On this week’s episode of Around The World In 80 Ways, we finally get to see Dennis Anderson step up.
The former Monster Truck driver puts his mechanical abilities on the line when he is forced to fix a truck on the first leg of his journey with co-host Boston Rob Mariano that will see the pair attempt to go from Lake Tanganyika to Zanzibar. Dennis is obviously successful but that doesn’t mean this week’s travels are drama-free.
The truck appears to be moving fine after Anderson employs his handyman skills… that is until it is stopped at a roadblock. Initially it isn’t clear who is behind the impediment, and while the initial fear is that they are being robbed it turns out the actual police are behind the blockade. Let’s just say the fourth wall had to be broken as producers were forced to step in to save our heroes.
Because of the unexpected issues, Mariano and Anderson decide to ride wooden bikes and eventually decide to call it a day and check into a hotel for the night.
Other methods of transportation used in the episode include a ferry that was originally built in 1903, a train, a dhow (sailboat) and scooters.
Considering Boston Rob has basically done it all in the realm of reality television, one of the knocks against him has always been his inability to deal with exotic food. It hurt him on Survivor Marquesas, he avoided it completely on The Amazing Race 7, and while he did manage to conquer it to win my all-stars competition on Reality Obsessed, he has made it clear that he is quite a picky eater. That’s why it was amusing to see him walk away from a goat that some of the locals slaughter to offer as a meal to our modern-day Magellans.
There is also a great scene where the pair also are lucky enough to experience a hot air balloon ride in Africa and participate in an African Serengeti safari. My family is from Tanzania and Kigoma so I was particularly interested in seeing this as I have been to the same place many times. It was also great getting to see Rob cross something off his bucket list and that’s visiting the birthplace of one of his idols. I’ll let you watch the episode to find out who it is.
For more on what to expect, check out my interview with Boston Rob for TORO Magazine.
Around The World In 80 Ways airs tonight at 10 p.m. on History Television
