The Amazing Race > Amazing Race 33
TAR33 racing reports. Episode #11 is on page 1
maf:
Racing report
Amazing Race Season 33, Episode 5, "Stairway to hell"
Film date: 2021-09-20 or 2021-09-21
The last pit stop was on Marktgasse in the town of Altstätten, Switzerland. This is also where teams are released. From now on this season will release teams in groups based on the order they arrived but with fixed time intervals. This time they are released two at a time in 15 minute intervals.
Teams are released in the following order:
1.Ryan & Dusty 07:301.Kim & Penn 07:303.Lulu & Lala 07:45+0:153.Raquel & Cayla 07:45+0:155.Akbar & Sheri 08:00+0:305.Arun & Natalia 08:00+0:30
Road block: "Who wants to get down with the Travelocity roaming gnome?"
The clue also says: "Sheri, for safety reasons you must perform this road block" (it is unclear if it did so for all teams or just for Akbar & Sheri). The road block is to bungy jump 722ft from the Verzasca dam. This is a switchback from season 14.
The first hurdle is to get to the dam. It is a 2.5h drive through gorgeous landscapes.
"We have 2.5hours to enjoy each others company before Kim jumps off a perfectly good rock", Penn is not helping
Kim & Penn drive together with Ryan & Dusty and when they arrive at the dam they play Rock Paper Scissors to see who should jump first.
Raquel & Cayla take the scenic route, they are never lost but when we get shots of the congratulating themselves how well they are doing we know they are in trouble.
"I think we are doing fantastic", Cayla while they are driving on the back roads
But Arun & Natalia are in even more trouble as they are not going the right way.
"We're heading downhill. Downhill in spirit and downhill in direction", Natalia when they need to go up into the mountains
"Finally made it, but 2.5 hours late", Arun when they finally arrive
Raquel & Cayla get a shock when they arrive and see that they are number 5.
"I just assumed we were in first place", Raquel
Even though racers have had plenty of time to get anxious during the long drive here nobody chickens out and everybody jumps without any delays.
"I'd rather roller-blade up Mt Everest than do this", Dusty
"I should be driving the kids to school right now", Kim
"They are not gonna kill you, it is the Amazing Race they don't want to do that", Penn
The gnome is strapped to the racers as they jump.
Teams complete this road block in the following order (* denotes team member doing the roadblock):
1(+0)Ryan & Dusty* (2-2)2(-1)Kim* & Penn (2-2)3(+0)Lulu & Lala* (2-2)4(+1)Akbar & Sheri* (1-3)5(-2)Raquel & Cayla* (3-1)at 12:336(-1)Arun & Natalia* (2-2)
"I can honestly say that besides having my sons that was the proudest I have been for her", Akbar
The next clue can be found in the satchel the Gnome wears and it a route info: "Drive yourselves to the lakefront town of Lugano. Once there search the lakefront on foot near Piazza Carlo Battaglini to find your next clue."
The clue also states that teams have to park their cars in a specific parking garage in Lugano (Autosil Central Park). This is about a 45 minute drive from the dam.
Ryan & Dusty wait for Kim & Penn and they plan to drive together to Lugano, but they get separated early on.
"Are you sure it was Lasagno and not Lugano?", Natalia doubt where they are going
And Natalia is correct to doubt their directions. They get seriously lost on their way to Lugano and arrive way behind the other teams.
Teams arrive to the clue box by the lakefront in Lugano (500m from the parking) in the following order:
1(+0) Ryan & Dusty
2(+1) Lulu & Lala
3(-1) Kim & Penn
4(+0) Akbar & Sheri
5(+0) Raquel & Cayla
6(+0) Arun & Natalia
Detour: Bartender Race or Sausage Encase
In Bartender race teams must carry 12 bottles of wine and 12 bags of chestnuts to the top of Salita Degli Angioli, which turns out to be a 400ft staircase. To make this harder they may not drop their backpacks nor use anything other than their hands and arms to carry everything, and they are still carrying the gnome as well. This means teams will have to make multiple trips, and there are a lot of steps in the stairs.
In Sausage Encase teams must pick up ingredients and then make their way to the rooftop terrace of the Gabbani hotel where they must make 9ft of sausage. This needs to be divided into 4 pieces and each be rolled up like princess Leia's hair.
Lulu & Lala get distracted by the handsome men at the sausage making detour, but power through it. Later on they interview that they did it for their grandma. Meanwhile Akbar & Sheri try to bring all 12 bottles of wine in one go but they quickly realize this is too much and go back with some of them.
"I don't even like to eat sausage, I'm a bacon girl", Cayla
Raquel & Cayla get their first attempt at making the sausages rejected. They are not told what the problem is but see that one of their rolls is a bit small. They make a new one and this time they are approved.
Teams complete the detour in the following order:
1(+0) Ryan & Dusty, stairs made 4 trips
2(+0) Lulu & Lala, sausages
3(+0) Kim & Penn, stairs, made 3 trips
4(+0) Akbar & Sheri, stairs, made 3 trips
5(+0) Raquel & Cayla, sausages, after 14:53
6(+0) Arun & Natalia, sausages
Route info: Ask the Travelocity roaming gnome where you're heading next.
Teams must now search the satchel of their gnome and here they can find a photo of a stately house. They will have to ask around to learn that this is located at Parco Ciani and it is located along the waterfront (850m from the sausage detour and 1.2km from the top of the stairs).
On their way to the building Dusty's legs start to cramp up. He has to sit down for a minute or so before he can hobble on. The foam roller which Ryan has been carrying the whole time does not come into use here, but according to interviews it did see use during the pit stop.
On their way to the building Raquel & Cayla spot Akbar & Sheri. The latter are walking (Sheri is also having leg cramps) so the girls run past them.
"Excuse us", Cayla as they run past
"Please let us don't be last", Sheri
At Parco Ciani teams find Phil and the next pit stop. The greeter is a woman and her bulldog.
Teams check in the following order:
1(+0) Ryan & Dusty, win a trip to Dominica
2(+)) Lulu & Lala
3(+0) Kim & Penn, as #2 are still on the mat
4(+1) Raquel & Cayla
5(-1) Akbar & Sheri, at around 15:05, just after #4
6(+0) Arun & Natalia, at 18:05, are saved by a non elimination
Apparently in the next leg there will be three groups at the start. Teams 1&2 will start first, then teams 3-5 and finally team 6.
When Arun & Natalia finally reach the Pit Stop Phil admonishes them for being late. In fact they are so late that the greeter, and her dog, had to leave.
Race2020FAN:
--- Quote from: maf on January 30, 2022, 02:39:41 AM ---Racing report
Amazing Race Season 33, Episode 5, "Stairway to hell"
Film date: 2021-09-20 or 2021-09-21
The last pit stop was on Marktgasse in the town of Altstätten, Switzerland. This is also where teams are released. From now on this season will release teams in groups based on the order they arrived but with fixed time intervals. This time they are released two at a time in 15 minute intervals.
Teams are released in the following order:
1.Ryan & Dusty 07:301.Kim & Penn 07:303.Lulu & Lala 07:45+0:153.Raquel & Cayla 07:45+0:155.Akbar & Sheri 08:00+0:305.Arun & Natalia 08:00+0:30
Road block: "Who wants to get down with the Travelocity roaming gnome?"
The clue also says: "Sheri, for safety reasons you must perform this road block" (it is unclear if it did so for all teams or just for Akbar & Sheri). The road block is to bungy jump 722ft from the Verzasca dam. This is a switchback from season 14.
The first hurdle is to get to the dam. It is a 2.5h drive through gorgeous landscapes.
"We have 2.5hours to enjoy each others company before Kim jumps off a perfectly good rock", Penn is not helping
Kim & Penn drive together with Ryan & Dusty and when they arrive at the dam they play Rock Paper Scissors to see who should jump first.
Raquel & Cayla take the scenic route, they are never lost but when we get shots of the congratulating themselves how well they are doing we know they are in trouble.
"I think we are doing fantastic", Cayla while they are driving on the back roads
But Arun & Natalia are in even more trouble as they are not going the right way.
"We're heading downhill. Downhill in spirit and downhill in direction", Natalia when they need to go up into the mountains
"Finally made it, but 2.5 hours late", Arun when they finally arrive
Raquel & Cayla get a shock when they arrive and see that they are number 5.
"I just assumed we were in first place", Raquel
Even though racers have had plenty of time to get anxious during the long drive here nobody chickens out and everybody jumps without any delays.
"I'd rather roller-blade up Mt Everest than do this", Dusty
"I should be driving the kids to school right now", Kim
"They are not gonna kill you, it is the Amazing Race they don't want to do that", Penn
The gnome is strapped to the racers as they jump.
Teams complete this road block in the following order (* denotes team member doing the roadblock):
1(+0)Ryan & Dusty* (2-2)2(-1)Kim* & Penn (2-2)3(+0)Lulu & Lala* (2-2)4(+1)Akbar & Sheri* (1-3)5(-2)Raquel & Cayla* (3-1)at 12:336(-1)Arun & Natalia* (2-2)
"I can honestly say that besides having my sons that was the proudest I have been for her", Akbar
The next clue can be found in the satchel the Gnome wears and it a route info: "Drive yourselves to the lakefront town of Lugano. Once there search the lakefront on foot near Piazza Carlo Battaglini to find your next clue."
The clue also states that teams have to park their cars in a specific parking garage in Lugano (Autosil Central Park). This is about a 45 minute drive from the dam.
Ryan & Dusty wait for Kim & Penn and they plan to drive together to Lugano, but they get separated early on.
"Are you sure it was Lasagno and not Lugano?", Natalia doubt where they are going
And Natalia is correct to doubt their directions. They get seriously lost on their way to Lugano and arrive way behind the other teams.
Teams arrive to the clue box by the lakefront in Lugano (500m from the parking) in the following order:
1(+0) Ryan & Dusty
2(+1) Lulu & Lala
3(-1) Kim & Penn
4(+0) Akbar & Sheri
5(+0) Raquel & Cayla
6(+0) Arun & Natalia
Detour: Bartender Race or Sausage Encase
In Bartender race teams must carry 12 bottles of wine and 12 bags of chestnuts to the top of Salita Degli Angioli, which turns out to be a 400ft staircase. To make this harder they may not drop their backpacks nor use anything other than their hands and arms to carry everything, and they are still carrying the gnome as well. This means teams will have to make multiple trips, and there are a lot of steps in the stairs.
In Sausage Encase teams must pick up ingredients and then make their way to the rooftop terrace of the Gabbani hotel where they must make 9ft of sausage. This needs to be divided into 4 pieces and each be rolled up like princess Leia's hair.
Lulu & Lala get distracted by the handsome men at the sausage making detour, but power through it. Later on they interview that they did it for their grandma. Meanwhile Akbar & Sheri try to bring all 12 bottles of wine in one go but they quickly realize this is too much and go back with some of them.
"I don't even like to eat sausage, I'm a bacon girl", Cayla
Raquel & Cayla get their first attempt at making the sausages rejected. They are not told what the problem is but see that one of their rolls is a bit small. They make a new one and this time they are approved.
Teams complete the detour in the following order:
1(+0) Ryan & Dusty, stairs made 4 trips
2(+0) Lulu & Lala, sausages
3(+0) Kim & Penn, stairs, made 3 trips
4(+0) Akbar & Sheri, stairs, made 3 trips
5(+0) Raquel & Cayla, sausages, after 14:53
6(+0) Arun & Natalia, sausages
Route info: Ask the Travelocity roaming gnome where you're heading next.
Teams must now search the satchel of their gnome and here they can find a photo of a stately house. They will have to ask around to learn that this is located at Parco Ciani and it is located along the waterfront (850m from the sausage detour and 1.2km from the top of the stairs).
On their way to the building Dusty's legs start to cramp up. He has to sit down for a minute or so before he can hobble on. The foam roller which Ryan has been carrying the whole time does not come into use here, but according to interviews it did see use during the pit stop.
On their way to the building Raquel & Cayla spot Akbar & Sheri. The latter are walking (Sheri is also having leg cramps) so the girls run past them.
"Excuse us", Cayla as they run past
"Please let us don't be last", Sheri
At Parco Ciani teams find Phil and the next pit stop. The greeter is a woman and her bulldog.
Teams check in the following order:
1(+0) Ryan & Dusty, win a trip to Dominica
2(+)) Lulu & Lala
3(+0) Kim & Penn, as #2 are still on the mat
4(+1) Raquel & Cayla
5(-1) Akbar & Sheri, at around 15:05, just after #4
6(+0) Arun & Natalia, at 18:05, are saved by a non elimination
Apparently in the next leg there will be three groups at the start. Teams 1&2 will start first, then teams 3-5 and finally team 6.
When Arun & Natalia finally reach the Pit Stop Phil admonishes them for being late. In fact they are so late that the greeter, and her dog, had to leave.
--- End quote ---
This is incredible. Thanks for putting in the time to create this.
maf:
Racing report
Amazing Race Season 33, Episode 6, "Say Cheese"
Film date: Somewhere in between 2021-09-22 and 2021-09-25
The last pit stop was in Lugano, Switzerland. During the rest period teams are flows on a chartered plane to Corsica, France. Where they are released from Ponte Novu (the screens says Ponte Altiani but that is wrong) in the following groups:
Group #1 at 09:00
1. Ryan & Dusty
1. Lulu & Lala
Group #2 at 09:15
3. Kim & Penn
3. Raquel & Cayla
3. Akbar & Sheri
Group #3 at 09:30
6. Arun & Natalia
The first clue is route info which tells teams to make their way to Belvédère de Corte, an old citadel in Corte. Here they will find their next clue, along with a canister of fresh Goat Milk which they will need for the detour. For this leg production has arranged cars which transports the teams between the different route markers so they do not need to navigate. I wonder if production provided drivers due to the fact that teams for parts of the day traveled on very narrow mountain roads with an abyss on one side and a sheer mountain on the other.
"I have fundamentally changed by personality. Today, this Kim, is just gonna go with the flow", Kim was very affected by the Bungy Jump in the previous leg
Teams reach the clue box in Corte in the following order:
1(+0) Ryan & Dusty
2(-1) Lulu & Lala
3(+0) Kim & Penn
4(-1) Raquel & Cayla
5(-2) Akbar & Sheri
6(+0) Arun & Natalia
Detour: Say Cheese or Mule please
In Say Cheese teams must produce three baskets of Fromage in the old fashioned way. That is by curdling milk. To do this you heat the milk and keep it at precisely 85°C. Teams are given thermometers and the clue seems to explain the process and the temperatures.
In Mule please teams must put a harness on a mule and then use it to transport two canisters of Milk to the cheese maker. The hard part of this side turns out to be the harness. It needs to be approved by a judge before they can load the milk. And now we are back to the old classic judging where all the teams are told is that it is good or not good, they have to figure out hat is wrong by themselves. The distance they need to transport the milk is laughably short, just 150m. Not enough to give the mules any serious chance to misbehave.
The end point of the mule detour is where the cheese making takes place.
"I actually have made cheese before", Dusty feels he has this one in the bag
"I do not know how to use a thermometer guys", Lala
Kim & Penn and Raquel & Cayla initially decided to make cheese but in the car Kim & Penn changed their minds and the girls follow along. The girls thinks it is good to work together with another team.
Dusty is very hyper during this detour. It does not take very long until he is talking about switching. Ryan calms him down and they keep stirring their milk. But it seems they are fiddling too much with their burner so they never get the milk to the correct temperature. They are dismayed when the other teams arrive and leave and eventually, when all other teams have left, they decide to switch.
Raquel & Cayla have trouble with their harness. They have put one of the metal bars upside down and it takes them quite a while to figure this out.
Kim & Penn name their mule Duke and Cayla names their KolTony (after their boyfriends).
Teams complete the detour in the following order:
1(+2) Kim & Penn, mule
2(+0) Lulu & Lala, cheese
3(+1) Raquel & Cayla, mule
4(+1) Akbar & Sheri, cheese
5(+1) Arun & Natalia, cheese
6(-5) Ryan & Dusty, started cheese but switched to mules after 62 minutes
Route info: "Make your way to Verghellu Canyon Altipian and search for your next clue".
There are no changes in the team order as teams reach this clue box.
Road Block: Who wants to make a splash?
In this road block tames must go canyoning. They must first hike up the mountain and then make their way through a 1.5 mile long stretch of a river. Along the way there are natural water slides, places to jump into the water and zip lines. The next clue is located somewhere along the course.
This road block is very physical and it is not made any easier by the fact that the water is very cold. But no teams is really struggling, it is just that some of them are a lot faster than the others.
"Oh my god, this is so cool", Lulu
Lulu and Raquel is doing this road block together. Lulu waited for Raquel by the clue was. But after the clue Raquel took off and did not wait for Lulu. Lulu & Lala feel betrayed by Raquel & Cayla here.
Arun pass Akbar during the hike up to the start of the canyoning. Ryan passes hem on the river.
"Akbar looked like he was struggling but I was in survival mode", Ryan about when he passed Akbar
Teams complete this road block in the following order (* denotes team member doing the roadblock):
1(+0)Kim & Penn* (2-3)2(+1)Raquel* & Cayla (4-1)3(-1)Lulu* & Lala (3-2)About 7 minutes after #24(+1)Arun* & Natalia (3-2)5(+1)Ryan* & Dusty (3-2)6(-2)Akbar* & Sheri (2-3)
"I feel like I just went through a spin cycle", Penn after the road block
"I'm sure he thought he was doing his best and I'm not gonna be the one to tell him that he wasn't", Sheri
Route info: Kayak to your next Pit Stop.
Teams must now make their way to Cardiccia dam where they will find inflatable kayaks. They must inflate their kayak, carry it up along the spillway and then paddle about 900m to reach Phil at the mat.
Once they start paddling Penn starts to feel his hernia so Kim has to do most of the work.
The clue states that teams shall leave their backpacks and race bag in the van when they arrive at the dam. Lulu & Lala miss this detail and are then disappointed that Raquel & Cayla does not say anything abut it when they meet up while inflating their kayaks. Instead Lala notices this when she rereads the clue. On their way back to the vans Lulu & Lala first meet Arun & Natalia and then Ryan & Dusty. The boys make short work of the kayak inflating so they leave Lulu & Lala and Arun & Natalia in the dust.
Eventually Lulu & Lala is the only team left and they are almost done with they kayak when Akbar & Sheri arrive. Then the girls have a hard time paddling.
"That was the first time we have ever paddled a kayak", Lulu
"There is a trick to it, that we still don't know what it is", Lala
But Akbar & Sheri are behind and they are no better at paddling.
Teams reach Phil at the mat in the following order:
1(+0) Kim & Penn, win $5,000 each
2(+0) Raquel & Cayla, after #1 have left the mat
3(+2) Ryan & Dusty
4(+0) Arun & Natalia
5(-2) Lulu & Lala, the previous 3 teams are still on the mat
6(+0) Akbar & Sheri, about 30 minutes after #5 and they are eliminated
At the mat Phil tells teams that there will be two departure times in the next leg. Teams #1 & #2 will depart first and then the other three will depart in a second group.
Ryan & Dusty are pumped when they arrive at the mat. They quickly tear off their life jackets to expose their bare chests.
"They want to show their muscles", Raquel
Raquel & Cayla gets a thumbs up from the greeter. It seems he agrees that the boys are good looking, I find this exchange hilarious.
"We ran a good race and it just that they were better than us", Akbar
In the extra clips Phil tells teams that they will be camping by the Pit Stop. Which is a gorgeous place next to the river.
maf:
Racing report
Amazing Race Season 33, Episode 7, "Row, Row, Row Your boat"
Film date: Probably 2021-09-25
The last pit stop was by Camping Ernella in Corsica France. Teams spent the night camping here before they are released the following morning in the following groups:
Group #1 at 08:00
1. Kim & Penn
1. Raquel & Cayla
Group #2 at 08:15
3. Ryan & Dusty
3. Arun & Natalia
3. Lulu & Lala
Route info: "Drive yourselves to the Tour de Fautea. Once there each of you try a piece of Corsica's other favorite cheese. You have €10 for this leg of the race."
Teams must now run up to the parking lot where they find five convertibles (VW T-Roc). Teams will have the cars for themselves. That is their crew follows behind in a black van. This means that the navigation is much easier as the non-driving team member can sit in the front seat and have a much better view. Each car also comes with a map of Corsica and a few bottles of water.
Raquel & Cayla seems to work together with Kim & Penn here so they try to find the next destination together. When they stop to ask for directions the girls are surprised to learn that Penn speaks French. Both teams make sure to mark the destination on their maps before they make their way there together.
"Once we get to the challenge we're gonna get ahead of Kim & Penn", Raquel has a dream
Once teams reach the marked parking (80km) they must run up to the tower. Kim & Penn miss the turn so the girls get a chance to pass. And they take it, drive down to the marked parking and start running towards the tower. Penn is a bit miffed by this.
Teams arrive to the tower in the following order:
1(+0) Raquel & Cayla
2(-1) Kim & Penn
3(+0) Ryan & Dusty
4(-1) Lulu & Lala
5(-2) Arun & Natalia
There is a guy here who presents the cheese with a flourish and then carves a bit of it, places it on a slice of bread and hands it to the racers. The catch is that the cheese has live maggots in it so it is kind of hard to eat. But nobody falters at this task.
"They're good for us, they're protein", Raquel about the maggots (before taking her first bite)
"This honestly tastes like vomit", Raquel does not mind the maggots so much as the taste of the cheese
"The cheese is alive, but it wasn't really anything worse than what you get in prison", Ryan has a point of reference
Detour: Row, Row, Row your boat or Gently down the stream
Both detours take place at Pinarellu beach (9km).
In Row, Row, Row your boat teams must choose a type of fish and then kayak out to a set of buoys. There are fish tethered to chains hanging under the buoys and the team must bring back 10 fishes of the type they selected. The tricky part of this is that they are given a clear plastic kayak and this easily fills up with water and sinks.
In gently down the stream teams must board a tour boat with windows under the waterline. The trip takes 15 minutes and during it they must spot 10 metal fishes. Once back on land they must pick up a set of fish charts and find the chart listing their fishes in the same order the appeared on the trip. Teams are not allowed to take any notes during this task. And if they pick the wrong fish chart they have to take another trip on the boat before they can make another guess.
Raquel & Cayla initially want to go for the kayaks. They also decide to wait for Kim & Penn at the parking lot by the tower. Once Kim & Penn see this they are no longer miffed. The teams talk and decide to do the tour boat together (the time is now 10:05).
"It was nice of them to wait. I like them again", Penn
During this task we learn that Penn is color blind and he has a very good memory.
"That's purple, Barney", Cayla corrects Penn and names the first fish
Kim & Penn work very well together with Raquel & Cayla. They all help spot the fish and Penn is responsible for remembering them. Once back on the jetty they all repeat the order so that both teams know them.
"Purple barney, Yellow scuba, French flag, Little mermaid, Duke university, Bumblebee, Jamaica, Spain, Yellow with black tips and Japan", Penn recites the fish
The second group of teams arrives as the first teams are looking through the fish charts. Ryan & Dusty go for the kayaks while the others head for the tour boat. The boat has already left on another trip so they have to wait for a few minutes before they can board it. Lulu & Lala and Arun & Natalia also decide to work together on this task. Unfortunately they do not divide up the work, instead everybody says which fish they see and assume that somebody else is memorizing them.
Ryan & Dusty select the physical kayaking detour. They quickly realize that not all buoys have the fish they selected hanging under it. And it is tough work as they have to haul heavy chains out of the water. But fortunately for them they have a net bag which they can place their fish in so that when their kayak eventually fills with water they do not loose the fish they have collected. But getting into the kayak after it has sunk seems to be fairly tricky.
It seems like Ryan & Dusty get their tenth fish at about the same time as the other two teams return from their first trip in the boat. But they end up being way ahead as Lulu & Lala and Arun & Natalia pick the wrong fish card so they have to go on another 15 minute cruise. On the second trip they decide that each of them remember two of the fishes and this works much better.
Teams complete the detour in the following order:
1(+1) Kim & Penn, gently down the stream
2(-1) Raquel & Cayla, gently down the stream, just after #1
3(+0) Ryan & Dusty, kayaks
4(+0) Lulu & Lala, gently down the stream on their second attempt
5(+0) Arun & Natalia, gently down the stream on their second attempt, just after #4
Route info: "Drive to Bonifacion and search for Port de Plaisance..."
Teams are instructed to park their cars at Parking Vinello Senola (42km) and bring their bags from the cars. They must then make their way on foot to the fishing harbor where they will find their next clue.
Teams reach the clue box in the harbor in the following order:
1(+1) Raquel & Cayla
2(-1) Kim & Penn, just after #1
3(+0) Ryan & Dusty
4(+1) Arun & Natalia, while #3 are still doing the task
5(-1) Lulu & Lala, just as #3 are leaving
Road block: Who's feeling knotted up?
In this road block each team is give a net and must mend a hole in it. The hole is marked with yellow stitches. As usual there is a silent demonstration of how to do it. And, also as usual, the guy demonstrating has deft hands so it can be hard to see exactly what he does.
"Activate nerd glasses", Penn puts on his reading glasses
"Every time Dusty & Ryan take their shirts off I counter by putting on these glasses, and the world is balanced itself out[sic]", Penn
It turns out that one non obvious thing they guy demonstrating the technique does it to use his feet to keep the net taut. Teams which figure that out finds that the mending gets easier.
Ryan & Dusty arrive here before any of the first two teams are done with the road block. But the others have a head start so the boys are unable to really catch up.
"Welcome to hell", Penn greets the boys
Teams complete this road block in the following order (* denotes team member doing the roadblock):
1(+1)Kim & Penn* (2-4)2(-1)Raquel & Cayla* (4-2)After 12:463(+1)Ryan* & Dusty (4-2)4(+1)Lulu & Lala* (3-3)After 13:175(-1)Arun & Natalia* (3-3)
The next clue is a route info which tells teams to make their way to the other side of the harbor and then run up the mountain to their next Pit Stop. Along the way Napoleon will point the way.
The episode is cut so that it looks like Raquel & Cayla are about to catch up to Kim & Penn on the way to the Pit Stop. But we never get to see both teams in the same shot so we know they are not even close.
Teams reach Phil and the mat (1.3km and almost 60m vertically) in the following order:
1(+0) Kim & Penn, win a trip to Turkey
2(+0) Raquel & Cayla, while #1 are still on the mat
3(+0) Ryan & Dusty
4(+0) Lulu & Lala
5(+0) Arun & Natalia, just after #4 and are saved by a non elimination
"We really need to step up", Arun
maf:
Racing report
Amazing Race Season 33, Episode 8, "Souvlaki"
Film date: Probably 2021-09-27
The last leg was in Corsica, France, and during the pit stop teams are transported to Thessaloníki, Greece. It might be worth noting that as they are flying in a charter plane teams do not really know even which country the are going to.
Phil say teams are released from Peraia beach but it seems they are actually at the nearby Neoi Epivates beach. They are released in the following groups:
Group #1 at 09:00
1. Kim & Penn
1. Raquel & Cayla
Group #2 at 09:15
3. Ryan & Dusty
3. Lulu & Lala
Group #3 at 09:30
5. Arun & Natalia
Route info: "Welcome to Greece. Drive yourself to the Konstantinos Olive Grove in the countryside near the village of Nea Gonia. Search among the olive trees for your next clue."
Teams must now run a few hundred meters along the beach to where the cars are parked. These turn out to have manual transmission. But at least they drive on the right side of the road on Greece so the five remaining teams do not have any major issues with this (Raquel and Arun have some minor issues initially). The extra information contains directions for how to get to the olive grove.
Yet again we get to hear comments from Raquel & Cayla that they really want to win a leg.
Teams arrive at the olive grove (27km) in the following order:
1(+0) Kim & Penn
1(+0) Raquel & Cayla,
3(+0) Ryan & Dusty
4(+0) Lulu & Lala
5(+0) Arun & Natalia
Teams are only told to look for clues among the olive trees so they have no idea if they are looking for a clue box or something else. The correct alternative turns out to be something else as the clues can be found tied to branches up in the trees. There are different strategies for getting the clue. The younger males can just jump up and grab it. Raquel gets up on Cayla's shoulders (there is a lot of laughter involved in this). Some teams use the ladders which are strategically placed through the grove.
Teams get their clue form the olive grove in the following order:
1(+0) Kim & Penn
2(-1) Raquel & Cayla
3(+0) Lulu & Lala
4(-1) Ryan & Dusty
5(+0) Arun & Natalia
Route info: "Drive to Marianna's in Nea Gonia to find your next clue"
The extra information includes directions so nobody gets lost of the way to Mariana's (4km). This pattern continues through the day, that is most clues include directions to the next location. But these directions seem to be a bit on the sparse side so they can be hard to follow,
Road block: Who likes to wrap?
In this road block teams must use a provided rice mixture mixture and grape leaves to prepare 60 Dolmades (basically rice mixture wrapped in grape leaves). One of the tricky parts of this task is that the veins of the leaf must be facing inwards. Dusty and Arun seem to be the only ones noticing this directly.
Lulu & Lala seem to arrive around 10:20. Making the Dolmades takes a while so all teams catch up with each other here.
The non participating team members get to sit at a table eating grapes while their team mates toil away in the sun.
"Babe, I'm just down here loving you", Penn
"Thank you Penn, I'm loving you too", Raquel (who probably was not the intended recipient of Penn's comment)
"Miss Marianna is a little picky", Kim after realizing she has placed her Dolmades the wrong way on the tray
Raquel is the one who struggles the most with this task. She is the first to go to get her Dolmades judged but get half of them rejected. It takes her a few more tries before she realizes that she needs to play attention to the veins.
"I'm obviously doing not great on this challenge", Raquel
Teams complete this road block in the following order (* denotes team member doing the roadblock):
1(+0)Kim* & Penn (3-4)2(+2)Ryan & Dusty* (4-3)3(+0)Lulu & Lala* (3-4)4(+1)Arun* & Natalia (4-3)5(-3)Raquel* & Cayla (5-2)
Dusty is extremely loud when he gets his Dolmades approved. This may because he is excited to have advanced a few positions or that he wants to do some psychological warfare on the remaining teams.
"Half of Greece knew i was ecstatic when I finished this Roadblock', Dusty
--- Quote ---ROUTE INFO
Drive to the beach in
Heraklea and search for
Mamo's Kantina Stand.
Once there, ask Dimitra,
to recommend her
specialty. Order it.
--- End quote ---
Lulu & Lala have a hard time finding this place. On their way there they see cameras out on a pier. They go out there and find Phil and the Pit Stop. What is worse, but not shown in the episode is that they see that the first team has already checked in. And as they leave they see the second team on their way to the Pit Stop. This is where they realize that they are not doing well.
Teams arrive at the kantina stand (11km) in the following order:
1(+0) Kim & Penn
2(+0) Ryan & Dusty
3(+2) Raquel & Cayla
4(+0) Arun & Natalia, as #3 are trying to figure out how to get their next clue
5(-2) Lulu & Lala
Dimitra tells teams that the dish of the day is Souvlaki. But before they can order they must spell it for her.
The first three teams have no trouble spelling Souvlaki while the final two struggle. We get to see a few fanciful spellings like Schulaki and Shovlikie. If you do not know how it is spelled it is hard to figure out how. It is not listed on the menu and it is hard to find people who speak English (or have a phone with an English keyboard) nearby.
Once teams spell it they can order it (they get to choose pork or chicken). They must eat the entire Souvlaki between them before leaving the stand.
When they are done eating Kim & Penn throw the wrapping paper in the trashcan next to the stand. They they ask Dimitra for their next clue and she just stares back at them.
"Oh, did we eat the clue?', Kim
And that is when Penn realizes that the clue may have been printed on the wrapping paper. After some quick dumpster diving they retrieve it and find the clue "Saint George's Church, Heraklea" printed on it.
The same pattern then repeats for most teams. The one team which stands out is Lulu & Lala. They assume they did something wrong and order a second Souvlaki. This is a bit surprising since they had a hard time eating the first one. In their podcast they admit to being picky eaters with the palate of a 6 year old.
A small side note is that next to the Kantina somebody has parked a pickup loaded with water melons. In one of the extra scenes Dusty & Ryan talk about that they feared there would be a task involving the melons. They talk about the girl (Clarie) who got hit with one in the face during season 17.
Teams figure out what is their next clue in the same order they arrive. And Lulu & Lala does so after 13:11.
Teams arrive at St George's Church (1km) in the following order:
1(+0) Kim & Penn
2(+0) Ryan & Dusty
3(+0) Raquel & Cayla, probably about 15 minutes after #2
4(+0) Arun & Natalia, while the previous two teams are still there
5(+0) Lulu & Lala, after all other teams have left
Here teams find another road block: Who wants to be iconic?
The person who did not perform the previous road block must perform this one. They need to listen carefully to a lecture by a local "priest" (probably an actor) where he talks about 10 saints in the Greek orthodox church. After the lecture there is a quiz where they will be asked questions like: "Which saint was put to death on Christmas Day, December 25th?". They must pick the icon depicting the correct saint for each of the five questions and there are about 20 icons to choose from. There is more than one place where teams can take the quiz so at least two teams can do it at the same time.
The priest is not a fast talker and the entire lecture lasts 15 minutes.
"Can you go back? Or you just go forward, right?", Penn
"Don't talk to the priest", The priest
In an interview later Penn explains that his ADHD gives him a kind of superpower where he can get into a hyper focus state for a short while. This helped a lot during this task.
The next person doing this task is Ryan and he listens to the priest describe the first five saints and then he takes off to do the quiz. He fails and goes back. After a minute he is joined by Cayla. Ryan starts to leave the lecture again after five saints when the priest says "The next one..."
"Why is such a hurry?", The priest to Ryan
It seems both Ryan & Cayla stays and listens to the entire lecture one more time after this.
"You got this Lulu. Don't panic, okay? Don't act like me", Lala
Teams complete this road block in the following order (* denotes team member doing the roadblock):
1(+0)Kim & Penn* (3-5)On his first attempt2(+0)Ryan* & Dusty (5-3)On his second attempt3(+0)Raquel & Cayla* (5-3)On her first attempt4(+0)Arun & Natalia* (4-4)On her second attempt5(+0)Lulu* & Lala (4-4)On her second or third attempt
The next clue is a route info which tells teams to drive themselves to the next Pit Stop at the fishing port pier in Nea Kallikrateia.
As usual the very last team is shown blazing through the last road block while the next to last team is show struggling on their way to the pit stop. But we are not fooled. And looking at the shadows it looks like the last team is way behind.
Teams arrive to the pit stop (6km) in the following order:
1(+0) Kim & Penn, win $7,500 each
2(+1) Raquel & Cayla
3(-1) Ryan & Dusty
4(+0) Arun & Natalia
5(+0) Lulu & Lala, are eliminated
"Well, it was a nice run", Lulu & Lala
Lulu & Lala make a grand exit by jumping into the water.
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