The challenge team worked overtime for tonight’s episode of Survivor: Exile Island. And for my money, they earned every extra dollar they made.

First was a reward challenge that didn’t look nearly as hard as it was when Probst introduced it. It seemed simple enough – toss the items from the boat to the baskets. But once it started, it was clear how hard it really was. They got tired – quick. A few stuck out – Terry was a champ again, no big surprise there. But so was Bobby (after a disastrous performance by Bruce). The other person that has been really strong in the challenges is Cirie – she is a lot stronger than people give her credit for. Anyways, the challenge was a close one again, and it was no surprise that Terry got sent back to Exile Island. And really, if it’s just going to be Terry and Bruce spending time there, it won’t be as much of a twist.

What was a surprise was what happened after the challenge. Over at La Mina, beans turned out to not be the best choice for food. While it was the better choice in the long run because of the added protein, the rice would have been much easier on their stomachs.

It was far worse at Casaya. It was already tense at camp, what with Bruce spending his time and energy on building a Zen garden. And when he faced off with Aras about the use of his time – very Zen. So when they got back from the challenge to find their camp was flooded, well, they didn’t cope very well. Oh, Bob Dog. Is it not enough that you don’t do anything at camp? But to go ahead and drink the tribe’s bottle of wine because the space you “reserved” wasn’t there? One of the worst Survivor moves ever. And Bruce, to not own up to it, that ranks right up there as well.

Next was a fantastic immunity challenge – diving for puzzle pieces in caskets. On Survivor Live last week they talked a lot about challenges that involved diving down. Apparently they are WAY harder than they look. Between diving in salt water, the waves, and the lack of food & water, they are extremely difficult. So I was surprised that Dan was on the boat diving instead of on the beach solving the puzzle. It would seem like his strength would be the puzzles. It turned out ok in the end, but it was still a strange choice.

So, finally, Casaya has to go to tribal council. And there’s no question that it’s going to be Bruce or Bobby. But, of course, there is the Shane element. There’s always the Shane element. So in the end, Shane throws a vote to Aras to keep with his promise (and who asks someone else to swear on his own kid’s life?). And we say goodbye to Bob Dog, who just didn’t seem to care. Can’t wait to see him on Survivor Live tomorrow.