By Ashley Thompson

12 survivalists have conquered 21 days in remote places both Naked and Afraid. Now their next challenge is to survive 40 days and 40 nights in desolation with 11 other people. This 40 day challenge goes well beyond the 3 weeks the body can survive without food and water. They've proven they can survive in the wilderness, but can they survive each other?

In the eastern badlands of Columbia is the Orinoco River Basin, temperatures peak to 120 degrees, and it host the most deadly predators on land and water. Here they have four unique ecosystems to place the survivalists. Instead of a community setting from the beginning the participants are placed along with two others and expected to find the other groups. They do not know the identity of the other survivalists or how many are in the challenge. Each person comes equipped with a survival tool, a knife and a map. Each group will obtain an XLR (XL Rating) at the end of the 40 days.

Roca Diablo: This group consists of Jeff, Hakim and EJ with a XLR of 7.9. Their terrain is jagged lava rock where water is hard to find. Initially Jeff and Hakim find each other and bro hug it out, excited to see each other (apparently they are friends outside of N&A). A few hours later they find their other alpha male, EJ, who brings along cactus for them to eat and drink to start their journey. How pumped must they be to be all male? On Day 2 they travel to search for a safe place for their shelter but Hakim is already feeling the effects of extreme heat. Rather than search for water they decide that their shelter is more important. Ultimately this proves to be a mistake because Hakim is debilitated by severe cramps due to dehydration and is forced to tap out on day 4. It begs the question, why didn't the other two search for water for their teammate rather than try to talk him into staying or leaving? It's disappointing because Hakim could have ben a great group mediator.

Rio Negro: This group consists of Laura, Eva and Dani with a XLR of 8.2. Their ecosystem involves arid forest. Laura and Eva find each other and it is apparent they they are already friends. As they search for water, the third team member is lost a few miles away, unaware that there are two other survivalists nearby. Dani decides to build herself a (kickass) platform shelter with mosquito net for the night. The next morning she wakes up with a swollen eye but finds a nearby columbian herbal plant that helps with the inflammation. Eva and Laura are hounded by bugs and begging for water, even drinking from the nearby murky river. When they attempt to start a fire for boiling Eva slices her finger to the bone and medics are called in. In true badass fashion, Eva choses to stay in the challenge and get sutured on site without anesthesia or sterilization. This could mean a potential infection in her future. After four days the group still hasn't found each other.

Cano Verde: This group consists of Luke, Chris and Honora with a XLR of 7.8. You may remember Honora from verbally berating her partner and being forced to tap out unconscious due to sun poisoning. Her partners are obviously disappointed in having her on their team but she's excited for redemption. On day 2 they split a 1500 calorie lizard between the three of them, the most so far.

El Bosque: This groups consists of Alana, Danielle and Shane with a XLR of 7.6. Shane considers himself "the" alpha male but finds himself craving the female attention. He's thrilled to build the shelter while the women conserve energy and even climbs a tree (falling once) to obtain mangoes for Danielle so she can recover from a high fever. Once he begins disclosing his past it is clear that he has issues regarding society and social behavior. Alana discloses that she doesn't feel that Shane is mentally stable enough for this type of challenge and expresses that her fears are no longer the predators, but rather Shane.

Its a great idea to separate into teams initially because it would be difficult to follow every participant at once. It will also be interesting to see if the separate sexes fall into tradition societal roles during the challenge. Not to mention, who will make it to the end, if anyone?

Photo credit: Discovery Channel