The Amazing Race: Did you Push my Sports Bra Off the Ledge?

Posted by: Sarah Miller  •  October 13, 2008 @ 10:21pm

Filed under: Recaps & Reviews

First off, Happy Thanksgiving to everyone in Canada! I'm filling in once again for Ariana who is out of the office this weekend enjoying her turkey and the start of the hockey season. We're down to nine teams this week; let's see who gets the axe...

The drama in this episode starts before this leg of the race even begins, with Christy (one of the divorcees) accusing Starr of pushing her sports bra off of the ledge where she had left it to dry at the pit stop. Starr denies touching Christy's dirty underwear but Christy doesn't believe it for a second, probably because Christy is crazy. "Why on earth would I do that? How would that get us ahead at all?" Starr asks in the interview. Good question.

Ken & Tina arrived first last week so they're leaving first this week, and they get the privileged of reading us the clue. The teams are on their way to La Paz, Bolivia where they will have to find a statue and get there in time for the morning newspapers to be delivered. Their next clue will be somewhere in the classified ads of the newspaper. Maybe Ken will finally get to show off his Spanish language skillz.

Team Mythbusters get to leave second, and they tell us that they aren't going to be changing their strategy for this leg of the race because so far, taking time to stop and think through the challenges has really paid off for them. Terence and Sarah leave third, and Sarah tells us that she has finally realized that The Amazing Race is not a popularity contest, but they're racing against the other teams! Good thing she figured that out, now if only she'd realize that her boyfriend is a co-dependent, semi-abusive man-child she'd be great.

All of the teams make it to the airport at roughly the same time, and we get to skip the airport drama from last week . They all make it onto two flights that arrive in Bolivia at roughly the same time. When the teams land they have a little bit of trouble adjusting to the high altitudes in Bolivia, and Team Mythbusters is a little nervous because they're about book smarts not high altitude endurance. Everyone gets to the statute in the middle of the night and they have to wait around until the newspapers are delivered in the morning. They are given blankets by a nice Bolivian woman so that they can sleep on the ground while they wait.

In the morning, while everyone is fixing their makeup and shaving (seriously? ), Nick tries to make peace with the divorcees over the whole Sports bra thing. But Kelly and Christy don't want to let it go, and they tell Nick that actually, they don't care if anyone likes them. It's a good strategy for them because when you don't accept apologies or want to make peace with anyone then no one is going to like you. Nick walks away shaking his head. Meanwhile some of the other teams are trying to make friends with the locals.

Once the newspapers have been delivered, the frat boys find the clue first. The teams have to find the Narvaez Hat and Shoe Store and buy a traditional Cholita Hat. I think they should get bonus points for spotting that one; it was not easy to find! Some of the teams take a taxi to the store, but the ones who have made friends with the locals head off on foot. The geeks are one of the teams who are walking, and the altitude continues to be a factor for them. The frat boys and Terence and Sarah get to the hat shop first, despite choosing to walk and not take a taxi.

Detour: Musical March or Bumpy Ride

Musical March: The teams make their way on foot to two plazas several blocks apart. They have to collect musicians from the first plaza and form a band. Then they have to lead the marching band to the next plaza where a bandleader is waiting with their next clue. The frat boys and the blondes decide to do musical march. It's a little bit slower than the other task, but less physically intense and way more fun.

Unfortunately, Terence & Sarah and Team Mythbusters don't read their clue properly and decide to take a taxi to get to the detour, when it says in the clue that you have to walk. Oops. Equally unfortunate: Terence & Sarah realize their mistake and go back to the hat shop to start walking and correct it, but Team Mythbusters doesn't.

Bumpy Ride: The teams have to ride some homemade Bolivian bikes (using a hand drawn map) through the cobblestone streets to a plaza where they will get their next clue. Most of the teams choose this detour. It probably would not be my choice considering the mix of altitude and physical activity but whatever, they get to wear feathered headdresses! While they are biking along the cobblestone roads the divorcees make extra sure they are ahead of their "archrivals" Nick & Starr the whole time, but Kelly (or Christy, I'm not sure which) is concentrating a little too hard and forgets to watch where she's going and totally wipes out! Toni & Dallas get to the bikes last, and Toni is having a really hard time with the altitude and all the walking, so Dallas tells her to sit down for a few minutes to catch her breath. I sort of love this guy, he's so patient. Sarah should get Terence to take some notes.

At the end of this detour there is a U-turn. If a team gets U-turned they have to back track and do the other Detour task they did not choose before they can move on. Ouch! Mythbusters gets there first, but they don't U-turn anybody. In fact, nobody uses the U-turn. Nick & Starr debate if they should U-turn Kelly & Christy, but they decide against it. Way to rise above, guys.

Now teams have to head to Los Titanes Del Ring. If my Spanish serves me correctly that's "The Titans of the Ring." Some of the teams have traffic jam issues, and Aja & Ty's cab overheats so they have to get a new one. Roadblock!

Fighting Cholitas

In this Roadblock somebody has to fight a girl. They have to hand the hat they bought to one of the women in the ring, and put on a wrestling costume. Nacho Libre! They have to learn a wrestling routine from the women that consists of six moves. Once they have learned the moves a referee has to judge their performance, if he thinks they aren't convincing then they have to go back for more training until they get it right.

Ken & Tina get there first and Ken decides that he is ready for a fight. I bet he wishes it was Tina he could get in the ring with. I'm not entirely sure how, but the blondes arrive second, followed shortly by Team Mythbusters. Ken gets the routine right on the first time, and has a grand ol' time trying to whip the crowd into a frenzy (I bet he learned that in the NFL). One of the Mythbusters and Marissa both mess up their routines and have to go back to training camp. Toni & Dallas, who arrived fourth due to some luck with an awesome cab driver play the athlete/proud mama routine and make up some serious time.

Due to some traffic issues, Terence & Sarah arrive at the roadblock fifth, followed by Nick & Starr, The Divorcees and Aja & Tyler. While they are waiting for their partners to finish training, Aja tells Christy that Nick & Starr tried to get them to U-Turn the Divorcees. Meanwhile, Mythbuster #1 needs to get some oxygen because the high altitude and running around the wrestling ring are making him hyperventilate.

The frat boys finish the wrestling challenge next, and Dan decides to keep his Nacho Libre costume. Why not!? Nick and Tyler both nail their routines and get their clues on the first try. Mythbusters, Terence & Sarah, and the Blondes have some real problems with this roadblock, and Mythbusters has to go back for training two more times, but they all make it eventually. The Divorcees are the last team to finish the wrestling challenge, and they hope the other teams have some cab trouble.

After the wrestling roadblock, the teams make their way to the Mirador El Monticulo, a mountaintop park that is the Pit Stop for this week. Ken & Tina make it there first and they win a trip for two to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Is it just me, or does Ken look a little bit like Bill Lumbergh from Office Space?

Toni & Dallas are Team #2 followed by: Terence & Sarah, The Blondes, Aja & Tyler, Nick & Starr, The Frat Boys, Team Mythbusters and The Divorcees.

Sadly, the Mythbusters have a 30 minute penalty before they can check in because they took a taxi to the detour when they were supposed to go on foot. The Divorcees spend their whole taxi ride over complaining about Nick & Starr and planning which obscenities to hurl at them before they get sent home. When they arrive at the mat, Phil gives them the good news that they are not eliminated because the Mythbusters are still waiting out their penalty. Great. The Mythbusters are understandably choked that they lost because they didn't read their clue, not because they lost some kind of physical challenge. I'm choked that I'm going to have to watch the Divorcees for another week.

That's it folks! Tune in next week, when Aja & Ty will get in their first fight and Starr may potentially have broken her arm. Oh my!

Tags: Amazing Race, Sports Bra, Phil

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