The Amazing Race 9 – Recap – Episode 9-2

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Using my crappy Excel skills, I decided to create a cleaner looking Leaderboard this season:

Due to size constraints, you may feel like you’re killing yourself trying to read that. I’m working on it.

Last week, we got back to what is really the core of ‘The Amazing Race’ – yep, rushing to get on airplanes and exclaiming “muy rapido, por favor” to taxi drivers across the world. In this case, Sao Paolo, Brazil – a country which speaks Portuguese and the phrase (according to Babelfish) translates to “muy rapido, please”.

Aside from all that, we actually saw a leg that involved NO BOTTLENECKS. No camping on the beach, no “search for one of three departure times”, nothing, aside from the opening dash to the airport. Great stuff, and I hope that we see more of it, but since they’re heading north (WAY north) either this leg or next, I wouldn’t count on it.

Let’s look at the leg:

Initial flights – Denver Airport – Some teams played it smart and checked up on arrival times as soon as they could. Unfortunately, the shrewdness didn’t quite pay off as the American flight arrived second.

Detour – Motorhead or Rotorhead
Rotorhead was the best option for most teams, as many were not what you might call mechanically inclined. However, Lake and Ray seemed to be ok with tools and maintained their positions.

Speaking of positions, there was a lot more exchanging of position than you’d expect once they hit Rio. Most obvious was John and Scott’s drop from the first group to land to dead last. But Fran and Barry didn’t do much better, finding themselves unable to find a cluebox located in an obvious position, and now find themselves in the back of the pack we start the next leg.

Speaking of which, it’s time for LIVE coverage of:
The Amazing Race 9, Episode 2, I’m Filthy and I Love It

Last week, teams went from Denver, CO to Rio do Janeiro, Brazil. Teams searched for a bridge, assembled bikes and rode in a helicopter. In the end, Eric and Jeremy finished first, and John and Scott were the first team eliminated from the Race. Who will be eliminated… next?

Opening Credits

We are in Stadia el Pacamenbu, a football stadium in Sao Paolo, Brazil. This was the first Pit Stop in a race around the world (and they mean it this time). Teams must rest here for a predetermined amount of time before starting the next leg of the Race.

Eric and Jeremy, who were the first to arrive, will be the first to depart at 5:34am. They’re told to travel 2.5 miles to Edificio Capon, at Blocco F. They decide to wait for the Hippies.

BJ and Tyler, 5:36am. They’ve bonded with the Frat Boys, and they head out together.

Wanda and Desiree (weird to call them Boricuas without having Savio Vega around J ), 5:45am. They’re confident.

Lori and David, 5:49am. They piss my wife off.

Eric and Jeremy encounter a cross dressing prostitute. All four teams arrive, and find out that the Blocco doesn’t open until 8am. So yep, first thing this leg, we get a bottleneck.

Michelle and Lake, 6:10am, They tell us that they have $23 dollars for this leg.

Monica and Joseph, 6:13am. They’re happy to be where they are considering they were on the last flight into Sao Paolo.

Yolanda and Ray, 6:47am. Yolanda doesn’t like their position.

Fran and Barry, 7:06am.

Danielle and Dani, 7:19am. They’re gonna push themselves.

Lisa and Joni, 7:28am. They feel out of their element. And holy crap they’ve overpacked.

Now it’s 8am and the teams find the clue and encounter a

Roadblock – Who’s ready for a fire drill? – Team members can climb one of three fire escapes, and then rappel down the side. The order of descent is determined by the order they arrive at the roof.

Lake, Ray, Fran, Joni, Desiree, Jeremy, Danielle, Dave, Joseph, and BJ take it.

Jeremy arrives first at roof 1, followed by Ray, and Joesph is at the second roof, followed by Lake, and BJ is the only one to take Roof 3. Desiree and Danielle are third and fourth at roof 1. Dave is third at roof 2, followed by Joni. Fran is fifth at Roof 1.

Jeremy finishes the Roadblock first, and is told to travel to the bus station and take one of three buses 150 miles to Brotas, Brazil, where they’ll pick an old school VW Beetle to get their next clue. The departure times are: 10:15am, 11:15am, and 12:15pm.

Most people finish the task without much problem, but Danielle has some worries. We saw this with D.J. Paolo last season, so I’m guessing that it’s just tension leading into the

Ad Break

We’re back, and Danielle gets a comforting hug from Fran, and that’s exactly what she needed to get through this. Joni just uses her weight to get down.

BJ notes that they need to look for Terminal Turistico. Lots of teams ruse around, and Frat Boys, Hippies and Monica and Joseph get the 10:15am bus. Yolanda is pissed that they just missed it and take 11:15am tickets.

Wanda and Desiree get 11:15am, as do Lori and David.

Double D, Fran and Barry, Michelle and Lake and the sisters are on the last bus.

The Frat Boys admire Danielle’s guns (biceps, that is) and buns.

All the teams are enjoying the scenery on the bus.

Brotas. Teams rip the clue and encounter a

Detour – Press it or Climb it
Press it – Teams travel to an old plantation, process raw sugar cane into juice, and convert the juice to ethanol. And then use it in their bug.
Climb it – Drive to a waterfall, hike to the base, and ascend a 90 foot wall.

All three teams choose Climb it. The Hippies are so living up to the stereotype. Tyler ascends first. Monica is second.

The second bus arrives. The Nerds and Wanda and Desiree decide on Press it (David did some “experiments” in school), while Yolanda and Ray are Climbing.

BJ finishes, and the clue tells them to travel 20 miles to Primavera de Serra, the second Pit Stop in the Race. The first team to arrive “may” be eliminated.

Eric finishes, as does Joseph. Jeremy finishes soon after.

The third bus arrives, and the sisters opt to Press, while the other three teams choose to climb. And since we’re at half past the hour, some mechanical problem is imminent. And we get it, as the sisters have trouble driving going into the

Ad Break

Back, and Lisa is still flipping out. But they get it sorted out.

But now, it’s a sprint to the finish. Quote of the week (courtesy The Frat Boys):
“I hope the girls do good.”
“I hope they don’t get eliminated”
“Then what do we do, hook up with Hippies?”

Yolanda and Ray are ascending, Lori and David are making moonshine, and Wanda and Desiree miss the turn.

Ray notes that Yolanda’s got stronger legs than him. The Nerds finish up and head to the Pit Stop. Yolanda and Ray finish the task. Desiree notes that this is payback for falling asleep in chemistry.

Wanda and Desiree finish the task. Lisa and Joni are bickering. Eric and Jeremy think that they’re going the wrong way. Eric and Jeremy stop for directions while the Hippies keep going, and end up as team number one! And they’ve won a trip for two to Tahiti.

Eric and Jeremy threaten to slap Phil (hey, NOT cool) as they arrive in second. Monica and Joseph are team number three.

Fran and Barry arrive at the waterfall, as do Michelle and Lake. The girls are nowhere to be found, so we’re looking at a race between Double D and Lisa and Joni as we hit another

Ad Break

Back from the break, and Michelle is doing pretty well on the ascender. Fran makes it up just before Lake.

Lori and David arrive as Team Number Four. Yolanda and Ray are Team Number Five. And despite their fears, Wanda and Desiree are Team Number Six.

Meanwhile, Double D arrive at the waterfall as Barry starts his climb. So they’re not too far behind. But how are they compared to the Sisters? Well, their car stalls but they do make it to the plantation, and start pressing.

The girls finish the Climb, and it looks like the Sisters will be Philiminated.

Lake is done with people speaking Spanish. Exactly.

Barry’s battery dies. Double D pass them and note what a tough break it was for them. Fran and Barry think that they’re done.

Michelle and Lake may be headed in the wrong direction, and Fran and Barry get a replacement car.

Danielle and Dani arrive at the same time as Michelle and Lake. We get a footrace, and team number Seven are… Michelle and Lake! Danielle and Dani are right behind in eighth.

It’s dark now, and we get the usual “who’s finishing next-to-last?” montage, and the honour goes to Fran and Barry.

And now, as anticipated, Lisa and Joni are the last team to arrive, and they’ve been Philiminated. Lisa is upset that she’s not going any further, but Joni notes that they did the best that they could do.

Next week, teams travel to Moscow, search through hundreds of those nested doll things, and Wanda can’t swim.

Kevin has been an Insider since 2003, writing on a variety of topics ranging from The Amazing Race to Mixed Martial Arts. His current hobbies include Fantasy Football, Sporcle, travelling, making liberal use of his DVR and wondering what the heck he's gonna do when his two daughters are old enough to date. You can follow Kevin on Twitter (@starvenger).