Survivor: Gabon
Paloma
Eliminated October 2

What was your first impression of Africa?
Paloma: Gabon is beautiful. It's untouched land. Everything is so green - I loved it. It's a very scenic, beautiful place.

The Kota tribe dominated the first six days. What happened?
Paloma: Kota's a very physical tribe. We have a lot of strong athletes. As far as the physical challenges were concerned, we dominated the whole way. We screwed up the puzzle. I feel like the tribe focused so much on the physical aspect of the game that they didn't take into account how important the mental aspect was, and that was our downfall.

Why did you and Ace not get along?
Paloma: Ace and I are like night and day. We have completely different personalities. There's just something about him that rubbed me the wrong way. He's a very arrogant person. He knows he's arrogant and I just don't deal well with cocky people. He thinks he knows everything and I just could not stand him, especially in the circumstances we were in. Not having food or water really magnified my dislike of him.

Why do you think he campaigned to send you home?
Paloma: There are a few reasons, including that I was one of the weaker members of the tribe. I definitely wasn't as physically fit as some of the Kota members. But there were other people who weren't physically fit, either - Sugar was one of them. But Ace took a liking to Sugar [Jessica], and they were together most of the game. So I just feel like I was the only one who really voiced my opinion about not liking him. And whenever he said something that I felt was inappropriate or annoying, I wasn't one to hide my feelings. I was very blunt about how I felt about him. I put a target on myself.

Speaking of Sugar, did you have any idea that she had the immunity idol until you watched the episode?
Paloma: I didn't really feel that she was capable of finding it, but I guess she was. Sugar's a very emotional person. She cries a lot. So, when we talked about while she was gone, we just assumed she was sitting in exile crying, instead of actually looking for the idol. She surprised us all. Given the way she was acting for nine days, we thought for sure that she'd be a wreck.

How hungry and tired were you?
Paloma: I was starving. All I wanted was a cheeseburger! You watch Survivor on TV and think it's easy. But, when you're actually there, it's a completely different story. I love food. And not having it really did affect me. The lack of sleep really got to me, also. It was cold and I was wearing a dress and sleeping on a hard floor. All of that took a toll on me. I was getting weaker and weaker by the minute while I was out there.

Any regrets?
Paloma: In retrospect, I feel that maybe I should have kept my opinion of Ace to myself. I guess I separated myself from the tribe because I didn't like him.

Who are you rooting for now?
Paloma: I'm rooting for Kelly because she was the most legit person out there. She was a good friend. I love her. Bob is an amazing person. I don't think he's rubbed anyone the wrong way. He's just a good man with good values and morals and a good family, so I'm really rooting for him. And also Charlie's one of my favorites. He's really funny and I love him.