Brianna	—	Blake	—	Bobby Jon
►	Margaret	Jim	—	—	Lydia	—	Judd
►	Blake	Jim	—	—	—	Brian
►	Brooke	Jim	—	—	Lydia
	Brianna	—	Morgan	Lydia
	Morgan	—	Lydia
	Jim	Margaret

Notes:

• Gary became the first contestant ever to play a Hidden Immunity Idol on the tenth Tribal Council.

TriviaEdit

• This is the first season of Survivor to include both new players and returning players.
  • This is the first season of the "one returnee per tribe" format.
  • Guatemala is one of two seasons of this format, in which all returnees made the merge (the second one is Survivor: South Pacific).
• This is the only season in which all the returning players improved upon their placements compared to their previous seasons.
• This is the first season of Survivor to feature the Hidden Immunity Idol.
• This season and Survivor: One World had no original representative players return in a future season.
• Wanda Shirk, Jonathan Libby, Michael Skupin, and Rodger Bingham were considered as returnees, before the decision was made to recall Stephenie and Bobby Jon.
• This is the only season so far with no African-American contestants.

ReferencesEdit

External linksEdit