Beverly Burroughs | Staff Writer/Cartoonist

3/22/02

Rotu, who has all players intact, is leading the way with challenges and immunity. This tribe has it all together. Each member puts in all they have and it shows in the challenges. The reward challenge was to build a raft and use it to collect wooden boxes below the water. The first tribe to do so and return to the home position would have a choice of blankets and lanterns or a week's worth of rice. Rotu pulled it off and decided they would rather have comfort rather than food. The immunity challenge was very unique. It was a huge box-like maze that needed every member of the tribe to work together to sink three coconuts in the net in the middle to win- no surprise Maraamu lost, right! Well, it turned out that Maraamu almost won; it came down to seconds, but Rotu in the end with all members got three more nights on the island sending the decreasing Maraamu tribe to tribal council for the third time in a row.

At tribal council, when all the votes were in, I’m sure you were thinking the same thing I was – what the hell was the Maraamu tribe thinking? From the beginning, the only hope this tribe had was the leader in Hunter Ellis, a federal express pilot from California. He stepped up and lead the tribe – granted there have been no victories, but that can’t be blamed just on him. Maraamu has been messed up in the head since the beginning by voting off a strong player so soon (Peter), so it shouldn’t surprise to anyone what they are doing now. The cute but cocky Rob has decided he is the lead man and that even if the tribe doesn’t know it, they will obey him; it seems to have worked so far. He has the lovey dubby Sarah eating out the palm of his hands while getting Sean, another cocky soul having Vi eating out of his. Together these two with their women could cause a threat only if they can win the next three immunity challenges leaving both teams going into the merge even. But wait, getting too far ahead of the game. What happened on last season of Survivor may very well happen again – switching players. What will the guys do then?

On the next episode of “Survivor,” it is clear that the Maraamu tribe is falling apart and if sent back to tribal council I’m afraid Gina, a nature guide from Florida, will be the one voted off. It is really sad too, because she is the one, like Hunter, who deserved to stay the longest. But with alliances it doesn’t matter who deserves it just who can stick together the longest.

On Rotu, my sure bet for a while has been Kathy, a real estate agent from Vermont, with her domineering attitude, but after this week, she has proven she is needed. A very bizarre but interesting event occurred on the Rotu part of the island. John, a registered nurse from Nebraska, went out in the ocean searching for food when he found, not food, but a good bite from a sea urchin. Once bitten he remembered an old remedy he heard about; how urine eases the pain and swelling so he asked his tribe “who has to pee?” Pascal, a judge from Georgia, came to the rescue, but I guess he got stage fright, for under the pressure he couldn’t perform. This is when Kathy stepped up to the plate – no problem for her - she squatted and released. So if this tribe goes to tribal council will she be on their minds to leave after helping John when no one else could or would? If not my next bet could be on Robert. He had two accidents on the last "Survivor" involving his toe and hand, not to mention the first couple of days when he was unable to help out due to illness. So will he be in the minds of the Rotu tribe? It's hard to guess with such great players.