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PAOLOS GO BANANAS; GAGHANS GOOF UP

As Teams made their way to the lush tropical rainforests of Costa Rica, battle lines were drawn when the Paolo family yielded the Weavers in an attempt to eliminate them from the race. While the Paolos finished in first place once again, the stunned and hurt Weavers overcame their last place standing when Tammy Gaghan had major difficulties at the Roadblock. In the end, the Gaghan family couldn’t recover and became the fifth Team eliminated from THE AMAZING RACE.

UNWANTED
Departing the Pit Stop in first place at 8:22 pm, the Paolo family opened their clue to discover they needed to travel over 600 miles on one of three charter buses to San Jose, Costa Rica. The buses would depart 30 minutes apart and were first come, first serve. Once in San Jose, they had to drive 35 miles to the top of Volcan Poas, a 1000-foot deep active volcano. On the volcano’s rim, Teams would find their next clue.

After securing tickets on the earliest bus leaving at 11:30 am the next day, the Paolos had only one other concern: making sure the Weavers wouldn’t be joining them on that bus. DJ remarked, “They better fend for themselves because no one’s gonna help them.” With the arrival of the Linz family at the bus station, the Paolos quickly told them where to sign up for the 11:30am bus, ensuring the Weavers would not be on it. The Weavers, along with the Gaghans, settled for the 12 pm bus. The Bransens, unable to find a taxi, ended up on the 12:30 pm bus along with the penniless, last place Godlewski sisters, who raised enough cash for a taxi ride to the bus station.

COFFEE BREAK?
Arriving in San Jose, Costa Rica in first place, the Paolo family and Linz siblings banded together, paying a taxi driver to lead them to Volcan Poas. Their early lead on the other Teams quickly dissipated once the Paolos and Linzes pulled up to the locked gates at the volcano. A frustrated Megan shouted, “This sucks!” While the Gaghans and Weavers initially had difficulty finding their cars in the dark streets of San Jose, ultimately, the remaining four Teams caught up, as all six slept in their vans overnight.

The next morning, a mad dash ensued when the gates to Volcan Poas opened up. The Linz family set the pace, arriving at the cluebox first with the Gaghans following closely on their heels. Opening their clue, the Teams discovered they needed to drive 17 miles to the Doka Estate, a coffee plantation, where their next clue awaited along with a Yield.

FIVE AGAINST ONE

The Linz siblings took the early lead out of Volcan Poas with the Weavers very close behind. However, when the Weaver family stopped a man on the side of the road for directions, the Paolos passed them, with the intent of yielding them. Then, the Gaghans passed the Weavers, as did the Godlewski sisters, who also wanted to yield the Weavers, joking, “Let’s give them a little gift.” With the Bransen clan also passing them up, the Weavers fell to last place before finally receiving directions from the local.

The five Teams ahead of the Weavers all descended onto Doka Estates together with one common goal: to yield the Weavers. Grabbing the first number, the Paolo family decided to exercise their yield power on the Weavers, causing other racers to thank and congratulate the Paolos.

HILL OF BEANS
Running to the cluebox, the five Teams ripped open their clues to discover a Roadblock. In this Roadblock, one team member had to search through 800 pounds of coffee beans for the one bean that was colored red.

The women took charge as Marion Paolo, Megan Linz, Tammy Gaghan, Lauren Bransen, and Tricia Godlewski all went to work sorting through their massive pile of coffee beans. While Megan furiously dug through her pile throwing beans everywhere, Marion took her time, being more methodical. However, almost instantly, Tricia found the red bean, prompting her sisters to erupt loudly with joy. Opening the clue, the sisters discovered they needed to drive 94 miles to the small surf town of Jaco and locate a small surf shop where Javier would hand them a clue.

YIELDED
With Marion finding the red bean soon after and heading out to Jaco, the Weaver family finally arrived at the Doka Estates, stunned to see they’d been yielded. To pass the time, Rachel and Rebecca made fun of the garbage truck (Tony Paolo’s a garbage man), in the Paolo family’s picture while waiting for their yield to expire. Pulling out the Godlewski sisters’ picture, the Weavers joked, “I hope those boobs cost a lot!” As the Linz family ran past them after Megan found the red bean, Rachel remarked, “They’re all ganged up against us.” After the Bransens ran by, Rachel glumly added, “No one wants us here.” Linda added, “We’re responsible to a higher authority and we’ll go as far as we can go doing the right thing.”

As the Weavers’ time expired, they joined Tammy Gaghan and her family as she struggled to find the red bean in her pile. Rachel quickly got to work with the support of her family who shouted, “Pray Rachel, pray!” When Rachel found her red bean, Bill Gaghan and his kids became more frustrated as they now stood in last place. However, the Gaghans cheered when Tammy finally found the bean. When Tammy apologized for taking so long, Bill responded, “Don’t worry. You did the best you could.”

INTO THE JUNGLE
Arriving at the surf shop in first place, the Bransen family received their clue from Javier, followed closely by the Paolos. Opening their clue, the families discovered a Detour. In this Detour, Teams had to choose between Relic and Ripe. In Relic, Teams traveled to a nearby rainforest and traversed six precarious rope bridges while searching for four relics of the Mayan civilization. After delivering the relics to an archaeologist, they would receive their next clue. In Ripe, Teams traveled to a nearby banana plantation, gathered 15 bushels of bananas, and loaded them onto hanging tracks. Then, using a locally devised pulley system, Teams needed to haul the bananas to the distribution center.

As the Paolos drove off to the banana plantation, the remaining Teams all opted to search for the relics within the lush Costa Rican rainforest. Driving to the task, Sharon Godlewski became upset with her sisters being backseat drivers and pulled over the truck making Michelle drive instead. Sharon sniped, “Michelle thinks she knows everything. She can drive.”

GOING BANANAS
Arriving at the banana plantation, the Paolo family quickly realized the muscle needed to complete the task. DJ complained, “I can’t lift these.” Even Tony admitted, “They’re heavy, baby.” Working together, the family managed to put the cumbersome and heavy bushels of bananas on the pulley system one at a time.

Meanwhile, the Bransens and Linz families began their trek for the relics, gingerly walking across the swaying rope bridges in the rainforest’s canopy. Nick joked, “Just a walk in the park.” With the rain pouring down, the two Teams found the relics next to a river’s edge and began the hike back out of the rainforest.

HEAVY LIFTING
At the plantation, the Paolos struggled with the exhausting task of hanging the bushels of bananas. Fueled by sheer ambition, Tony began lifting bushels by himself to ensure his family would finish the task. As they delivered the 15 bushels to the distribution center, Brian said, “Dad, you’re a frickin’ monster. I don’t know how you did that.” An admiring DJ added later, “I cannot do what my father does.” Opening their clue, the Paolos learned they had to drive 20 miles to the town of Quepos and find the Pit Stop on a sandy beach.

With the Bransens, Linzes and Godlewskis all completing the Relics task, only the Weaver family and Gaghans needed to finish the Detour. As the Weaver family ran out of the rainforest to get their clue, the Gaghans pulled up to start their trek for the relics. While initially having a comfortable lead, the Weavers watched it slowly disappear when their truck became stuck in the mud. A frustrated Linda screamed, “I can’t do this! I’m sick of doing stuff I can’t do!” After finally getting the truck out, Linda cried, “I’m just tired of this.” In the truck, Rebecca encouraged her mother, “I’m not gonna give up. Keep trying, Momma.”

GAGHANS GO DOWN FIGHTING
Arriving in Quepos at the same time, a footrace for first place ensued between the Paolos, the Bransens and the Linzes. Having the edge from being the first to find a place to park, an excited, but exhausted, Paolo Team stepped onto the mat in first place. Phil informed the happy family they had won a wild ride courtesy of the Wild Bean Café at BP. Each family member could choose between a Segway, a Vespa, a jet ski or an all-terrain vehicle. The Linz family settled for second place while the Bransens came in third.

With the Godlewski sisters taking the fourth spot, the race for last place came down to the Weavers and the Gaghans. Ultimately, the Gaghans couldn’t overcome their bad morning at the Doka Estate, as the Weavers snuck into fifth place. Stepping onto the mat in last place, the Gaghan family learned they had been eliminated from the race. Son Billy remarked, “We ran this real hard and we’re going to go out with our heads held high.” Commenting on his children, Bill added, “What I hope they take out of this is a sense of perseverance and a sense of optimism in no matter what they do in their lives. No matter where you are, you keep trying and you keep fighting. You never give up.”