With apologies to Amazing Race fans and to CBS for purloining a bunch of info from their site, here’s a quick and belated recap of last week’s race.
Beginning at the Pit Stop near Mendoza, Argentina, teams drive 25 miles to the town of La Lunta and look for a horse ranch called Cabaña La Guatana,. Here they find a Roadblock in which one team member must ride a horse around a series of barrels and then, using a stick, spear a ring at the end of the course. If they could perform the task in 40 seconds, a competitive time for an Argentine cowboy, they would receive their next clue.
Lynn & Alex, previous winners, arrive first and Alex aces the challenge. Uchenna and Joyce – Juchenna—arrive next but Joyce has major problems with her steed, falling off a couple of times. Then come Ron and Kelly (Relly), and Kelly completes the course like a pro. Brian and Gregg (Bregg) are next, and have no problem. These are the teams who completed eating the Argentinean Bar-B-Q in the previous episode, which they rejoice about as they arrive, one after the other, at the Mendoza Airport and await the 9:30 a.m. flight to Buenos Aires. The next flight will leave hours later, at 2:30. This makes a clear demarcation between teams battling for first place, and teams battling to avoid coming in last.
Hahahaha, rotten Romber didn’t make the first flight. Kelly commented on Rob’s taking the penalty when he decided not to finish eating the meat, “It just goes to show that if you want to win the Race, you can’t give up on anything, and that’s why we’re on the first flight.” Lynn/Alex put it more succinctly: “Survive that!” they gloat while seated on the plane.
But wait! Back at the horse ranch, Romber arrives and Rob completes the challenge in no time flat. They arrive at the Mendoza airport a couple of minutes before the flight takes off, much to the dismay of the earlier teams.
As they fly off over the Andes, the action heats up back at the horse ranch, where Ray and Deana (Reana) have finally arrived. Deana has an incredibly hard time with her steed, falling, bleeding, getting blisters as she jerks the poor beastie around mercilessly….will somebody tell me just what is it she can do well? Ray is feeling the same way, as he struggles to remain civil to her and not turn into Jonathan, Jr. While she fights with her long-suffering horse, Meredith and Gretch (Metch) arrive and Meredith completes the task quickly. Deana finally gets it right after Susan and Patrick (Umbilicals) arrive. With predictable histrionics, Patrick mounts his horse and complains as his mother gives advice, “I want you to stop before we have an embarrassing moment.” (Like, which moment with you is not embarrassing, Patrick?) These last three teams finally fly off to Buenos Aires on the 2:30 flight.
When the first plane arrives in BA, Romber and L-alex (Team Ex-lax? ExLynn?) grab cabs and make a beeline for the next clue, which they find at the English Clock Tower, where they have to find a furtive looking fellow in a black raincoat who will give them their next clue. Romber’s cab gets there first, putting them back in the lead. Their clue tells them to take a train 20 miles to the town of Tigre, where they will find boat docks at a certain dock at 700 LaValle.
They blast to the station where they find they must wait long enough for the train to allow the other four teams on the first flight to catch up with them. The race is on again in Tigre, where ExLynn and Romber make a run for the docks while Juchenna, Bregg, and Relly somehow manage to get lost in the city. At the docks, teams find a Detour, giving them a choice of finding a particular Shipwreck or a particular Island in a seven-square-mile are of river delta where shipwrecks and islands abound.
The two teams jump into little boats manned by friendly boatmen, and Romber’s boat develops a crack down the center. Rob decides to carry on anyway, at risk of the boat falling apart and they manage to find the correct old Shipwreck hunkered down on it’s rotting keel in some channel. As they limp back to the starting line with their boat threatening to come apart at the seams, ExLynn has boat trouble too, with it’s craft taking on water. Oh nooooo, they’ll have to get another boat. They wait in the channel until one arrives, allowing Relly, Juchenna and Bregg to pass them up. According to the rules, no time credit is given to Teams who need replacement vehicles.
While ExLynn flounders, Rob & Amber are traveling 35 miles by taxi to the town of Vicente Casares to find La Martina, the most prestigious polo club in Argentina and the Pit Stop for this leg of the race. They come in first and win another trip! This time a week’s stay in London. Starry-eyed Amber gives Rob a big kiss. (What girl wouldn’t?) “Everybody thought that for sure we made a mistake when Rob decided to quit, and it didn’t hurt us at all.”
Brian & Greg settled for second place, with Uchenna & Joyce a seconds-later third. Ron & Kelly nabbed fourth place, while a disappointed Lynn & Alex came in fifth.
So the race is for elimination prevention as the 2:30 flight lands in BA. Ray kvetches about being in the same relative position as Metch, whom he considers all but ready for the rest home. “They’re about two decades behind wehre they ought to be.” What a nasty schmuck! Not as bad as Jonathan, but Ray is eroding his thin veneer of civility with every passing minute.
These two teams are on the same train to Tigre and board their little boats as Umbilical, with typical bad judgment and overestimation of themselves and their abilities miss that train and have to take a later one putting them at the back of the pack. Nevertheless, they think they are first and beating the other two teams. (The Liberal mind at work! LOL)
Earth to Patrick: You’re toast and we’re glad.
In Tigre, Meredith & Gretchen took an early lead to the docks while Ray & Deana wandered through the city long enough for Susan & Patrick to pass them. With all three Teams searching for the island in a tight race, Umbilical’s boat broke down, and Huzzah, they are last to arrive.
How will Umbilical react to seeing the entire show, edited, I’m sure, to reveal them at their worst. LOL. Even TAR7’s editors and producers must have been thrilled to see these two jerks eliminated. Sayonara! Ciao! Good Riddance!
Final Order:
Rob and Amber
Brian and Greg
Uchenna and Joyce
Ron and Kelly
Lynn and Alex
Ray and Deana
Meredith and Gretch
Susan and Patrick ELIMINATED
I’m a Left Coaster, not checking back in until mañana.
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