I'm on TAR3, and I was wondering if you could explain your reasoning for the airfield on Leg 1 in Mexico.
No problem!
We start by working backwards from the skydive landing zone at the end of the Detour. The area has changed over the years, but if we roll back Google Earth as far as you can go to 2005, there's a match to a football field in Xochitepec.
That raises some questions. Phil says that the donkey course was 7 miles, but Tequesquitengo is 13 miles by road from the landing zone. It's possible that Phil has got his maths wrong (this happens a lot) or teams choosing the donkeys finished somewhere else (we never actually see them finish on the episode), but that places some doubt on the Detour starting in Tequesquitengo.
Another complication: the episode shows the skydive plane taking off against a backdrop of low hills, but the San José Vista Hermosa airfield is surrounded by flat land. So we need to hunt around for alternatives.
We find that in Chiconcuac, which is 3 miles away from the landing zone by road. The hills to the west match the episode, and more conclusively, Heather and Eve get dumped by their donkey exactly where we expect them to, at the entrance to the airfield.
Thanks GB, I was so focused on the end of the episode in HaMerotz LaMillion that I never bothered to examine the start! Michal/Ran, do you have any other clues for us, like which direction from Auckland you guys travelled for the Finish Line?