Engaged couple Rob & Amber continued to make waves as they managed to erase their penalty from the previous leg by barely catching the first flight to Buenos Aires with the Teams that ate the meat in the previous leg’s Roadblock barbeque. in the coastal waters off Argentina, Rob & Amber gambled by continuing through the Detour in a broken boat to take the lead and a first-place finish. In the back of the pack, on-and-off dating couple Ray & Deana battled retired married couple Meredith & Gretchen, but in the end, mother and son Susan & Patrick, stranded on a broken boat, became the fourth Team eliminated from THE AMAZING RACE.
WILD RIDE AT THE ROADBLOCK
Departing the Pit Stop in first place at 3:49 am, boyfriends Lynn & Alex discovered they must drive 25 miles to the small town of La Lunta and find the ranch known as Cabaña La Guatana for their next clue. Arriving at the ranch, the boyfriends opened their clue to find a Roadblock. In this Roadblock, one Team member had to participate in a traditional gaucho challenge. First, they must ride a horse around a series of barrels and then, using a stick, spear a ring at the end of the course. If they could perform the task in 40 seconds, a competitive time for an Argentine cowboy, they would receive their next clue.
RIDE ‘EM, GAUCHO!
Opting to ride for his Team, Alex donned a hat and mounted his horse with Lynn offering advice--“deep voice and hard kicks”--nearby. As Alex finished the course on his first try in 41 seconds, married couple Uchenna & Joyce arrived at the ranch with Joyce electing to ride. Almost immediately after Joyce mounted her horse, it began to resist. Trying to keep her balance on the horse, Joyce pulled the reigns back, causing the horse to spin around wildly and buck her off. As Joyce braced herself for another shot at riding the horse, Alex completed the course in 39 seconds to earn his clue. Opening it, the boyfriends discovered they had to fly on one of the available flights to Buenos Aires. The first departed at 9:30 am and the second left at 2:30 pm. Once in Buenos Aires, they had to travel by taxi to the English Clock Tower and find a man in a raincoat who will give them their next clue.
JOYCE TRIUMPHS
As Lynn & Alex traveled to Mendoza Airport for the 9:30 am flight, Joyce made progress by guiding her horse through the series of barrels. However, when she had to direct the horse over to the ring she needed to spear, the horse again bucked her off. Uchenna commented, “That horse is just too wild!” Not giving up, Joyce once again mounted her horse, just as former POW and beauty queen Ron & Kelly arrived at Cabaña La Guatana. When Kelly chose to ride for her Team, Ron quipped, “I got to eat crap yesterday, and she gets to ride a horse.” With the arrival of Ron & Kelly, Uchenna cheered his wife on again, this time to success, as Joyce speared the ring in 37 seconds to earn their clue. Hugging Joyce, Uchenna gushed, “You are amazing!”
WE DESERVE THIS
Once Ron & Kelly and brothers Brian & Greg completed the Roadblock and arrived at Mendoza Airport, the four leading Teams prepared to take a five-hour lead on the 9:30 am flight to Buenos Aires. The four Teams also felt a sense of entitlement because they had opted to eat the meat in the prior leg’s Roadblock to earn this advantage. Kelly commented, “It just goes to show that if you want to win the Race, you can’t give up on anything, and that’s why we’re on the first flight.” Lynn & Alex were particularly happy that Rob & Amber, instigators of the penalty in the last leg, wouldn’t be on the flight.
SURPRISE!
However, the Teams didn’t realize that Rob & Amber, having been released from the Pit Stop at 6:59 am, caught a major break when, getting completely lost on the way to La Lunta, simply stumbled upon the ranch. Amber quipped, “Somebody’s watching over us, that’s for sure.” Showing off his horseback riding skills, Rob tore through the Roadblock, with 30 minutes to catch the flight in Mendoza. As the Teams sat on the plane waiting to depart, Rob & Amber arrived at the airport just in the nick of time, effectively erasing their penalty from the last leg. Walking to the plane, an excited Amber exclaimed, “I can’t wait to see the look on their face!” As expected, the four Teams were shocked to see the engaged couple board the plane. Lynn commented, “If that had been any other Team, they would have literally gotten an applause. But the fact that it was Rob & Amber, it was just terrible.” Alex added, “I hate them. I hate them so much
AGE BEFORE BEAUTY?
Back in Mendoza, Ray & Deana arrived at Cabaña La Guatana, trying to work their way out of the back of the pack. Ray’s confidence in Deana’s horseback riding ability quickly dissipated when she failed to spear the ring in less than 40 seconds. To Deana’s protests that her horse wasn’t moving fast enough, Ray countered, “Yours isn’t broken. He doesn’t need new batteries.” As Deana struggled, Meredith & Gretchen arrived at the ranch, and a helpful Ray pointed out, “It’s the oldsters.” In a head-to-head battle, Deana lost to “oldster” Meredith, who completed the course in 36 seconds while Deana had to stop because her foot fell out of the stirrup.
BACK OF THE PACK
As the excited Meredith & Gretchen drove to Mendoza Airport, Deana still floundered, now with her legs cut from the saddle. After tying tee shirts around her ankles, Deana finally completed the course in 33 seconds, just as last-place Susan & Patrick arrived on the scene. Initially, Patrick had the same problems Deana did in not getting his horse to move fast enough. However, he didn’t take advice from his mother very well, warning, “I want you to stop before we have an embarrassing moment.” Perhaps using his mother as motivation, Patrick prodded his horse through the barrels and speared the ring in 35 seconds. The mother and son Team arrived at Mendoza Airport to join Ray & Deana and Meredith & Gretchen on the 2:30 pm flight to Buenos Aires, fully aware that one of these Teams would be eliminated.
ON THE WATERFRONT
Landing in Buenos Aires, Rob & Amber took a quick lead out of the airport when their bags came out first. Arriving at the English Clock Tower, the engaged couple found the man in the raincoat who handed them their clue, which instructed the Teams to travel by train 20 miles to the city of Tigre and find docks located at 700 Lavalle. Rob & Amber watched their slim advantage disappear as all five Teams boarded the same train to Tigre. Trying to get away from the other Teams, Lynn & Alex moved to the front of the train. However, they were soon joined by their nemeses, Rob & Amber. Commenting on the pair, Lynn quipped, “The bottom line, they’re kind of like an STD. You’ve got to protect yourself from them, and the only way you can do it is just keep yourself away from them.”
DETOUR: SHIPWRECK OR ISLAND?
Arriving in Tigre, Lynn & Alex and Rob & Amber battled in a footrace to the docks, while Brian & Greg, Ron & Kelly and Uchenna & Joyce all became lost in the city. At the docks, Lynn & Alex opened their clue to find a Detour. This Detour required Teams to choose between Shipwreck and Island. Teams choosing Shipwreck had to search a seven-square-mile area filled with abandoned ships for a specific shipwreck using only a 30-year-old picture as a reference. To complete Island, Teams had to use a map to travel four miles through the confusing delta waterways to the San Antonio River and find an island on which their next clue was located.
AT SEA
As Rob & Amber hopped into their boat in search of a shipwreck and Lynn & Alex navigated to an island, the race for first place was underway. Soon, however, both Teams encountered problems with their boats: Rob & Amber’s cracked in half; Lynn & Alex’s took on water. Tempting fate, Rob chose to continue onward in the broken boat, quickly spotting the shipwreck from the picture. Opening their clue, Rob & Amber discovered they needed to travel 35 miles by taxi to the town of Vicente Casares and find La Martina, the most prestigious polo club in Argentina and the Pit Stop for this leg of the race. As Rob & Amber limped to shore in their broken boat, Lynn & Alex’s situation worsened when they had to call for a replacement. According to the rules, no time credit is given to Teams who need replacement vehicles, so as Lynn & Alex waited, Brian & Greg spotted the shipwreck, and Ron & Kelly and Uchenna & Joyce made it to the island.
BACK ON TOP
Arriving at La Martina Polo Ranch, Rob & Amber stepped on the mat in first place. Phil informed the lucky pair they had also won a five-night European vacation courtesy of Travelocity. On their win, Amber said, “Everybody thought that for sure we made a mistake when Rob decided to quit, and it didn’t hurt us at all.” Brian & Greg settled for second place, while Uchenna & Joyce took third. Ron & Kelly nabbed fourth place, while a disappointed Lynn & Alex came in fifth.
BAD ATTITUDE
Landing in Buenos Aires, Ray & Deana took an early lead out of the airport, but wound up on the same train to Tigre as Meredith & Gretchen, whom Ray said were “a couple of decades beyond where they need to be.” However, Susan & Patrick, thinking they were ahead, ended up on a later train to Tigre, now in last place.
Arriving in Tigre, Meredith & Gretchen took an early lead to the docks, choosing Island, while Ray & Deana wandered through the city long enough for Susan & Patrick to pass them. With all three Teams searching for the island in a tight race, Susan & Patrick received a damaging blow when their boat broke down, requiring them to wait for a replacement. While Susan remained optimistic, Patrick did not, sniping, “I don’t know why you’d want to stay in. When it’s done, it’s done.”
RAY RANTS
Meanwhile, Ray & Deana quickly found the clue and retreated from the island as Meredith & Gretchen approached. Upon seeing Ray & Deana, Meredith & Gretchen decided to follow them, now traveling away from the clue. As the retired married couple became even more confused, Ray & Deana made it back to shore to a sixth-place finish, with Ray quipping, “I’m not losing to a 70-year-old man and his wife, even if it was checkers. They don’t belong in the game with us.” After finally finding the clue, Meredith commented, “Guess he was lying to us. Part of the game.”
SUSAN & PATRICK ELIMINATED
After Meredith & Gretchen struggled to find a taxi, giving Susan & Patrick a chance to catch up, the retired married couple stepped onto the mat in seventh place. With Patrick saying, “Let’s just get this over with,” Susan & Patrick arrived at the Pit Stop in last place to become the fourth Team eliminated from THE AMAZING RACE. On her son, Susan commented, “Patrick’s pessimism is frustrating for me. I always see it as a glass half full and he sees it half empty. That’s something that we’re not going to agree on.” Patrick added, “I am more of a realist, and so it frustrates me to hear optimism that I don’t think is real. Maybe I need to lighten up.”
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