Amazing Race Fodder

The Amazing Rat Race?

Things get a bit shook up this week on TAR. I think that the teams are happy that Rob & Amber are gone. But, let's get to the recap....

Teams left Argentina in the order that they left, of course. The new clue they tells them travel by taxi to Marshall glacier where they will ride up a ski-lift then hike a mile to pick up an avalanche beacon that they must use to find another beacon to locate their next clue. It must have been cold, because each team was shivering and complaining that it would be even colder on the glacier. Since the teams are leaving in the middle of the night, it is no surprise that when they arrive at their destination, it does not open until the morning. Most teams check into a hotel to wait until morning. The Guidos got up earlier than everyone else to be the first on the chair-lift. Eric & Danielle and Joe & Bill are not the chummiest of teams right now. Dustin & Kandice completely forget to pick up a pack of gear at the top of the mountain, and have to spend time going all the way back to pick up gear. Read the whole clue girls!

Joe & Bill are the first to find the next clue. This one tells them to travel 7,000 miles to Maputo, Mozambique. Phil let's us know that they have to use a travel agent as international flights can only be booked that way at the Ushuaia airport. But, as flights are scarce, each team is provided with a ticket that will get them to Maputo in case they are not able to find another flight. Well, surprise surprise, nobody takes the flight they are provided with. All of the teams are lucky enough to get on the same flight to Mozambique that will arrive at 9:40 in the morning.

Once they land, teams must find the marked cars with drivers to take them 45 miles to the Apopo Training field to find their next clue. The training field is not open when they arrive either. Luckily, they do not have to wait overnight this time. Once it opens, they follow a path to the next box that has a ROADBLOCK that asks "Who smells a rat?" In this roadblock, one team member must get chummy with a HUGE rat. It is a cute rat, but it is still HUGE. Like the size of a cat with a tail as long as it's body. It's a good thing Dr. Jones Sr. was not here, he never would have gotten past the rat. These specialized rats are trained to locate left over land mines. The team member must choose a rat and trainer. Then the rat sniffs out a deactivated land mine and the bomb squad is called over to dig up the clue. The land mines are deactivated, but I suppose they are not taking any chances. Either that or the dig team wanted some camera time too. This just reminds me too much of The Tick. "Spoon!"

The next clue they get in this rat race (yes, insert groan now) sends them back to Maputo to search for the Praca dos Trabalhadores. This building is designed by Gustaf Eiffel is where the teams will find their next clue. Some of the teams get lost on the way because they cannot read street signs, but everyone eventually shows up. The clue they encounter is a DETOUR. In this detour, teams must choose between Pamper or Porter. In Pamper, teams make their way to a market and find a marked stall where they will have to convince people to pay them to paint their nails. Teams must earn 30 menekites (about 1 US dollar) and return to the stall to get their next clue. In Porter, teams must make their way 2 miles to Mercado Janet where they must use their hands to fill 10 large 45 pound bags with coal and then sew them shut. They must then deliver one of the bags about half a mile away by foot to receive their next clue. Most of the teams choose to do Porter. The ones that chose Pamper were Charla & Mirna, Dustin & Kandice and Teri & Ian. Although, Teri & Ian didn't really choose it, their driver took them to the wrong destination. Charla & Mirna are the first to arrive and they have a great time trying to get people to let them paint their nails. Dancing, singing generally making themselves look goofy, but hey it worked! Dustin & Kandice also chose to paint nails and were kind enough to paint the nails of one little girl that had no money to give them. Teri & Ian bartered their way into doing only two people to make the money they needed. The teams over at Porter were not having as much luck at all. They were all dirty, sweaty and exhausted by the end of the task. Some were smart and found people to help them get to the delivery destination, Uchenna & Joyce were not so lucky though.

Upon completing the detour, they must travel to the Fortaleza which is the Pit Stop for this leg of the race. Due to the relative ease of the Pamper task, they all arrived well ahead of the Porter teams. The teams arrived at the Pit Stop in the following order:
1. Charla & Mirna -- who each won a trip for two
2. Dustin & Kandice
3. Teri & Ian
4. Oswald & Danny
5. Joe & Bill (who beat the following team in a foot race to do it)
6. Eric & Danielle
7. Uchenna & Joyce

Now, you knew it was coming, this is the first non-elimination leg. Uchenna & Joyce are lucky that they are still in the race. However, they are now marked for elimination. If they do not come in first on the next leg, they will incur a 30 minute penalty that could knock them out of the race. It looks like next week will be a very interesting show. For some unknown reason, Eric & Danielle get themselves kicked off a flight. I for one cannot wait to see what they did.


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