"I've
Been Wanting a Face-Lift for a Long Time
- Leg
5"
- March
29
PIT
STOP: LA MARTINA POLO CLUB, VICENTE CASARES, CHILE
After taking a
ride like a gaucho, the Racers headed across the country to
Buenos Aires and had a heck of a time looking for either a
shipwreck or an island amid the nearby river. When all was said
and done, Rob & Amber (Team Survivor) made it to the front of
the pack once again... much to the chagrin of practically every
OTHER team. Brian & Greg (Team Barroom Bros) came in second...
and Susan & Patrick (Team First Mom/Son) got the axe for
arriving last.
At precisely
3am local time, 12 hours after Team Survivor won immunity from
Racing (via the PIT STOP), they start off leg 5 with this clue:
ROUTE INFO: |
Fly to Johannesburg, South Africa (over 5000
miles away).
Head for the short-term parking garage once there and you'll
find a marked car... and your next clue.
You have $217
for this leg of the Race. |
The
incredibly lucky couple get a cab and haul for Buenos Aires
International Airport. Over a half-hour later, Team Barroom
Bros, feeling this leg will be "a doozy", depart as well.
Rob & Amber arrive at the airport and asks a ticket agent about
flights to South Africa. Varig Airlines seems to be the only
flight to Johannesburg, connecting via Sao Paulo, Brazil.
10:55am is when the flight leaves, which means that it's very
likely the two reality-show gurus WON'T be the only ones on the
flight. Sure enough, Brian & Greg get THEIR tickets.
Almost three hours behind the pack, Uchenna & Joyce (Team Will
Race For Food) depart the PIT STOP. They're excited about going
to the "motherland". about a half-hour after THEY leave, Ron &
Kelly (Team American Beauties) leave, followed closely by Lynn &
Alex (Team Fab Two). All three make the airport and find that a)
Varig's the only flight and b) they'll have to check their
backpacks in. Still, all the teams make it on the flight.
It's 9:20am when the next team, Ray & Deana (Team
On-Again-Off-Again) leave. They do NOT want to lose! And the
team they most NOT want to lose to - Meredith & Gretchen (Team
Socially Secure) departs 15 minutes behind them... and 90
minutes before the departing flight to South Africa.
Ray & Deana make it to the airport and book their seats... and
most of the teams wonder why the heck THAT team can take THEIR
backpacks on and the others could not! Meredith & Gretchen,
however, have only one goal: get seats. They're in luck, though;
there are still seats available. The "Great Equalizer" has
struck again! It's a seven-way tie for first place as they
travel to Sao Paolo and then to...
JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA
En route, Ray & Deana manage to talk the co-pilot into putting
them at the front of the plane in first class so that they'll be
first off. Now, the "Rules of the Race" claim that you cannot
BOOK first-class tickets... but say NOTHING about UPGRADING to
first-class in-flight. So it's all good.
As the sun rises over the capital of perhaps the most integrated
country in the "Dark Continent", the plane lands and fourteen
Americans sprint out... some to get their backpacks from the
luggage carousels, others going straight to the cars. They find
that the steering wheels are on the right-hand side of the
cars... as well as this:
FAST FORWARD #
1 |
This is the first of only two
FAST FORWARDs in the entire Race. If you choose to perform
it, you must drive yourselves 26 miles to the city of Soweto
and find the Orlando Power Station Cooling Towers. You must
both then cross a narrow wooden bridge suspended 30 stories
above the bottom of the tank. If both of you complete this
task, you can go straight to the PIT STOP
and bypass all other tasks. |
For those NOT interested in tightrope walking today, we have
a usual:
DETOUR - Tunnels or Tribes?
|
TUNNELS -
Travel about 50 miles to a set of underground caves called
Wild Caves). Both of you must rappel 45 feet into the caves
and search the underground labrynth until you locate your
next clue.
TRIBES - Travel 45 miles to the Lesedi Cultural Village,
home to five native African tribes. You will then be given
six artifacts, five of which belong to each of the tribes.
Take the artifacts and visit a village chief. If you give
him the right atifact, you will get a pendant. Bring all
five pendants back to the front and another chief will trade
them for your next clue. |
As Team On-Again-Off-Again decides on one of the three
choices, Team Fab Two decide to do TRIBES. Ray finally decides
that they should do the FAST FORWARD... though he admits it
might be a mistake. After they depart, Rob & Amber head out,
find their car and ALSO opt to do the FAST FORWARD. So the Rules
say that the first one TO it gets to be the first to TRY it.
Team Socially Secure comes out and decides to do TUNNELS, Team
Barroom Bros choose TUNNELS as well... and Ron & Kelly and
Uchenna & Joyce wait for their bags. It's Team American Beauties
who get theirs first. and likewise choose TUNNELS. Team Will
Race For Food start to worry that they're backpacks have been
lost... but they soon see them, look into a map at the gift shop
and head off to try TUNNELS.
Team On-Again-Off-Again
and Team Survivor ask directions of practically everyone and
their kinfolk where the tower is. It's Ray & Deana who have
better navigators and reach the FAST FORWARD first. While Ron &
Amber are stuck in traffic, Deana starts to get weak in the
knees (super... ANOTHER acrophobic!) Ray goes first and starts
to balance his way across the bridge, Deana telling him
"careful" all the way.
Meanwhile, Team Fab Two find the village and start on their
DETOUR task. They take a shield to the Zulu tribe and get scared
out of their wits as the chief thrusts a spear near them... and
THEN gives them a pendant.
As Ray is two-thirds of the way across the bridge, Team Survivor
shows up. They decide to wait it out and PRAY one of them has a
breakdown and declines the task. Ray gets all the way across...
and he was scared. The question is... with Deana have the
gumption to do it?
Meanwhile, at the caves, Ron & Kelly arrive first and get suited
up. Brian & Greg - having stopped to get directions from a gas
station using MapQuest - arrive in second. The four spelunkers
descend, one-by-one, into the caves. They start to crawl their
ways around the caves, looking for the clue.
Deana starts her walk, freaking at almost every step. Rob starts
to doubt wanting to stay around... but Amber says they're in
last no matter what... so they stay. This may prove to be
wise... because Deana starts to REALLY freak about half-way
across. She sucks it in, though and, as Rob asks Amber to make a
decision as to whether to stay or go, Deana finishes the walk.
And they are handsomely rewarded with:
ROUTE INFO:
FAST FORWARD TO PIT STOP |
CONGRATULATIONS! You have won
the FAST FORWARD! Skip all other tasks and drive directly to
the next PIT STOP: Soweto Overlook (down the street where
Nelson Mandela once lived). |
They descend the tower...
to see Rob & Amber taking off their gear and running like crazy
to find a place to learn which DETOUR is closer.
Lynn & Alex work on the TRIBES task and get to three pendants
with two to go. Meanwhile, Team Survivor look FOR the village...
and get help from yet ANOTHER Survivor fan who gives
them directions.
Meanwhile, in the caves, the two teams keep looking. Team
American Beauties actually make it to the END of the cave...
without the clue in hand. So they must go back down and keep
looking. As such, it's Team Barroom Bros who find the next clue:
ROUTE INFO: |
Drive yourselves to Soweto, South Africa.
Find the Baragwanath market in the center of town and find
your next clue. |
As they head out, Ron &
Kelly head back in. The bros give the POW and the RHB (Red-hot
babe) directions to the clue, putting them in third.
Meanwhile, Team Fab Two
get their fifth and final artifact to the right tribe, trade in
the pendants and head for the market in fourth.
As three teams head for Soweto, Meredith & Gretchen arrive at
TUNNELS and start their rappel... just as Uchenna & Joyce
arrive. Soon, four more American spelunkers and groping around
the caves.
PIT STOP: SOWETO OVERLOOK, SOUTH AFRICA
Meanwhile, far ahead of them all, Team
On-Again-Off-Again hits the mat in front of host Phil Keoghan
and a native. Phil announces that Ray & Deana are Team #1!
And... what about their prize? Well, THIS time, Phil gets to
point them OUT to them. It's a pair of 2005 Toyota Rav4's!! They
were happy to have taken the risk and come in front.
Back at the village, Rob & Amber arrive, still very much in this
Race. They get to work on getting the artifacts to the right
tribe.
BARAGWANATH MARKET, SOWETO, SOUTH AFRICA
After getting directions (some more questionable than others),
the teams start to file into the marketplace. It's Ron & Kelly
who first hit the:
ROAD BLOCK (Who
likes to shop?)
|
One team
member must search around the market and purchasre the
following items for a local orphanage: 1 toy, 10 diapers, 1
children's backpack, 2 shirts and 1 blanket. Once you have
purchased all the items and have given them to the waiting
men nearby, they will give you your next clue. |
Kelly, of course, chooses to do it herself.
She gets a backpack for $2 and continues on.
Back at the caves, Team Socially Secure find the right path...
and Team Will Race For Food get lost. But the seniors exit the
cave without the clue and walk aimlessly around looking for a
non-existant Route Marker. And back in the village, Team
Survivor finds out how the artifacts match up and get the clue
to vault into fifth place! As they get very upset, Uchenna &
Joyce find the clue and drive to Soweto in sixth.
Brian & Greg arrive at the ROAD BLOCK and Greg decides to do it.
He immediately gets a toy and diapers... while Kelly gets a good
deal on a blanket and a kewpie doll.
"HEY! HELP US!" comes the yell of Meredith from the cave.
Gretchen has lost her footing and hurt herself. When the medical
team gets down to where they are, Gretchen's head is bloody...
but she's smiling still. "I've been wanting a face lift for a
long time," she says as she's attended to. She sends Meredith to
find the clue... which he does. As they leave in last, Gretchen
sees herself in a mirror, one stitch and a bandage around her
head, and says, "I can't go to Soweto looking like this!" (SURE,
you can! Just get Meredith a drum and a fife for yourself and
you'll be UNDENIABLY American. :) )
Back at the market, Greg and Kelly keep shopping. It's Kelly
that gets all the items first and brings them to the van. For
that, she gets:
ROUTE INFO: |
Now that
you have these charitable items, put them in your car and
drive them to Orlando Children's Home (about 5 miles away).
Once delivered, the orphanage director will hand you your
next clue. |
As they leave, Lynn & Alex arrive. Lynn
decides to shop for the team. Greg returns with all HIS items
(including "two WWF T-shirts"... which must mean they have
ANIMALS and not WRESTLERS on them) and he and Brian head off to
give them to the orphans.
Ut oh... it's getting combustible now as Rob & Amber arrive...
with Alex waiting. Amber decides to do the BLOCK... and Rob and
Alex stay silent.
At the orphanage, Ron & Kelly are geeks bearing gifts. They get
hugs from most of the kids and, from the director, their next
clue:
ROUTE INFO - PIT STOP: |
Drive
yourselves to the next PIT STOP: Soweto Overlook, just down
the street from where Nelson Mandela once lived. WARNING:
the last team to check-in may be ELIMINATED! |
They are happy to have brought joy to the
kids' eyes... but they can't stay and play; they have a leg to
finish. As they leave, Team Barroom Bros arrives and high-fives
everyone. After some "don't do drugs" messages they take off to.
PIT STOP: SOWETO OVERLOOK, SOUTH
AFRICA
It's Ron & Kelly who are proclaimed Team # 2... and dirty. Brian
& Greg are Team # 3.
At the marketplace, Lynn finishes his shopping and leave for the
orphanage in fourth place. Rob is not happy... and Amber has
trouble finding a toy. Another "fan" shows up and helps her
gather all her items in quick fashion. (And who says girls don't
shop in packs?) She even leads the team to the orphanage.
Uchenna & Joyce are next to the ROAD BLOCK and Uchenna shops...
as Team Fab Two check-in as Team # 4. It doesn't take him too
long to get what he needs and drag Joyce to the orphanage. As
they leave, Meredith & Bandage... er, Gretchen arrive, with
Gretchen doing the shopping.
The teams check-in one by one. Rob & Amber are Team #5 and
Uchenna & Joyce are Team #6... but not before Joyce gets the
idea to adopt after visiting the orphanage. Awwwww...
After getting their goods and giving them to the orphans,
Meredith & Gretchen arrive and look somberly into Phil's eyes.
Phil announces that they are the last team to arrive.
Then comes those three little words: "The GOOD news..."
Yes, this is the first of three non-elimination legs, so Team
Socially Secure is STILL in it. But... we all know what happens
next. Phil plays the part of the "BANKRUPT" space on the Wheel
of Fortune and takes away every penny the married seniors
have... and tell them they'll start with $0 12 hours from now.
But, wait... it's even WORSE! Not only must they hand over every
cent they have... but they must hand over their BACKPACKS... and
must start with just their PASSPORTS... and the CLOTHES ON THEIR
BACK!! ZOIKS!! All they have left are each other...
LITERALLY!
Oh, we're not through yet, folks! There's still another hour to
go. So....
|