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Night 15 at Casaya and it's chilly and raining. Everyone huddles in their inade- quate shelter. It does them little good as all get soaking wet. Courtney is espe- cially unhappy with Shane's lack of consideration. He offered no body heat nor comfort during the long night.
Day 16 and we're still at Casaya as they try to get organized. They stumble about this morning, fatigued after the miserable night. Bruce gets started right away with cleaning his rock garden. Over at Exile Island, Sally counts her blessings for being spared a trip to Tribal Council. She's tried to find the secret immunity idol, but suspects that Terry has found it already. La Mina gets tree mail in the morning signaling The Merge. They are directed to a beach where they find a boat loaded with a crate and other items. The instructions are for them to gather what belongings they need and to head to Casaya. Terry knows that they will be outnumbered, but hopes to devise a strategy to turn The Game on it's head.
After a commercial break, we rejoin Casaya, as they are chillin' by the fire, hav- ing some rice for breakfast. It's now that they spot a boat headed towards them. Shane gathers everyone together for organizing a post-merge alliance. The Casaya 6 will boot off the La Mina members first, as well as deny them any food or goodies they had already won. On the beach, Casaya welcomes the La Mina men. Bruce seems most happy to see his old buddy Terry. Another boat arrives bringing Sally from Exile Island. Once all are together, the crate La Mina brought is opened. Inside are the new buffs, paints and such to make the new tribal flag, and, of course, snacks and drinks to celebrate The Merge. Terry is surprised by how much Casaya welcomed them. He won't be as gracious soon.
Terry organizes a new shelter, using La Mina's tarp for a roof. Shane has already determined that Terry must be booted off at the first opportunity. Terry starts to work on Bruce to see if he'll flip and join them in an alliance. Shane and Aras see what's going on and plot to make Bruce feel like he is THEIR leader to keep him on board with the Casaya 6. As work progresses on the new shelter, Nick accidentally clips Bruce in the face with a machete, splitting Bruce's lip and busting a tooth. This was the medical emergency. Bruce gets patched up but remains in The Game.
Day 17 and Bruce shows off his artistic talents making the new tribal flag. The new name is Gitanos, Spanish for gypsy. Probably Courtney's idea. The flag looks really nice! Way to go, Bruce! Austin and Nick chat with Aras to get a bead on the political situation. They learn that Casaya is tight and there will be little hope of flipping anyone, or joining up themselves. Meanwhile, Terry talks with both Shane and Cirie about flipping. He promises them two whole weeks of no worries. Shane rejects the offer publicly. Things are looking bleak for the old La Mina gang.
Day 18 and it's time for the first Individual Immunity Challenge. The necklace is unveiled and Jeff explains the event. It's a simple endurance test, where each must hang upside on to an elevated horizontal pole. Ladders are used to climb to their positions. Jeff warns them that if they feel that their arms are giving way, they should drop feet first as to not fall on their heads. Cirie is the first one to bail out after a few minutes. Aras joins her at the ten minute mark. Bruce drops at 12 minutes, followed by Sally. Shane tells Jeff he'll drop out for some food, like a cheese burger, but Jeff says there will be no temptations. Upon hearing this bad news, Shane bails out, followed by Danielle and Courtney. At the 20 minute mark, only Austin, Nick and Terry are left. Austin tries to convince Terry that he needs immunity more, but Terry isn't biting. At the 30 minute mark, Austin gives up. Nick hangs on till 46 minutes when he finally succumbs. Terry wins the first individual immunity!
Back at camp, Terry is still working Bruce. Both Austin and Nick are worried about going home tonight. Nick tells Uncle Cameraman that it was his personal goal to make it to The Jury. Shane gathers the Casaya 6 for a meeting to discuss their vote. The La Mina 4 just sit and watch as their fates are sealed. Shane tells the others he's leaning towards booting Austin, but Cirie thinks that Nick is a greater challenge-threat after seeing his performance today. The others agree and it's decided to boot Nick. La Mina has their own discussion and decide to all vote to boot Shane.
At Tribal Council, they first discuss The Merge and the new tribal name. Terry says he had hoped for one more tribal IC to even things up more. Nick says that they were hoping to exploit a fringe player and get one to flip. Bruce acknowl- edges that he is a link player for both tribes and respects everyone. Nick says he held on so long to show everyone how much he wants to stay. Austin admits to bailing out early to make others think he's weak. Shane gloats about Casaya having the numbers in their favor. Courtney says she'd be very surprised if anyone flipped. It's time to vote.
With a bit of drama, Jeff reads the votes. The first four are all for booting Shane! Just as we begin to wonder if some form of intrigue is afoot, the remaining six votes are all for Nick. Both groups stick to their plans. Nick's torch is snuffed and he takes his walk of shame. No jury-duty for him!
SPOILERS: Terry reveals to Sally that he has the secret immunity idol from Exile Island. This causes a stir in camp as Terry starts wheeling and dealing. By having the idol, and being the best individual player, Terry now has some real power. How will all of this impact The Game? Stay tuned to find out!
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