At Casaya, Bruce used extra T-shirts to make a water filtration system, meaning his tribe did not need to boil the dirty water before drinking it. It was popular with some, but Courtney didn't believe it would work. La Mina won camping essentials and the power to choose which member of Casaya would be sent to Exile Island at the Reward Challenge. They chose Bruce, thinking that him being gone would wreck the tribe. Shane's mood swings continued and started problems among his alliance. Casaya won their first Immunity Challenge, and back at La Mina, Dan and Terry got Nick and Austin to vote Misty. Her lie about getting the Hidden Immunity Idol proved to be untrue; she was voted out 5-2.
Before the Reward Challenge, Bruce, Aras and Shane returned from looking for food to find the rest of their tribe had let the fire go out. After a lesson about responsibility around the campsite, they pulled together and won the Reward Challenge for bathroom and supplies, and chose to send Terry to Exile Island, because they thought he was his team's leader. Bobby started problems with his teammates by not agreeing with how the reward should be used. La Mina tried to organzie their camp, but were having with Terry at Exile Island. Terry found the Hidden Immunity Idol, which he kept as a secret from his teammates after his return. Dan pulled in Ruth Marie as a fifth person in his alliance, but after losing another Immunity Challenge, Sally told the La Mina men that she was a more weaker player. In the end, they thought strength was more important than loyalty as Ruth Marie was voted out 4-2.
Bruce's "Zen Garden" caused problems at Casaya and Aras felt he should have been helping with camp . The tribe that won the reward challenge would get all the items that were used in the challenge: fish, rice, spices, and wine. The losing tribe will not go back to camp with nothing. They were to choose either a sack of rice or a sack of beans. La Mina lost again and Casaya chose Terry to go to Exile Island for the second time in a row. When Casaya came back to camp, they found out that their shelter was destroyed in the storm that happened during the challenge. Since the storm also got rid of their fire and they could not make another one since everything was wet, they just enjoyed what they had and ate the fish raw. Meanwhile, as La Mina ate the beans that they chose from the Reward Challenge, Austin and Nick got stomach problems. The next morning at Casaya, Danielle and Courtney found out that Bruce and Bobby spent the night sleeping in their outhouse, drinking all the wine they had won. At the Immunity Challenge, La Mina built the skull pyramid faster than Casaya, finally winning Immunity. After the immunity challenge, Shane told Bobby that Bruce was the next to go, as his tribe was worried he would join La Mina's alliance when the tribes merged (combine). He told Bobby he wasn't to go by swearing on his son's name; but, Cirie, Courtney and Danielle told him they thought Bruce could be trusted more. At tribal council, Shane voted for Aras as a "throwaway vote" as not to choose either side, the women of Casaya voted for Bobby. He was voted off in a 3-2-1-1 vote.
At La Mina's camp, while Austin and the other men looked for creatures they could eat from the ocean, Dan told Nick about his space flights at NASA. At Casaya, the women were talking about how disrespectful they thought Shane was. In a combined Reward and Immunity challenge Casaya won a barbecue and a trip to a local village, as well as the right to send someone from La Mina to Exile Island. Because the losing tribe would be going to Tribal Council, Sally, the only woman left in La Mina was sent to Exile Island and was given Immunity. She was not allowed to vote at Tribal Council. Although she was alone, she liked how her being gone would break up the men's alliance. Meanwhile, Casaya enjoyed their reward. They rode a boat to a village and gave some toys to children. Shane saw someone smoking and talked about giving up all his clothes just to smoke a cigarette. He ended up smoking after having to stop for a long time. Later the tribe enjoyed barbecue, played soccer, and partied. At Tribal Council, the four men talked about how tight their alliance was, and about the chance of a 2-2 tie vote. In the end, Terry voted with the younger men and Dan was voted off 3-1.
La Mina got treemail that they are to go to Casaya for the tribal merge. Before they came, Shane pulled his tribe together in an agreement to vote out the other Tribe in the next four Tribal Councils. While building a bigger shelter, Nick accidentally chipped Bruce's tooth with a machete, but Bruce was fine. Meanwhile, Terry tried to tell some Casaya members to vote with La Mina, but no one would say yes. At the Immunity Challenge, the survivors hung on a pole with only their hands and feet. Terry won, winning immunity. Before Tribal Council, Bruce named the new tribe "Gitanos", meaning "gypsies" in Spanish. Later that night, Nick, who they thought was the second strongest player (after Terry) was voted out. (6-4)
With Nick voted out, the old La Mina tribe tried to get some old Casaya members to vote with them. At the reward challenge, the players were split into three teams, and Bruce, Aras, and Sally won. Austin and Danielle were sent to Exile Island together, while the winners enjoyed a big breakfast in a rain-soaked bed. At the immunity challenge, the players competed in an obstacle course, with a few players getting removed from the challenge in each round. Terry ended up winning his second second immunity challenge in a row. Back at camp, the old La Mina tribe tried to get Bruce and Danielle to vote with them, the two outcasts of their alliance, to switch to the La Mina alliance. Terry told Danielle that she could have the immunity idol if she switched. At Tribal Council, Danielle and Bruce still voted with Casaya, and, with a 6-3 vote, got rid of Austin.
After another La Mina was voted off, Sally and Terry were trying very hard to keep themselves in the game. At the Reward Challenge, the team of Bruce, Courtney, Sally, and Terry won videos from home, peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, and ice-cold milk. They chose Aras to be sent to Exile Island. Back at the camp, a worried Shane told Cirie, who's a nurse, that he was "having problems" with his testicles (and stripped naked in the process). When the winning team got back, they brought some of their reward with them. At the Immunity Challenge, the players had to choose between a feast of cheeseburgers, fries, and soft drinks or the immunity challenge. Bruce, Cirie, Courtney, Danielle, and Shane chose to feast. Whereas Aras, Sally, and Terry chose to participate. Terry barely won against Aras, with Sally placing third. When the Survivors got back to camp, Sally and Terry were still trying to get members of Casaya to vote with them. Although old La Mina tried, the old Casaya members still said no, and Sally was voted out 6-2.