Espada (known informally as the Older Tribe in their original form) is a tribe from Survivor: Nicaragua. Their tribe color is blue.
Comprised of contestants aged forty and older, Espada fell apart early on by failing to properly utilize the Medallion of Power, the struggle between the men for the leadership position and some tribemates being starstruck by a Super Bowl-winning coach.
Members[]
Tribe History[]
The "Older Tribe"[]
The twenty castaways (undivided into tribes yet) were asked to find a "Medallion of Power" hidden across the beach. When Brenda Lowe found it, then they were divided into tribes separated by age. With Brenda aging lower than 30, she was placed on the La Flor tribe, thus granting the yellow tribe ownership of the Medallion of Power. When Jeff Probst tempted La Flor to give the Medallion to Espada in exchange for flint and fishing supplies, La Flor decided to surrender the Medallion to Espada, giving them a yet unknown advantage.
With La Flor taking the flint, Jane Bright did a feat that only few tribes in Survivor had achieved - a bonfire without any flint or any fire-building kit. Meanwhile, the Espada men expressed their hate towards Jimmy Johnson, stating that he is already wealthy and doesn't need the money. Meanwhile, Holly Hoffman, sensing that Wendy DeSmidt-Kohlhoff was trustworthy, immediately approached the latter for an alliance while building their shelter. Moments before they headed out for their first Immunity Challenge, Jimmy J. declared that he only applied for the show just for the experience, stating that he already assumed that no one would vote for him should he be in the Final Tribal Council because he was already wealthy, but wanted to make sure that the Sole Survivor would come from Espada.
At the inaugural Immunity Challenge, Jeff Probst revealed that the Medallion of Power would give the host tribe an advantage during challenges, initially daunting La Flor. But when Espada decided to keep the Medallion in the long run, La Flor surged ahead and won the challenge, thus sending the older tribe to Tribal Council. Back at camp, the tribe was torn between Jimmy J. (for they felt that he was lying about not wanting to win the game) and Wendy (for her verbosity and weak physique). At their first Tribal Council, despite appealing that she could contribute more to the tribe, Wendy was unanimously eliminated. Back from their first Tribal Council, Holly felt isolated when Wendy got voted out (despite voting Wendy herself). The next morning, Jimmy J. called for a tribe meeting and started to give out chores for everyone. Irked by Jimmy J.'s de facto leadership, Jimmy Tarantino, Tyrone Davis, and Marty Piombo continued their crusade in eliminating the NFL coach. Holly on the other hand bickered with Jill Behm about eating certain snails that the latter caught, saying those are not edible, much for the hungry tribe's chagrin. Thinking that Dan Lembo was attacking her by calling her "crazy," Holly retaliated by stealing his $1600 alligator-skinned shoes, dumping sand in them, and throwing them into the ocean. When Dan searched for his shoes, a nervous Holly realized her inappropriate actions and confessed about what she did. Despite knowing that Dan might not forgive her, Holly sought advice from Jimmy J. and contemplated quitting. But when the tribe won the next Immunity Challenge (after finally using the Medallion of Power), giving them not only tribal immunity but also fishing supplies. After their first win, Holly returned to camp in high spirits.
When Espada started to unfurl their fishing supplies, they discovered two clues to a Hidden Immunity Idol. After Jill read the clue, everyone frantically scoured the encampment for the idol. Jill realized that the clue depicting a "tree beside a man" actually stands for "Tree Mail" (male). Believing that she could trust Marty, Jill shared her insights about the clue with him. And with additional help from Dan, the three finally found the hidden idol. Seeing Jimmy J.'s star power, Marty's jealousy made him reveal to the whole tribe his idol, earning both respect and reservations from his tribemates. Marty's nefarious schemes against his male tribemates caused an uproar when the tribe lost the next two successive Immunity Challenges. Using his influence, Marty lured everyone to eliminate the two people he despised. His first victim was Jimmy J., whom Marty felt that he did not deserve to win because of his amassed wealth as a NFL coach, as well as his growing popularity among the women. Marty used Jimmy J.'s confession of being oldest and weakest of the tribe as a crutch to eliminate him. The tribe again followed Marty's lead by voting Jimmy T. out for being talkative and assertive.
Post-Tribe Switch[]
After a surprise tribe switch on Day 12, Jane, Jill, and Marty were transferred to La Flor. Dan, Holly, Tyrone, and Yve Rojas remained at Espada, while being joined by Alina Wilson, Benry Henry, Chase Rice, and NaOnka Mixon. The new Espada tribe won the Reward Challenge immediately following, earning them three chickens. Upon reaching camp, Tyrone immediately informed the new members about how things worked at camp, irking them. Later, Holly found time to hang out with 'the kids.' Feeling that she might be better off siding with them, Holly asked a spot for an alliance with the former La Flor members, in which they accepted. Holly's changing allegiances made NaOnka and Alina, who had misunderstandings since being in La Flor, reconcile. After losing the following Immunity Challenge, Tyrone opposed the plan of killing one chicken before heading to Tribal Council, but he was perceived to have eaten a larger share of it. Despite NaOnka showing weakness by getting emotional during a heavy rain, Tyrone was eliminated for his bossy attitude.
Shocked by Tyrone's sudden exit, Yve asked Holly why she wasn't informed about Tyrone's elimination. Holly explained that they thought that she and Tyrone had an alliance, which Yve denied. During a double Tribal Council twist, Holly won immunity, though she lost against Jill for a feast. Though Dan was again targeted for his weakness, Yve's potential to a dangerous player sent her home. Espada would later win two consecutive challenges.
On Day 19, they welcomed the La Flor tribe at their camp for the merge.
| Episode | Challenge | Challenge Type | Sit-Out | Medallion of Power |
Result | Eliminated (Vote) |
Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Race to Shore | Reward | None | None | Lost | Wendy (9-1) |
1st Voted Out Day 3 |
| Getting Tanked | Immunity | None | Not used | Lost | |||
| 2 | Hay Mate | Reward/Immunity | Dan | Used1 | Won | Tribe Immune | |
| 3 | Get Barreled | Reward/Immunity | None | None | Lost | Jimmy J. (8-1) |
3rd Voted Out Day 8 |
| 4 | Seers and Doers | Reward/Immunity | Dan | None | Lost | Jimmy T. (5-3) |
4th Voted Out Day 11 |
| Tribes Switched, Day 12 | |||||||
| 5 | Don't Let Your Balls Drop | Reward | None | Won | Tyrone (6-2) |
5th Voted Out Day 14 | |
| Spit It Out | Immunity | None | Lost | ||||
| 6 | Kitty Litter | Immunity | None | Holly2 | Yve (6-1) |
7th Voted Out Day 15 | |
| Reward | Alina, Benry, Chase, Dan, NaOnka, Yve |
Lost | |||||
| 7 | Jump Shot | Reward | None | Won | Tribe Immune | ||
| Cannon Ski-Ball | Immunity | None | Won | ||||
| Tribes Merged, Day 19 | |||||||
| Notes: ^1 Espada used the Medallion of Power, giving them a slight advantage at the challenge. For doing so, the ownership of the Medallion was transferred to La Flor after the challenge.
^2 Both tribes were sent to Tribal Council. The tribes competed in separate individual Immunity Challenges where the winners from both tribes competed for tribal reward. | |||||||
| Original Tribes | Switched Tribes | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Episode | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | |
| Voted Out |  Wendy |
Tribe Immune |
 Jimmy J. |
 Jimmy T. |
 Tyrone |
 Yve |
Tribe Immune |
Tribes Merged | |
| Vote | 9-1 | — | 8-1 | 5-3 | 6-2 | 6-1 | — | ||
| ►► | Chase | On La Flor | Tyrone | Yve | — | ||||
| ►► | Holly | Wendy | — | Jimmy J. | Dan | Tyrone | Yve | — | |
| ►► | Dan | Wendy | — | Jimmy J. | Jimmy T. | Tyrone | Yve | — | |
| ►► | Jane | Wendy | — | Jimmy J. | Dan | On La Flor | |||
| ►► | Benry | On La Flor | Tyrone | Yve | — | ||||
| ►► | NaOnka | On La Flor | Tyrone | Yve | — | ||||
| ►► | Marty | Wendy | — | Jimmy J. | Jimmy T. | On La Flor | |||
| ►► | Alina | On La Flor | Tyrone | Yve | — | ||||
| ► | Jill | Wendy | — | Jimmy J. | Jimmy T. | On La Flor | |||
| Yve | Wendy | — | Jimmy J. | Jimmy T. | NaOnka | Dan | |||
| Tyrone | Wendy | — | Jimmy J. | Jimmy T. | NaOnka | ||||
| Jimmy T. | Wendy | — | Jimmy J. | Dan | |||||
| Jimmy J. | Wendy | — | Dan | ||||||
| Wendy | Yve | ||||||||
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Espada is the third tribe that is entirely comprised of older contestants, following Casaya and La Mina. They would be followed by Takali.
- Espada is the only starting tribe in an old vs. young season to not produce a returning player.
References[]