As in the U.K. show, each tribe will have its own island during the early part of the show, with tribal council taking place on a third island. Filming will take place during the migration season, to enhance the natural beauty. A map of the islands can be found in a Flash window on the U.K. site, by clicking on the image of the islands on the bottom right of the page.
Although Panama is consistent with the rumors of a Central American or Caribbean site for the next Survivor, CBS managed to mislead the folks at Survivor Maps, who 'discovered' that the location would be Mexico. This is similar to Survivor Maps' previous confirmation of Jordan as the site for Survivor 4, which was actually held in the Marquesas Islands. Score another point for CBS in its war against spoilers.
Hopefully, the challenges derived from local history won't include fighting outbreaks of malaria, digging canals, or driving crooked dictators.out of their palaces by blasting them with loud rock music.