BY RAY ROUTHIER

MaineToday Media, Inc.

As a teacher, Bob Crowley has always been interested in new experiences and new places to learn about.

But he can't afford most of the trips he'd like to take. So if gets a chance to take a free trip -- perhaps one that takes him into the wilds of western Africa, for instance -- he jumps at it.

That's how he landed on the new season of the CBS reality show "Survivor," which kicks off at 8 p.m. Sept. 25.

"I always tell my students, if there was a boat going to Brazil today, I'd jump on as long as it doesn't cost me anything," said Crowley, 57, a physics teacher at Gorham High School who lives in South Portland. "I'm always open for an adventure."

Crowley will be one of 18 contestants on "Survivor: Gabon -- Earth's Last Eden." Crowley and his fellow castaways, most of whom are much younger than he, will be seen trying to survive in the wilderness of Gabon, a country on the western coast of Africa.

Contestants struggle to find food and shelter while battling each other and a series of physical and mental challenges set up by the producers. Each week, the castaways vote one contestant off the show. During the season's finale, tentatively scheduled for December, the last contestant standing will get $1 million.

To survive in the African wilderness, and to survive the back-stabbing fest a season on "Survivor" usually becomes, a person needs a diverse skill set.

Crowley would seem to have that. He teaches physics -- or, as he says, "I stand in front of students and discuss physics" -- so he's used to dealing with a lot of different personalities.

He's also been first mate on an ocean research vessel, does some lobster fishing, has relocated skunks and other wild animals, negotiated for his teacher's union and raised chickens.

He's not afraid of heights, as evidenced by the fact that he does tree cutting and pruning for people on the side. His other interests include bone collecting, archeology, camping and storytelling.

For exercise (as if lobstering and tree climbing weren't enough exercise), he goes canoeing and in-line skating.

And he built his own vacation house out of used building materials, including lots of slate discarded when some of the buildings at Fort Williams in Cape Elizabeth were torn down.

"I think he'll be the perfect contestant, because he can flex from being friendly and generous to occasionally hyper-paranoid," said Glenn Cummings of Portland, with a little laugh. Cummings, who is speaker of the Maine House of Representatives, taught with Crowley at Gorham High School for about 10 years.

Cummings thinks a veteran high-school teacher should have an edge on "Survivor," because so much of the time, contestants are lying to one another and trying to form cliques that will help them survive.

"As a high-school teacher, you get to learn who is telling the truth and who is not, and who needs a break and who needs a kick in the pants," Cummings said.

Crowley lives in South Portland with his wife, Peggy. They have three grown children -- two sons and a daughter.

Crowley is not a big "Survivor" fan. He watched the first season in 2000 intently, and watched again in 2004 when Gorham's Julie Berry was on. Berry had been a student of Crowley's, but he says his being on the show is not related in any way to her appearance.

"It's a total fluke," he said.

Crowley, who has taught at Gorham High School for 20 years, said students at the school knew about his being on the show as soon as it was announced online this week. When he walked down the senior corridor Thursday -- the school is already in session -- the students broke into applause.

"About a dozen came up to me to say they were pulling for me," Crowley said.

No Mainer has ever won "Survivor," but others have tried since the show first went on the air in 2000.

Zoe Zanidakis, a lobster-boat captain from Monhegan, was on the show in 2002. She made it through nine of the show's 12 episodes before being voted off by her fellow castaways, 7 to 1.

Berry, who was then a recent college graduate, got the closest to winning when she was on the show in 2004. She made it to the final five before being voted off. After the show, Berry and host Jeff Probst began dating, but Probst has since told magazines that the relationship has ended.

In 2006, Tina Scheer, owner of an attraction near Bar Harbor called the Great Maine Lumberjack Show, joined the show in Panama. Despite her skills as a lumberjack performer, she was voted off quickly.

The fall season of "Survivor" was filmed this past summer in Gabon. But Crowley can't talk about his big, free trip. Not yet.

"Survivor" contestants are not allowed to say how they did until after their outcomes have aired.

So if you want to find out if Crowley's skills as a teacher, lobsterman, tree pruner and skunk relocator served him well, you'll have to watch the show like the rest of the country.