To watch Danni on "The Early show" Click Here!

The Season so far [10 minutes]

Day 37
The Mayans come into camp, with incense burning. They speak no English. They make a circle with sugar, and light more incense and candles. They pour honey into the fire (Steph wishes they had just let them eat it). An older Mayan man says a prayer, then a live chicken is brought out.

They rip off the head and throw the chicken in the fire. The four survivors are then offered something to drink from a bowl. The Mayans give them tamales to eat. Steph gets Lydia to ask them if they can eat the chicken. The answer is NO, because the chicken was a gift to the Mayan Gods. 

Immunity Challenge #1
We see a HUGE maze in the shape of a large eagle-like bird. Jeff explains that the maze is the image of a 7 Macaw, a huge bird that once ruled the land. There are six stations, but 8 puzzle pieces, so some stations will have a pair of pieces. There are a lot of dummy stations, and only a few that have puzzle pieces. The survivors will run across pontoons with the puzzle pieces and climb up to place them on a stand. They will cross a rope bridge back into the maze. Once they get all their puzzle pieces, they will start assembling the image of either a jaguar, croc, or monkey. (The pieces are three sided)

The competition is very close at first. Rafe is the first to get all the puzzle pieces back and being assembling. Steph is right behind him. Danni finds her last piece and starts assembling too. Lydia is still looking. Rafe assembles his puzzle (jaguar) and Jeff pronounces him the winner as Lydia comes in with her final piece.  Part 1 [13 minutes]

When they get back to camp, after discussing the chicken, they decide to eat it. Rafe declines to eat any, saying that he doesn’t think it’s right since the chicken was sacrificed as a gift to the gods. Right after they finish eating the chicken, a HUGE thunderstorm comes up. 

Tribal Council #1
At Tribal Council, Jeff asks Rafe about the Mayan ceremony. Rafe talks about how great it was. Jeff mentions the storm. Lydia says it might have been something they did – she proceeds to confess to Jeff that they ate the chicken. Jeff asks Danni if she at any, then says to Steph “YOU ate it.” There is talk of who should go/stay, Lydia or Danni. 

The first to vote is Rafe. Jeff gets the votes and reads them. 1st vote – Danni, 2nd vote – Lydia, 3rd vote – Lydia, the 15th person voted out – Lydia.  Part 2 [11 minutes]

Day 38
The last three members wake up really early. Everything is wet, and the corn has maggots in it. But they remain optimistic as its Day 38! Tree mail tells them they will pay tribute to the other survivors who were voted off. They must climb to the top of the temples, find the torches, then take the images and sacrifice them to the fire. At the end, they will face the final immunity challenge.  The first is Jim – one tough guy.  Morgan – a fighter.  Brianna – culture shock.  Brooke – it was a lot more difficult than I expected.  Blake – golden boy with the golden hair.  Margaret – one tough woman.  Brian – happy trails.  Amy – never heard more swear words.  Brandon – nobody could cut rope like Brandon.  Bobby Jon – I got humbled by mother nature. Jamie – what I missed most was being able to trust.  Gary – like a father figure.  Judd – survivor experience was mental rehab.  Cindy – I left the game with a brand-new car.  Lydia – 37 days….more than a provider.. brought out of her shell….no more corn for me. Part 3 [8 minutes]

Immunity Challenge #2
Today's immunity challenge will require balance and intense concentration. Here is how it works. You must balance on a wobbly platform for as long as you can. The platform swivels 360 degrees and offers very little stability. For the first hour you will have the aid of two ropes. One for each hand. That will help you find your center of balance and get comfortable with the platform. After one hour you will release one rope. This is when it becomes more difficult. You have one rope to hold onto. If after 30 minutes you are still hanging on, you release the second rope and go it alone. The person left standing wins immunity guaranteed a spot in the final two and as importantly will decide who goes with them to the final tribal council and who sits across from the jury with $1 million on the line. I know what you are playing for. Pick your spots and let's get started.

All three get on the boards and the challenge starts. The first 60 minutes go by without problems. They then have to drop one rope. Steph is the first to falter followed by Rafe then Danni. They all manage to find a good position and no one falls off. After 30 minutes, Jeff gets them to drop the second rope. Rafe is the first on to lose concentration and touch a poll and is out of the challenge. After 2 hours and 28 minutes, Steph is having trouble and her legs are shaking. She eventually can’t stay on and Danni wins the final Immunity challenge. She walks over to Steph who is crying. Rafe tells Danni she can back out of the deal she made with him. Part 4 [9 minutes]

Back at camp Danni has a hard decision to make. Whom will she take to the final? In confessional she tells us, “I am shocked that I am in the final two. It is overwhelming to think about having the numbers against me. Here I am. I am blown away about it. I am happy I won but hate that spot.”

Tribal Council #2
They make their way in and take a seat. Jeff brings in the Jury and starts the questions. 
Jeff: So Rafe, Danni, Steph. The last tribal council after weeks of voting out the strongest, just when you are on the cusp of your last challenge, you vote out not one of the strongest, but the weakest. And for two of you, it could be a $1 million mistake. Steph, any regrets looking at Lydia over there? Steph: I didn't know if the challenge would be completely physical or mental. It could have gone either way. 
Jeff: Danni, did you ever imagine a final spot in the last two and be guaranteed a position. Danni: I am so blown away today. I am going back to Kansas think did it really happen. I can't believe I am still here. It is an absolute miracle. 
Jeff: Steph, you were very emotional when you went down. Steph: It was such a tough challenge. I was in so much pain and felt like a failure. I went until I collapsed and sat there and cried for a few minutes. 
Jeff: Rafe, you said something to Danni after the challenge. I caught a couple of words. Rafe: Danni promised me if I could get her to the final three and she won the final challenge she would take me to the final two. And I told Danni "I release you from the promise." 
Jeff: Why would you do that? Seems you put everything on that and forgot about the 37 days. Rafe: I am saying forget about the promise and if you think I am worthy going to the final two, take me if you think it is Steph, take Steph. 
Jeff: Danni, what's going through your mind? You have a huge decision. Pick the right person, you are a $1 million richer and if not, you are not rich. Danni: Being in the final two is amazing. You want to make sure you make the right decision. Look at it one way and there are 10 million different ways that's right and the other way, it is so hard.

Jeff explains that Danni will be the only one casting a vote. Once she is done, he comes back and shows the vote. Danni has voted Rafe off. He gets up and Jeff snuffs his torch. Jeff then says to Danni, Danni, you clearly made your decision. You kept the person you think you have the best chance of winning against. The only thing left to do is see if you are right. Will you have one more night in Guatemala and you will return for the final tribal council. Grab your torches and head out. 

Finale words from Rafe: Well, I feel like I played a smart game. And honest game as I could. I am really proud of myself and I am proud of what I did. I stayed true to my moral compass and betrayed people when I thought I should have stuck with people when I thought I should. Danni, I understand the decision you made, and I thought you were the one person who would take me to the final two, and you didn’t. Stephenie, I am absolutely rooting for you. I think you played a great game. I will be voting for you tomorrow night. Part 5 [10 minutes]

Day 39
The two girls decide to burn the shelter then later go and take a final swim in the pool.  They talk about being the final two.

Tribal Council - Jury Votes
The girls make their way in and make their statements to the jury. Statements [7 minutes] Here are some highlights from the questioning. The questions were tame, but Jamie was a little bitter. Judd on the other hand seemed like he’d been sucking a lemon since being voted off! Here are some highlights. 

Rafe: Um, first off, congratulations on being the final two. You two were really like sisters to me here. And I am proud one of you will win $1 million tonight. I will go with Danni first. You said Rafe, if I ever get in a situation where I am in the final three and I can take the person I think I will beat, the person I think deserves to win, I will take the person I think deserves to win. I am wondering what happened when you had that decision right in front of you and made the opposite of what you said you would make? 
Danni: First of all, one thing that changed my mind was during that immunity challenge yesterday, I saw Stephenie over there crying and legs shaking giving everything she could instead of not stopping until they pass out. A person came into the game with a target on their back from the beginning and fought through the odds and shows she really is the best player. She knows how to play the game. So, I mean, it is a toss up between who was the strongest between the two and most deserving. I think either one of you would be as deserving. Rafe: Okay. That's good. I wanted to understand why that decision changed. And I think I have the answer. 
Judd: First of all, I want to congratulate you. Job well done. First, Danni. I want to know if you have ever went ice skating before?
Danni: I have before. 
Judd: I think you are the best ice skaters I have seen. I believe your strategy was skate through this damn game like you did. The second question is were you deceitful? Were you a back stabber? Were you a liar? 
Danni: The one time that I did lie, Jamie came up and asked me who I was going to be voting for that night and I told him I would put Gary's name down and I lied in that situation. And another time Brian asked me who I was going to vote for and I plain told him I didn’t know because I didn't want to be there to be a confrontation. 
Judd: Sounds to me like you lied a lot. I would suggest when you get home first thing you do is go to confession. 
Judd: Steph, I want to know if you are still starving? I mean, you have eaten more than I have eaten when I am home. I have been to three immunities. All you say is you are starving. You won four challenges. 
Steph: I eat a lot. You know that. Judd: What you should be starving for is my vote. Your strategy in this game is back stab and lie and be deceitful. Everybody that walked by you, man. You back stabbed that one, that one, that one. You back stabbed everyone in the game. Part 6 [12 minutes]

I would have included more. But Judd like to ramble! After hearing the final statements from Danni and Stephenie, the jury cast their votes. As Usual, after doing so, Jeff doesn’t count the votes. He gets on a helicopter and heads back to the US. (Yeah right!) He arrives at the Live Finale is that same helicopter (yeah, and Santa is real too).  Then he gets down to what we all want to know. Who is the winner of Survivor Guatemala? He counts the five of the votes. The winner only needs 4. The Winner [9 minutes]

The winner of Survivor Guatemala

Danni Boatwright!

A Model from Tonganoxie, KS. 

Thanks to mo, Morty, wolfrider for contributions to tonight’s recap.

Danni and Steph on The Early Show [5 minutes]

Stephenie after the Finale [2 minutes]

We would also like to thank everyone that participated in our recap of this season of Survivor: DenimPerzina, Jem, marioandluigi82, MASHEE, mo, Morty, pebbles468, poohBear, ranster627, smirnoff and wolfrider.

Wishing you all a Happy Holiday Season.  

Hope to see you for Survivor 12: Panama - Exile Island!