Friends Eric & Jeremy once again set the pace as the nine Teams made their way to Moscow, Russia, where Yolanda and Wanda each confronted their fear of water in a frightening high dive Roadblock. Teamed up with Eric & Jeremy, childhood friends Danielle & Dani made a huge mistake that pushed them to last place, while the guys stepped onto the mat in Red Square first. However, rather than announcing they were the first Team to arrive, Phil informed the pair the leg was not over and handed them their next clue.
Departing the Pit Stop in first place at 4:48 am, best friends BJ & Tyler opened their clue to discover they had to travel three miles to a farm where they would take an exhilarating ride on a zipline 300 feet across a valley. Arriving at the farm still in the darkness of the early morning, the best friends found it closed until 7 am. While waiting, “the hippies” decided to have some fun and hid in some bushes and jumped out to scare Eric & Jeremy when they arrived. After dating couple Joseph & Monica showed up, BJ jumped on the hood of the approaching car of dating couple Dave & Lori to earn a few laughs.At 7 am, the gates of the farm opened, allowing the four Teams to run up the hillside overlooking the lush Brazilian countryside. After gearing up, BJ & Tyler sailed across the valley first with shouts of “Bonsai!” After both completed the zipline, they opened their next clue instructing them to fly 7,300 miles to Moscow, Russia and find Chaika Bassein, a water sports facility once used to train Olympic athletes. To get to the São Paulo airport, Teams needed to return to the Brotas bus station and take the next available charter bus. Butting their helmets in excitement, the best friends shouted their familiar phrase, “TTOW,” which they describe as their “power word” and “the circle of the universe.”
As most Teams began arriving at and completing the zipline, married parents Lake & Michelle had a slow start to their morning, instantly turning the wrong way out of the Pit Start. Standing on the hood of the VW bug in the middle of the seemingly endless field of sugar canes, Lake remarked, “Can you believe this?” After having to backtrack again, Michelle became concerned about the speed that Lake was driving on the uneven dirt road, to which Lake responded, “If you don’t shut up…” Once the couple finally arrived at the farm, now in second to last place, Lake had the distinction of being the only Racer who instantly recoiled at the thought of traveling to Russia, yelling, “Dang gummit! I was hoping we wouldn’t have to go to Russia!”After the first bus, carrying the leading four Teams, departed for Brotas, Lake & Michelle’s excitement at being on the second bus turned sour when Michelle momentarily thought she lost their fanny pack. Once she realized it was in the car, Lake scolded her, saying, “Do not take the fanny pack off ever.” After Michelle said, “I’m not arguing over something so silly,” Lake retorted, “Michelle, don’t be a bitch now.”
Alone on the last charter bus to Brotas, married 40 year couple Fran & Barry expressed some concern, commenting, “It’s going to be hard to catch up.” However, after two previous legs of near eliminations, Barry added, “It’s not over ‘til it’s over.” Indeed, the married couple breathed a huge sigh of relief when they met up with the other eight Teams at the São Paulo airport and booked tickets on the same Lufthansa flight arriving at 12:10 pm. A thrilled Barry remarked, “Here we are, back in it again.”
Landing in Moscow, BJ & Tyler took a quick lead out of the airport, followed by Danielle & Dani and Eric & Jeremy who took a van together after teaming up to gather information on the plane. In an effort to save money, Dave & Lori and Joseph & Monica also shared a taxi van. While Fran & Barry instantly discovered the potentially problematic language barrier, mother and daughter Wanda & Desiree got the last taxi out of the airport.Arriving at Chaika Bassein in first place, BJ & Tyler opened their clue to find a Roadblock. In this Roadblock, one Team member had to put on a bathing suit and, braving the frigid weather, climb to the edge of the 10-meter board and jump into the pool. Once they took the plunge, they had to swim across the pool and dive to the bottom to retrieve their next clue. While Tyler eagerly volunteered for the task, Yolanda immediately regretted her decision because she didn’t know how to swim. She remarked, “Whenever I get into water, I sink.”
With all the Teams on the way to the monastery, only Wanda remained to retrieve her clue in the pool. While she had no difficulties with the dive, her problems began on the other side of the pool where her clue waited anchored in the deep water, one of Wanda’s biggest fears. After one attempt at lowering herself down, a frantic Wanda cried, “Oh my God, we’re going to lose because of this.” Daughter Desiree tried to comfort her mother by saying, “Don’t cry. You can do this.” After a second attempt, even more frantic, Wanda screamed, “I’m going to drown. I don’t know how to get under.” In hysterics, Wanda tried several more times with no success. Desiree noted, “You’re psyching yourself out. Are you capable of doing this? Yes, you are.” Mustering up her courage, Wanda took another shot, descending into the deep water and returned with a clue as Desiree screamed in excitement. Seeing her mother’s strength and determination brought Desiree to tears as she said, “I’m so proud of her.” While Wanda’s difficulties pushed them to last place, the pair couldn’t believe their eyes when Danielle & Dani returned to Chaika Bassein, having to split from a disappointed Eric & Jeremy, because they left their fanny pack behind in the changing room.
Arriving on the Novodevichiy Monastery grounds, BJ & Tyler entered the Smolensk Cathedral where they admired the spectacular paintings and architecture before taking their Detour clue. In this Detour, Teams had to choose between Scrub and Scour. In Scrub, Teams needed to travel to a trolley depot and wash an entire Moscow trolley inside and out. While it would be a physical task, Teams could control their own destiny, finishing as fast as their stamina allows. In Scour, Teams had to travel to a theater and search through 1,500 multi-piece Russian nesting dolls in order to find one of 10 microscopic clues. While there would be nothing physical about the task, Teams would have to rely on their luck and could take a long time to finish.Understanding the inherent risk of a potentially endless search through nesting dolls, BJ & Tyler, Fran & Barry, Eric & Jeremy and Lake & Michelle all opted to wash a trolley car, while dating couple Ray & Yolanda chose to search through the nesting dolls. However, getting to the trolley depot proved incredibly difficult in a country where no one could communicate. After their cab drivers took them to the wrong location, BJ & Tyler and Fran & Barry changed their decision and headed to the theater where the other Teams decided to go to as well.
Arriving at the theater together, Lake & Michelle, Ray & Yolanda and Eric & Jeremy began searching through the intricate dolls as a Russian band played and dancers surrounded the Teams. Realizing that this task could take a lot of time, Jeremy joked, “[This] was Ray & Yolanda’s dumb idea.” A sharp Yolanda retorted, “You should have picked your own damn Detour.” While the task proved frustrating, Eric became the first person to find the tiny clue hidden in the smallest doll. After reading the instructions to find Phil near St. Basil’s Cathedral in Red Square, the friends took off with Lake & Michelle close behind.
Unaware that Dave & Lori and Joseph & Monica’s taxi driver had them lost in the city, Wanda & Desiree and Danielle & Dani arrived at the trolley depot hoping to avoid elimination by cleaning a very filthy trolley car. As Wanda began scrubbing the body of the trolley, Desiree washed the windows. A very cold Danielle remarked, “My hands are freezing. I wish I was in Brazil right now.” However, the two female Teams received a pleasant surprise when the dating couples finally arrived at the depot. They weren’t in last place and had a sizable lead on the task.As Ray & Yolanda continued to search among the dolls, Fran & Barry and BJ & Tyler arrived. A frustrated Ray said, “That music is playing with my head. I can’t find this dang thing.” Ray’s irritation turned to elation when he finally found the microscopic clue allowing him and Yolanda to proceed to Red Square. Looking at the expansive table of dolls, a disappointed Fran noted, “We could have had two trolleys washed already.” While Tyler excitedly found his clue, the increasingly exhausted Fran & Barry tried to remain optimistic as they kept searching through each set of dolls.
Arriving at Red Square at nearly the same time, Eric & Jeremy and Lake & Michelle searched for St. Basil’s Cathedral where Phil stood waiting. In a close footrace, the friends beat out the married couple, excited to hear Phil tell them they were the first Team to arrive. However, instead of another prize, the pair received their next clue. This leg was not over.
To Be Continued