This week, Joyce and Uchenna were marked for elimination because they made it to the Pit Stop last, last week, a non-elimination round. They had to be the first to the Pit Stop this week, or they would incur a 30-minute penalty. But it turned out that didn't matter too much, because, even though they weren't first, the teams that came in after them were really far behind.
The teams headed from Maputo, Mozambique, to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. But getting there proved to be much harder than it looked. Charla and Mirna took a huge risk by flying to Johannesburg, South Africa, knowing that they'd be put on stand-by for the connecting flight to Tanzania. But it ended up paying off in a big way when they got on the flight. They arrived in Tanzania much earlier than the rest of the teams, but Danny and Ozzy caught up with them, and rode with them on a dhow to Zanzibar.
The other teams were waitlisted a few times at both the Maputo airport and the one in Jo'burg. It must have been so frustrating to spend so much time waiting instead of racing. My favorite part, though, was when Eric and Danielle were booted off a flight, because they were mistakenly given someone else's seats.
The Detour and Road Blocks got little coverage this time around because the teams were so spread out. The only real heated head-to-head race was between the last two teams: Team Guido and Teri & Ian during the puzzle option of the Detour. When Joe & Bill finished their puzzle first, thus sealing the deal. The end of the show made it seem like Teri & Ian may have caught up (they were cutting back and forth between the teams at the entrance to the Old Fort — the Pit Stop), but I wonder if that was just for drama. By the time Teri & Ian made it to the mat, Team Guido had already left for the hotel… in other words, it wasn't a close call.
So, Charla and Mirna surprised me by placing first again. Here are the rest:
Oswald & Danny
Uchenna & Joyce
Dustin & Kandice
Eric & Danielle
Joe & Bill
Eliminated: Teri & Ian
I'm sorry to see them go. There was something very interesting about the two of them... I just spoke with them. Here's what they had to say:
I really liked you guys from the start. It seemed like you raced with integrity. I also noted in my first blog entry that I liked your hat, Ian. What were some of your racing essentials?
Teri: As little as possible.
Ian: We went out on this race, and our packs were 10 pounds less a piece than they were on Season 3, and the hats were essential for me. I wanted to go out on the race and have a good time and be funny — goof on the fans a little bit, changing hats. It was just a fun experience.
In last night's episode, it was so frustrating, watching you guys get stranded at the airport time and time again. I think I lost track, how many times were you put on stand-by?
Ian: Oh! At a least a dozen. And we probably hit 50 different ticket counters between Maputo [Mozambique] and South Africa, trying to get tickets. But unfortunately, there was a religious migration, there were probably 10,000 people in the airport; it was just bad luck. You know, luck is a big part of it.
By the end of the episode you looked like you were really tired. Can you describe that at all?
Teri: We were just tired of spending time in the airport, and we spent a couple of nights in airports. And the last night we were on the dhow on the way over — that was over night as well. So it had been days since we had seen a shower or a tooth brush or any creature comforts at all. We were a little worn out.
Ian: When we finally got to Dar es Salaam [Tanzania] and we had to take the dhow over to Zanzibar, that was like five- or six-hour trip. And that was out in the open. There was no bathroom. But it was at night, so we weren't cooking so to speak. But by the time we got to Zanzibar, we were pretty tired. And to get eliminated in an airport, when it has nothing to do with your racing ability is really sad. I would have rather gone down fighting.
Teri: We also knew that we were so far behind that it was almost laughable. Except for the fact that Bill and Joe were with us—
Ian: They're great people.
Do you think this time around was harder than your first race or do you think it came down to bad luck?
Ian: I think it came down to bad luck. I like to call this the Amazing Race Survivor. But we had a lot of fun.
Finally, what do you think of the teams that are still in it? Have a favorite?
Teri: We like all the teams, and we'll have to watch to see who wins.
