Survivor: San Juan del Sur - Blood vs Water (Season 29)

What can I say about Survivor except, “Come on in you guys!” Get comfortable and hang on for a wild ride!What I love about this show is that is seems the most ‘real’ of most of the ‘reality’ shows. This shows pits many different people from all walks of life against one another in the struggle to Outwit, Outplay, Outlast their opponents to become the ultimate survivor.As soon as the teams hit the beach where they are going to be living for the next 39 days, you witness social psychology at its best. You get to see networks form, clicks dissipate, kindness and yes, backstabbing. I think what you witness above all is the humanity.It is inspiring to see what these contestants go through to survive. In their own right they show, I believe for the most part, they show that humanity is mostly kind and good. Through nightmarish weather, blistering heat, lack of food and the elements around them, all of these contestants come through. Great show!

This season, Survivor repeated the "pairs of loved ones competing against each other" idea. I'll tell you, I'm tired of the "take care of my kid/parent/loved one" at all cost stratagem. I mean, when does a pair ever make it to the finals? Great winner this season!

I ordered this as a fan of Survivor. I was watching the last hour of the show on my TV, and the audio failed! How does that happen? And, there is no discernible way to get a refund. I'm really upset. That's like never finding out whodunnit in the murder mystery. Frustrating!Update: I upgraded from one to 4 stars after finding a way to chat with Amazon customer service, and they promptly refunded my money. Survivor, 5 stars. Audio fail, one star. Refund promptly, 4 star overall.

Excelente

Not my favorite season, still a good watch, first time to meet Natalie who comes back in later seasons. She shows a lot of personal growth

The TV series ‘Survivor’ had returned to the beautiful small fishing and tourist village of San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua for its second shooting. The host, Jeff Proust, indicated it was the first time they used the actual name of the city on their logo. Though San Juan del Sur is already a popular cruise ship destination, much like Cabo, Mexico, it still remains a poor community much like the rest of Nicaraguan.Several years ago, during the first San Juan del Sur filming of ‘Survivor’, it would appear they chose this location because of its beautiful beaches, friendly people, and affordable location. When the town learned the show would return to film, the locals were thrilled.One could understand the town’s excitement of having continuous work for four to five months as masons, carpenters, security guards, drivers, cooks and other misc. crew staff. However, from what I learned from local residents, Hollywood’s purse strings were pulled tight and many positions were cutback, both in manpower and salary.I live in San Juan del Sur above the jagged, moss-covered rocks of the Pacific Ocean. Daily, fishermen jump from rock to rock, hoping to catch enough fish for family and neighbors. Without refrigeration, fishing becomes an all day, every day, arduous, grueling task. Brilliant colored fishing dory’s glided past my home then moor at their favorite location where fish were abundant at both Playas’ Hermosa and Tamarindo.When I no longer saw this daily scene, I questioned why. Fishermen told me, because the show ‘Survivor’ was filming at these locations, locals could not fish at their usual haunts. Would locals now have to play their own game of survival? These two beaches have some of the best fishing, and they were now restricted.Some locals with boats were hired to guard the waterfront where filming took place. If anyone crossed the line, these small boats, along with helicopters and military boats were called in to confront the intruders.Many locals told me they would be paid if they didn’t fish, whether from the rocks or from their boats. But, week after week, on Monday mornings, fishermen lined up to be paid the pittance promised, but instead of being paid, were told to come back the following Monday. I was told that after six weeks, of no pay and not having the ability to fish, the natives were restless and rightfully so. I was upset that Hollywood would act so belligerent to these poor people.Nicaraguan people are friendly despite being one of the poorest countries in the world. As a citizen of the States, living in Nicaragua, I can tell you that food, clothing, and utility prices are not cheap. Unless one can live off the land, many go hungry. I learned from those paid by ‘Survivor’ they were taken advantage of by being paid approximately $1.00 an hour for an eight-hour shift.In my opinion, this is unconscionable, because I don’t believe many of us would be willing to work in the hot sun, high humidity, for that little amount of money, while at the same time the ‘Survivor’ crew enjoyed life in one of the nicest resorts in town.When local fishermen realized they might never be paid, I learned a coup d’état was planned. Fishermen in boats, along with snorkelers were to storm Playa Hermosa in an attempt to stop the filming crew until demands were met.From my veranda, with camera loaded and ready, I filmed fishing boats headed full speed to Playa Hermosa to confront the ‘Survivor’ filming crew. Before they could arrive, the ‘Survivor’ helicopters used their rotor blades to down draft small boats, hoping to swamp them…and I have photos to verify ‘Survivor’s’ actions. I have been told, by those in the know, that trying to swamp a boat in the manner in which the helicopter did was not only illegal, but goes against Maritime laws…I’ll try to download that photo.The skirmish pursued for a couple of hours. After the confrontation, I learned that ‘Survivor’ finally made the promised payment, which as many fishermen said, ”the amount received, hadn’t been worth their time, effort, or gas spent to power their boats.”Though my home sits on a rocky cliff less than 50 feet above the ocean, ‘Survivor’ helicopters buzzed past and below my home filming the scenic rocky shoreline, which I saw in the opening scenes.When the Survivor crew’s location manager and technical personnel arrived in town they came to my door asking permission to place their equipment on my 100-foot Internet tower, I agreed. The only stipulation would be a small charge to help cover a fraction of my costs. Within hours, the tech crew had their equipment up and running on my tower.After several days of not receiving payment, and then learning how the townspeople were being treated, I called the shows’ location manager. He was aghast there had been such a miscommunication, (even the behind the scene’s Hollywood staff are great actors) and appeared more upset that I actually wanted to be paid. Did they truly believe I was impressed with them like so many others were?I ordered him to take down their equipment that afternoon, or I’d have my workers take it down. Not wanting their expensive tech equipment destroyed…it was down in hours. It felt good knowing they would not find another tower that high and would need to erect one on their own. Ahhhh, sometimes it just feels good having the upper hand.Many locals, whether they are restaurant owners, fishermen, shop owners, rental agencies, or hotels, have been truly disappointed in the lack of money the Hollywood group spent, especially when it appears that after 29 episodes, this show is a success. Success in show business equates to how much money one can rake in while spending the least amount on local staff and show’s participants.To me, ‘Survivor’ brings out the worst in people…cheating, lying, conniving, and backstabbing are traits seen with greed. Don’t we have enough of this deviant behavior on the daily news without bringing more of it to the screen? If one wonders how people will act and what life might be like when our existence hits the fan, and our economy finally withers, jobs and food are scarce, and viruses’ rampant, then by all means, watch ‘Survivor.’

I have watched every episode of every season of Survivor and this season was only o.k. Jeff Probst isn't taking aging well. The only thing worse than a woman who gets botoxed up with a bunch of plastic surgery is a man who gets all botoxed up with a bunch of plastic surgery (and hair implants). But that was least of this seasons worries. In an interview about this season, Jeff said that they came up with a theme for this season and then casted around the theme. He admits that was a mistake because what resulted was a group that embodied particular characteristics, yet lacked depth of character and the true fight and grit that survivor classics contained like Boston Rob or Russell Hantz or Rupert, etc. Like Jeff, the game is starting to show signs of aging, and, similarly, they are patching it up with phoniness. The show used to have much more of an element of raw nature being filmed in various exotic locations, but now the repetitious two or three filming locations and the focus on the social aspect has taken away some of the better points of the show. Jeff said in an interview about next season that they learned their lesson in casting and .they went out and got great talent first and then developed a theme around them. Hopefully it will revive the show and hopefully Jeff will lay off of the botox.

This was a good season good players one of the best seasons

If I were there I would have won. I would have grabbed Jeff 's hat and voted him out.

Arrived in very good condition! Love this show :)