About Guatemala:
Called The Land of Eternal Spring, Guatemala in Central America is the site of the eleventh version of the extremely popular TV reality series from CBS.
Fans of Survivor are waiting for the September premiere of the this series which promises more of the challenges, sniping, politicking, jostling for position, alliances, lies, betrayals, friendships, and whatever goes to Outwit, Outplay and Outlast the competition to be the Sole Survivor and win the one million dollar prize.
Orient yourself with this interactive map of Guatemala from Expedia.
How and When to Go to Guatemala:
Though the weather is mild, there are two seasons. The dry season falls between mid-August through April. The wet season is from May to mid-August. Check today's weather and five day forecast for various locations in Guatemala. Flores is the nearest large city near Tikal.
There are direct flights from the US, other Central American cities, and Europe. Check flights from your area. Check also for hotels and car rentals.
Location of the Series:
Survivor 11 began filming in June and will end in the middle of August. Avid fans will have to wait until September 8 for the first episode, but Survivor might not have been filmed at all in the national park of Yaxhá in northern Guatemala unless the show's producers convinced the officials of the Institute of Guatemala Tourism and those of the Conservation & Preservation that the filming, staff and contestants would not have a negative impact.
With millions of TV viewers seeing the beauties of Guatemala, learning the country's history and cultural richness, plus views of the great temples and site of Tikal, supporters of the filming cited the economic benefits from additional exposure and subsequent visitors.
Where is Yaxhá? See this map for this and other Mayan sites.
Click on Galeria de Fotos for images of Yaxhá. You can also click on a thumbnail for larger images of the lake and temples of Yaxhá archaeological site.
Yaxhá-Nakum-Naranjo National Park :
The park is located in an almost virginal forest area with abundant flora and fauna. Training exercises held by Guatemalan military schools use this area to drop students off with only the clothes on their backs to survive and make their own way out using only what nature provides.
Sound familiar?
More about the Maya in upcoming features.
About the Show:
"Deprived of basic comforts, exposed to the harsh natural elements, your fate at the mercy of strangers…who would you become? For 39 days, 20 strangers will be stranded together and forced to carve out a new existence, using their collective wits to make surviving in their rugged environment a little easier. Day by day, the harsh elements and threatening indigenous animals will test the endurance of the Survivors.
Each three days of island life will result in a one-hour SURVIVOR episode. The Survivors must form their own cooperative society, building shelter, gathering and catching food, and participating in contests for rewards. Those who succeed in the day-to-day Challenges will be rewarded with things to make life on the Island more bearable. Those who fail must do without.
On the last day of each three-day cycle, the Survivors must attend Tribal Council. At this meeting, each person votes secretly to send one fellow Survivor home. The person with the most votes must leave their tribe immediately.
Week by week, one by one, people are voted off, until at the end of the final episode, only two Survivors remain. At that point, the seven most recently eliminated Survivors will return to form the final Tribal Council and decide who will be Sole Survivor and win one million dollars."
Survivor Guatemala
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Buen viaje!