And they’re off once again in a race around the world. This week, teams went from the United States to Ecuador. And with all teams having at least some familiarity with one another, we had some interesting developments, such as:
– Rob and Amber not doing anything sneaky.
– David and Mary trying to play dirty, but not doing a very good job of it. I’m glad David never made it to Survivor. He’s just not cut out for that style of competition.
– Teri and Ian doing very well.
Of course, the more things change, the more things stay the same. Things that we’ve seen before:
– Rob and Amber in the lead.
– Muchos de “muy rapido”. Nice to see Ian laughing as he said it though. It’s like he knows how silly it is to say that.
– Mirna thinking it’s “good” to talk to people with a vaguely local accent. I’d forgotten how annoying she is.
– Kevin, Drew, Danny and Oswald being funny.
The first leg is all about survival. At this point teams should know what to expect on this leg, because aside from a few twists here and there, things have remained relatively stable – 2 or 3 flights to a destination, leading to a layover with 3 different departure times, a Detour, and the first elimination. So it pays to think smart, and think ahead here.
With the flights, only Romber and Cha Cha Cha seemed to be aware that the first flight to leave might not be the first to arrive. Thus, they went to American first and checked the flight times. David and Mary didn’t, and ended up on the second flight to arrive. Then they tried to mislead Dustin and Kandice about the flights, and aided Teri and Ian to get the last tickets on the first flight.
The key to this leg of the Race came when teams headed to the hacienda in the conservation area. Good directions enabled Rob and Amber to get at least a three hour lead on other teams, and it was a good thing too, as they chose the wrong Detour (see below). Bad directions caused the cousins and JVJ to head to the south entrance, which cost John Vito and Jill the chance to go further in the Race. In the conservation area, some drivers were more aggressive than others, which allowed Eric and Danielle to jump to fourth place despite starting the day in the back of the pack. Kevin and Drew opted to continue driving despite a flat tire, and the risk paid off for them when they finished tenth – good enough to stay in the Race, and giving them 12 hours to fix that tire.
Detour
Wrangle It or Wear It was a Scary/Haystack combo, and as Romber found out, it’s hard to find a button within a bunch of mounds. They switched tasks, finished quickly, and STILL finished first. None of the other teams bothered with Wear It, and none of the teams ended up gaining position because of the Detour.
Hope you enjoyed Amazing Race Week. Come back next Monday for our regular commentary on episode 2!
