Island From Hell

**WARNING: THIS RECAP CONTAINS SPOILERS**

Jonathan Klay (36) and Alison Teal (27) are marooned on an island in the Maldives archipelago for 21 days and clash with sunburn, sand fleas and starvation.

#### **Personal Items:** Jonathan brought a hatchet and Alison a flint starter.

**Day 1**

Jonathan and Alison are dropped off on a small island. They can go to a larger island to set up camp, but it is a mile swim in shark-infested waters. They decide swimming to the larger islands will offer the best resources for them to survive. Upon arrival, the area is experiencing an unprecedented heat wave. Burn time on exposed skin is approximately five minutes. Jonathan is already severely unburned by the time they reach the larger island.

* **12:37 PM.** They start building a shelter
* **2:00 PM.** The shelter is finished.
* **5:33 PM | 93ºF in the shade**.

* **Narrator: *Jonathans burns are growing more severe with each passing minute. Redness of the skin, if left untreated, will lead to swelling, blistering, and severe pain.***

**Day 2**

* **91ºF**. Jonathan is unable to work around camp due to his sunburn.

**Day 2 Nighttime**

* **10:48 PM | 84ºF**. Alison is unsure if Jonathan is going to leave or not.

**Day 3**

* Jonathan said last night was one of his most miserable nights due to his sunburn. Alison gathers some berries she knows will help Jonathan with his sunburn. Mashing the berries into a paste, Alison applies it to his back. Growing up in Hawaii, she is familiar with the berries.

* **Narrator:**  "***As the day passes, Jonathan's condition does not improve."***

* 7**:14 AM | 84ºF**. Alison searches for supplies and finds some beach trash that she can utilize on the island. She's even found a pair of underwear for Jonathan and a beach dress for herself.
* Alison spends the day cutting down coconuts while fighting fire ants and the extreme heat.

* **Jonathan:**  ***"I'm irritated that Alison is fixated on these little girlie baskets and things instead of going out and looking for fresh water, which is what we really need. Instead, she's obsessed with coconuts. Personally, I could care less about the freaking coconuts. I think fresh water is more important."***

* **2:18 PM | 112ºF.** Alison comes back to the shelter with three coconuts for Jonathan.

**Conversation between Jonathan and Alison when she comes back from gathering supplies:**

* ***Jonathan: "You were gone for a long time."***
* ***Alison: "I know."***
* ***Jonathan: What the hell you got on you?"* (Alison has a beach dress on that she found)**
* ***Alison: "What? Umm."***
* ***Jonathan: "All that for 3 coconuts?"***
* ***Alison: "No. Not three coconuts. I brought about 24 to 30 coconuts, but I couldn't carry them all."***
* ***Jonathan: "Where are they at?"***
* ***Alison: "I just wanted to get you a couple back so you could drink em."***

* Alison is upset with Jonathan for not appreciating all she's done while he has been lying in the shelter all day due to his painful sunburn.

**Day 5**

* Alison feels a combination of responsibility for Jonathan's care and frustration that she doesn't know if she can pull off survival for both of them.

**Day 6**

* **81ºF | Early AM.** Alison wakes up with menstrual cramps that are debilitating.

* **Narrator:** ***With Alison hit badly by menstrual cramps, she's unable to gather coconuts. The responsibility now falls on Jonathan to finally step up.***

* **9:12 AM | 94º F.** Jonathan decides to dig a well rather than harvest coconuts.

* **Narrator: *"Well water can be extremely hazardous in the Maldive Islands. The country's freshwater table extends below the sea level and is vulnerable to contamination from the seawater. Saltwater poisoning can produce fatal seizures and heart arrhythmia."***

* **10:00 AM | 91ºF in the shade.**Jonathan is digging the well.
* **11:23 AM | 94ºF in the shade.**  Jonathan continues to dig.
* **2:40 PM | 101ºF in the shade.**
* Alison continues to have severe menstrual cramps and is in tears due to the pain. Jonathan could not reach the water table and will try again in the morning.

**Day 7**

* **11:48 AM | 95ºF in the shade**. Jonathan continues digging and is determined to break through the water table.
* Finally, Jonathan gets water. Alison is happy, but she knows it's unsafe when she sees the water.
* Alison refuses to drink the water and tells Jonathan he can get sick drinking fresh water unless it's boiled, filtered, or treated with iodine. Despite her warning, he fills a plastic water bottle and drinks it. He says it tastes fine to him. Jonathan tells Alison to quit being a **"wuss"**. He says she is **"coconut crazy.**" Alison feels she can no longer trust Jonathan's opinion on survival standards or tactics since he's throwing caution to the wind and drinking possibly contaminated water.

**Day 9**

* **8:14 AM | 83ºF.**  Jonathan puts on the "undies" that Alison found for him on the beach, which he thinks is cool that Alison was able to find for him.
* Alison walks out of the hut and steps in poop. At first, she thought it was left by an animal, but then realized where it came from. She tells Jonathan about it. He admits to having diarrhea from drinking the water. Alison said if he has to poop, don't do it near the shelter and bury it. At first, he said he buried it but then sheepishly apologized.

**Day 12**

* Temps have been in the 120ºF range. Jonathan and Alison's relationship is at an all-time low. Alison wants to talk it out, but he refuses.

**Day 13**

* Needing protein, Alison and Jonathan try fishing. Alison sees a type of moray eel and kills it with a hatchet. It was challenging since she was walking on sharp coral, and it was trying to bite her. She feels horrible about killing the eel and starts crying. Jonathan is beginning to realize how important Alison is and how she's carried them this entire time. He says he's very proud of her.

**Day 17**

* Early am, 82ºF. Jonathan, hoping to redeem himself, goes fishing. He finds a giant clam. Alison is so excited for Jonathan that she hugs him, albeit painful from his sunburn. As a team, they are finally coming together and supporting each other.

**Day 19**

* A major storm approaches, leaving them vulnerable and unprotected. The wind chill during the day is down to 66ºF with heavy rain, thunder and lightning, and heavy surf. As evening approaches, the temp is 69ºF, but the wind chill is 55ºF.

* **Narrat*or: "The night brings one of the worst storms the Maldives have experienced in years, with winds of up to 70 miles per hour."***

**Day 20**

* **4 AM | 60ºF |wind chill 41ºF.** The storm is in its third day and becoming more violent. Alison and Jonathan are freezing, and they fear they will lose the shelter. The temperature has dropped to 55ºF.

**Day 21**, **Extraction Day**

#### The storm has passed, the sun is out, and their shelter survived. Using the fishing basket Alison weaved, they filled it with empty plastic water bottles they found on the beach to help with flotation. Alison and Jonathan successfully swim out to the boat to be picked up. Both are grateful to have survived. Jonathan has a newfound respect for Alison!

**UPDATE: Alison was overwhelmed with how much trash was in the water and on the island. She returned to the islands with the goal to clean the island while raising awareness about plastic pollution.**

**Ending weight and PSA:**

**Jonathan** - Lost **18 lbs**. PSR start to finish **6.9 to 7.2**

**Alison** - Lost **14 lbs**. PSR start to finish **8.0 to 8.4**