Amazing Race - 10.12.08

Kelly and Christy apparently suspect sports bra sabotage from Starr, because a sports bra ended up falling off a ledge. Hmm. Who knows?

The next leg of the race starts off by sending teams to La Paz, Bolivia, which is at 12000 ft above sea level. Once they get there, they have to get to a statue of Simone Bolivar in time to get the morning newspaper, and then they have to look through the classifieds to look for the next clue.

Some interesting observations... Sarah realized that this is a race against other teams and not a popularity contest. I'm so glad she informed us. The Frat Boys think that they are in shape and sexy. Hmmm. Brooke and Marissa feel that people underestimate them. I don't think so.

The teams get to Bolivia in two groups, which seem not to have any advantage what so ever, and the usual airline drama is completely skipped. When they get to the statue, they actually get some really lovely looking blankets, even though they have to camp out on the ground. In the mornig, after shaving and getting makeup on, a couple teams enlist local help for the next day. The papers arrive and everyone starts looking like crazy.

Amazingly, the Frat Boys are the first to see it - They have to go to Narvaez' Hat and Shoe store and buy a traditional Cholita hat. As part of the clue, it tells them to Hold Onto Their Hats. Wonder who will forget this time? Some other teams found the clue, too, and started out on foot instead of taking a taxi. The altitude is starting to bother some people.

The first to get their Cholitas are The Frat Boys and Terrence and Sarah. The shop does not seem too hard to find, because there is no drama about finding it.

Detour:

Musical March - Teams must travel on foot to two plazas several blocks apart, where they have to collect musicians, put together a band, and deliver them to a band leader in another location.

Bumpy Ride - Teams must travel by foot to a traditional bike stand. They have to take a bike ride down harrowing cobblestone streets, according to a map, wearing traditional clothes. These are rickity looking bikes.

There is a U-Turn at the end of the Detour, which team members can opt to do once in the game, which forces a chosen team to go back and do the other Detour Task.

It seems like most people are choosing the bikes, and Terrence and Sarah make a clue reading error and start taking a taxi to the musician task. They realize their mistake and turn back to the starting point, then decide to do the bikes. The people on the bikes seem to be doing ok. Christy totally wiped out.

Mark and Bill finished the Detour first (the bike task), and I am even more impressed with them. They have to go by taxi 8 miles to Los Titanes del Ring, and then find their next clue.

The Frat Boys and the blondes are the only ones who did the band task, and it looked really slow. Marisa and Brooke thought that their cheering the band members on got them moving faster, and it seemed to be working. They finished the task before the Frat Boys.

Toni was having troubles with the bike, and so was Aja. Starr and Nick seemed to be walking their bikes a lot of the time, and Christy and Kelly were also having issues. Down a big hill, Nick and Starr got their stride, and contemplated U-turning Kelly and Christy, but did not at this time. Toni and Dallas managed to step it up and got in front of Kelly and Christy.

Out in front, Mark and Bill ran into a snag when their taxi driver stopped for gas. This allowed Ken and Tina to pull into first, where they encounted a Road Block.

For the Road Block, one member of the team has to wrestle a woman - Fighting Cholitas. They will be taught a wrestling routine with 6 moves, and if they get the moves right, the ref will give them their next clue. If they mess up, they have to re-train and try again. This is where their Cholita comes in, because they have to give it to their teacher as a gift.

Ken chose to fight, along with Marisa and Mark. Ken did a really nice job and got his clue.

It's to the pit stop - Mirador el Monticulo.

Hilariously, Terence and Sarah stopped at a red and yellow checkered flag that had nothing to do with the game at all. They then decided to walk through bad traffic. Dallas, Sarah, and Nick decided to do the Roadblock. Andrew and Ty followed suit. Mark messed up and had to go back to re-train. Marisa started well, but then messed up and had to retrain. Kelly was up for their team. Aja told Christy that Starr wanted them to U-turn them. Pissiness ensued.

Dallas looked like he had a great time doing the Roadblock, and Sarah messed up. Mark needed oxygen, and then messed up a second time, and had to go back to training again. Frat Boy did well and got them into third place. Nick and Ty did well and went right on. On their next tries, Mark, Marisa, and Sarah made it through. Last to finish was Kelly and Christy.

Ken and Tina came in first and won a 7 night trip for two to Cabo San Lucas. Beautiful.

The others seemed to be totally at the mercy of traffic and taxi drivers.

Toni and Dallas made it to the pit stop second. Terrence and Sarah came in third, followed by Marisa and Brooke.

Mark and Bill realized on the way to the pit stop that they had taken a taxi to the Bumpy Ride detour, which they were not supposed to do. Ooops.

Aja and Ty came fifth, followed by Nick and Starr. Frat Boys Andrew and Dan came in seventh.

Mark and Bill were eighth, and end up with a 30-minute penalty. Ouch. Ouch. Ouch.

Christy and Kelly arrived last, but Mark and Bill's penalty put them last. I'm so sad for the Geeks. It is sadly, not a non-elimination leg, and they are out. I am saddened. I don't know who to root for now.