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The Amazing Race: It's Not Chilly in Chile

Well, last week I was disappointed in the TAR, but this week, I have renewed faith. This leg was much more like what I expected for an All-Star Amazing Race. We were informed toward the beginning of the show that during the rest period, Drew suffered from altitude sickness. I think they did that to let us know why he was being such an a** during this leg. Wait â€“ maybe heâ€™s always like that.

Teams left in the order that they arrived and found out they were to fly 2400 miles to Santiago, Chile. Once there, they should travel by taxi to the Codelco Building, which is the largest copper mining company in the world. They also received $487 for this leg of the race. They were provided with cars to get to the airport. This was not as easy as it would seem, as there were treacherous potholes the size of a small car to navigate through.

A small alliance formed between Mary & David and Charla & Mirna. David navigated the way for all of them to get to the airport and even helped Charla & Mirna when their car was stuck in the pothole. Drew got stuck in the same pothole, only he was not so lucky as to have another team help. Or should I say Kevin was not so lucky as he was the one that attached himself to the towrope in an attempt to pull the car loose. The good news is it worked. The bad news is Drew almost forgot to stop the car and Kevin had to run along side until he stopped. Does this remind anyone else of National Lampoonâ€™s Vacation? (only Kevin fared better).

At the airport, it seems that Rob & Amber and Oswald & Danny are able to get on a flight that gets them into Chile at 1:50 a.m. All the other teams are on a flight that will arrive at 2:30 a.m. Good for Rob, Amber, Oswald and Danny, right? Oops! Their connecting flight is delayed and they actually do not arrive until about half an hour after the other teams. I am not sure why they didnâ€™t try to get on another plane (say the one with the other teams) sooner. They only tried after it was way to late. Come on people, you all know better!

There is a bit of trouble on the other plane though. David & Mary put their carry on stuff in first class. Drew did not like that and took all of their gear out and put it on the floor. David was noticeably upset, but nothing really ensued. I am wondering why the airline crew did nothing to prevent Drew from handling other passengerâ€™s belongings. Hmm.

Once they arrive at Codelco, the clue they find is a ROADBLOCK. Only one team member may complete this task. It asked, â€œWho has a great attention to detail?â€ The chosen team member is sent into a ground floor boardroom where they must search for letters. Yup, letters. They are everywhere on clothing, doodle pads, pens, everywhere. Then they must unscramble the letters to find their next destination, show it to the guard outside that will given them their clue, if they are correct. What they didnâ€™t know was that the 10 pictures on the wall were also labeled. One of these pictures was in fact the next place they were going.

This task took a very long time for some of the teams. The ones that had the hardest time were the ones that spent too much time looking at the table and not around the rest of the room. Dustin or Kandice (no, I still canâ€™t tell them apart) was the first to figure it out and get the clue. I must say that Mary was very good at this also. The first thing she did was write down the names on the pictures. Then when she saw the letters, it was a no-brainer. They also helped Charla & Mirna along here. Kevin peeked over her shoulder and got the correct answer too. Finally! An All-Star worthy challenge! The word they needed was CHUQUICAMATA. The name of the largest open pit copper mine in the world.

The clue that they receive from the guard tells them to fly 230 miles to Calama where they will make their way to the mine they just wrote down. All of the teams were on the same flight to Calama.

Once at the mine, the teams must don full safety gear before they are allowed to search for their clue. The clue they find is a DETOUR. They can choose between By Hand or By Machine. In By Hand, teams must choose a two-ton tire; properly align the bolts and washers to finish securing the tire to the truck. Once properly done, they will receive their next clue. In By Machine both team members must take turns driving a front loader. Once they have piled enough gravel to reach a pre-determined mark, the foreman will give them their next clue. Only Ron & Amber and Joe & Bill chose By Machine. This task actually proved most difficult for David & Mary. They were the last ones to correctly fasten all of their bolts so that they could well, bolt. Sorry.

The last clue tells them to drive in the provided cars 71 miles to and through the Valley of the Moon. They are to drive only 40KMH through the Valley. After they are through the Valley, they can speed up to 50 KMH to reach the Valley of the Dead, which is the Pit Stop for this leg of the race. Charla & Mirna hired a taxi driver to follow to the place, but Dustin & Kandice decided to hitch a ride and follow. Well, Charla & Mirna would have none of that. They stopped the car and told them if they wanted to follow, they would need to pay half the fee. Not a bad strategy, but it also put them behind when other teams passed them up. What I want to know is why does Mirna always adopt an Indian accent when she talks in English to people that do not understand English? Fascinating. Drew misunderstands the clue and thinks they are only allowed to drive 40 KMH the whole way. He takes some time driving down the middle of the road to block anyone else, but they eventually speed around him, as they know they are now OK to go faster.

The teams arrive at the Pit Stop in the following order:
1. Rob & Amber
2. Oswald & Danny
3. Joe & Bill
4. Eric & Danielle
5. Uchenna & Joyce
6. Dustin & Kandice
7. Teri & Ian
8. Charla & Mirna
9. David & Mary
10. Drew & Kevin

Yes, sadly Drew & Kevin were eliminated. Kevin took it well, Drew did not. Maybe it was because he was still suffering. Rob & Amber each won an off-road motorcycle for winning this leg of the race. Letâ€™s hope that next week is just as fun and exciting.


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