Hello Race fans. Kevin Wong is away this week and I have volunteered to take over for the Live Coverage this week. Hopefully I can keep up to the high standard Kevin has set. Sadly I do not have a cool leader board like Kevin has every week.
Check back at 8 p.m. Eastern.
Here things go”¦
Phil gives a rundown of what happened in the previous episode, including how BJ and Tyler managed to sneak in at fifth because Lake and Michelle messed up. Five teams remain”¦who will be eliminated next?
Hopefully not the Hippies.
Starting pit stop
Rio, Greece
With five teams left I really feel like the best five are still around. Over the past few years a good team or two would fall by the wayside through fluke or bad luck. For the most part the teams that have been Philiminated deserved to be and were not surprises. If that form holds it should be between Fran & Berry or Ray & Yolanda gone tonight. Although The Hippies look to be trailing badly.
Back on”¦Phil describes the beauty of the Peloponnesian.
Eric & Jeremy leave at 11:54 am.
Fly to Muscat, Oman. Find an incense burner for next clue.
Must get a charter bus to airport.
Despite their cockiness Eric & J
MoJo leave at 4:31 a.m.
Wow that’s a big lead for the jocks.
Ray & Yolanda leave at 4:41 a.m.
These two seem to be lost already and are fighting two minutes into the leg.
MoJo and Jocks are both on first bus at 9 a.m.
Fran & Berry leave at 6:20 a.m.
They get the first bus charter.
Hippies leave at 8:51 a.m.
Top 4 teams board bus and watch as hippies are still on the way. They get a bus at 10 a.m.
Top 4 teams get to airport.
Fran & Berry play a little trickery but not telling the teams about the flight they have found. The other teams realize something is up.
Grandparents are on Gulf Air.
The Hippies are in good spirit on the bus, pretending their lost Race comrades are still with them.
The other teams are still looking for a flight but they refuse to tell the Hippies anything.
The Hippies give up the Gulf Air flight.
Frat Boys get on Gulf Air flight.
Hippies take Qatar Air which arrives an hour later than other 4 teams on Gulf Air.
Flight 1 10:50 p.m. All teams except hippies.
The teams all get in cars and drive off. Eric and Jeremy like the McDonalds in Oman. Ray is confused by the Arabic signs.
Flight 2 11:45 p.m. Hippies.
The hippies find an Arabic guide to help them.
Fratss arrive first at the park. The place doesn’t open till 6.
MoJo arrive to find the same info. Ray & Yolanda and Grandparents also find that info. Hippies have no caught up.
Yolanda continues to argue with Ray as they sit in the car waiting for the place to open.
Commercial time”¦
They are sure giving Ray & Yolanda more coverage than they have ever gotten before. This could be a bad indication but it could also be a red herring as the producers are trying to show the team hitting a low before reaching new highs.
I’m glad the Hippies are back with the pack and they might be getting a bit feistier after MoJo and R&Y refused to help them get information about the flights.
All the teams enter the park together and quickly find the clues.
Drive 135 miles to Sur, a fishing town. Must find a ferry crossing to find next clue.
All the teams pile in their cars with the Grandparents slowly following.
The teams are trying to figure how to get to Sur. R&Y are fighting already.
The hippies are following MoJo who ask a guy for directions.
Fran gives Berry directions and they seem to be enroute.
The Jocks are lost and ask someone who points them in the right direction.
Ray and Yolanda cant get any help and are lost.
The Hippies and MoJo are together but reach a flooded road. They drive across the water and the hippies give a local thanks for helping them navigate.
The Grannies reach the flooded area third with the Jocks behind.
Ray & Yolanda finally get the right directions.
Another flooded river and the Hippies and MoJo debate who should go first.
Grannies reach the flood and so do the Jocks.
Jocks take the lead and gun it through the water and are fine. The other teams now follow through.
Top four teams make it through unscathed.
Monica complains about the Frat Boys.
Ray & Yolanda finally reach first flooded road. They make it through fine.
The top for teams arrive at Sur, Oman and are looking for the clue location.
MoJo are first.
Detour: Camel or Watch Tower
Neither seems really good. Seems like most of the teams are going for the Watch Tower.
There are several different ones so the team deviate to figure out which one is right.
Frat Boys actually go for the camels. They start their task.
MoJo and the Hippies are looking for the message box. Hippies find it and Fran & Berry find one. They get on the ferry.
MoJo give up and go to the camel.
Frat Boys are doing well with the camel and get him in the truck.
Hippies and Grannies are doing well and are moving along.
MoJo is working on the camel.
Hippies and Grannies find the silver shop and get the clue.
Go to the village of Al Hawiyah.
The Hippies and Grannies head out together.
MoJo get camel in the truck.
Frat Boys seem lost.
MoJo seem to find the place pretty easily and drop off the camel and get the clue. Third place.
Frat Boys are totally lost. MoJo notice the Frat Boys are now behind them. Who are now frustrated badly.
Commercial time”¦
Well for the first time the Frat Boys/Jocks seem to be in some peril. Lucky for them Ray & Yolanda are not really pressuring them for fourth place. The Grandparents were technically in first place at the last clue box (although they kinda tied with the Hippies), which is a very impressive start for them. They really are proving themselves to be one of the best older teams in TAR history.
How far behind Ray & Yolanda are is totally unclear. It could be a few minutes or it could be much longer.
Here we go”¦
Frat Boys finally find the camel drop off and get the clue.
Ray & Yolanda get their clue and go for the Camel. They see the Frat Boys so its only 10 minutes or so gap depending on how long R&Y take for the camel detour.
They get the camel in the truck and quickly find the drop off and the clue.
Ray doesn’t like being in last.
The Grannies and the hippies are still together and find the clue together.
Roadblock
Must dig through sand dunes to find a “shua?” Some type of food that is cooked underground.
Berry and BJ are digging for their teams.
MoJo are on their way and arrive in third. They are surprised to find the Grandparents ahead of them. Monica digs for their team.
Monica is complaining already.
The Frat Boys arrive in fourth. Eric starts digging.
Barry finds one.
Monica finds one.
Barry screws up a bit as his “skirt” protecting the food falls into the oven.
Barry is almost there as is Monica. Monica has hers and gives it to the guy and gets the clue.
They are off to the next pit stop, Jabreen Castle.
BJ seems frustrated.
MoJo are hyped to be first.
Barry gets his and gives it for the clue. The grandparents head off. Barry is tired and his back hurts.
Tyler roots on BJ who doesn’t seem to be digging deep enough.
Jeremy yells at Eric who is freaking out.
Eric finds out and Jeremy roots him on. They are in third.
They see Ray & Yolanda arrive.
Yikes the Hippies are goners I think.
Tyler roots on BJ. BJ gets upset at Tyler because he gets better roadblocks.
Yolanda is digging with Ray cheering her on.
Yolanda finds one. They head off in fourth.
BJ is moving super slowly and he seems to be giving up.
Commercial time”¦.
Well it looks to be over for the Hippies. I think BJ’s digging technique is what killed them. He didn’t dig deep enough and I bet he has missed an oven by just glancing over the sand dunes instead of really clearing them.
The only hope they have is if it’s a non-elimination pit stop. Which, since there haven’t been any yet it could very well be.
We are back”¦.
Tyler gives the camera an update that they have been there for over an hour and half.
BJ finally finds it Tyler says they are not far behind. They head off and Tyler gives BJ a hug and calls him his hero.
They head to the pit stop.
MoJo are cruising with the Grandparents right behind them.
The Frat Boys are taking a short cut. Ray & Yolanda continue to fight. She calls him a child.
Tyler is driving and still confident.
Nizwa, Oman
The Grandparents look to be in first or second with MoJo close by.
The Frat Boys think they are lost.
MoJo gets directions as they were going the wrong way.
Phil waits at the pit stop and it’s the Grandparents!!! SHOCKER!!
Fran & Barry are Team NUMBER 1! They are happy and scream for joy! They win a trip for two to Rome, Italy.
Fran says it feels SO GOOD!
MoJo come in second under the cover of darkness. They look pissed.
The Frat Boys are still confused.
Ray & Yolanda arrived at the castle in THIRD!! SHOCKER PART 2!
One of the two top teams could be gone tonight!!
The Frat Boys short cut is a disaster and they head back to the highway.
Phil waits”¦.
The two all-guy teams are fighting for fourth.
It’s the Frat Boys who arrive first. Phil tells them they are in fourth and they are relieved and feel humbled.
The Hippies arrive and great Phil in their joyous style.
They are the last team to arrive. I am PLEASED TO TELL YOU! It’s a non-elimination leg. They lose all their money and will not get any in the next leg. They lose all their clothes and possessions.
Tyler doesn’t care about his possessions and can take back the lead.
WOW!! A surprising twist of a night.
Final Standings (those in bold are the ones who did the Roadblock.)
1st Fran & Berry
2nd Monica & Joseph
3rd Ray & Yolanda
4th Eric & Jeremy
5th BJ & Tyler (not eliminated)
Next week on ‘The Amazing Race.’
The teams travel to Australia to an abandoned prison. MoJo clash over directions.
I must say this was a very solid episode, mostly because it turned the standings totally upside down and it really seems like anyone can win now. Up to this point it had been a two team race between the Hippies and the Frat boys with MoJo a solid third. The Grandparents shocked everyone and won a leg and in impressive fashion. They did not make one mistake the whole leg and deserve the win. The other teams all might slight to major errors, mostly during the driving part of the leg.
Prediction for next week: Ray & Yolanda are eliminated. One thing I know is that whenever a team is shown a great deal they are not eliminated that week but the following.
Check back next week as Kevin Wong will return for live coverage.
