Well, well, well, Fran & Barry didn’t last long at the top and at least they finished first on one leg and got a prize but their winning didn’t help them on this leg.  They quickly fell to the back of the pack and were eventually eliminated.  Even the good karma they generated at the start of this leg was not enough to overcome the inevitable.  They generously left $20 to BJ & Tyler and Ray & Yolanda left money too.  Monica & Joseph ridiculed the hippies plea for cash and laughed at their predicament.  Eric & Jeremy left a $100 I.O.U.

 
Fran & Barry’s day started at 5:30pm and their only big lead was against the hippies who had an 8:21pm start and the rest of the teams were bunched between 5:35pm to 6:45pm.   The clue had the teams get to the airport in Muscat and hop on a flight to Perth, Australia.  All the teams got held up due to a traffic jam, they were told it was the king’s motorcade that was stopping the traffic.  After waiting for traffic to clear they got to the airport and were able to board the same flight to Perth.  Everyone was commenting on the fact the hippies would not be able to make the flight and team MoJo was gloating and exclaiming how much they hate the hippies.  Meanwhile back at the ranch, BJ & Tyler got their clue and dashed to their vehicle where they discovered the money from Fran & Barry and Ray & Yolanda and the I.O.U. from Eric & Jeremy.  They also had a reiterated their goal of yielding MoJo when the opportunity arises.  On their way to the airport they stopped to pick up a hitchhiker, who turned out to be a Bedouin, of whom they immediately felt a kinship.  They stopped for gas and their hitchhiker helped them and bought them food from the gas station store.  They left him there after expressing their thanks and good wishes to him.  They got to the airport and were able to secure seats on the same flight that the other teams were on.  They got on the plane at the last minute and surprised everyone and pissed off MoJo.  They took the opportunity to solicit cash from the other passengers and were able to beg $300 US dollars, not bad. 

 
Upon arriving in Perth they were to take a cab to a park to get their next clue.  Everyone was able to do that and the clue had them go to Freemantle and catch a ferry to the island of Rottnest.  They all arrived at night and the ferry had stopped the runs for the day and would start again in the morning.  Everyone retired for the night and all were on the first ferry to Rottnest.  Upon disembarking in Rottnest they had to climb on tandem bikes and bike 3 miles to a lighthouse to get their next clue.  Eric & Jeremy, Monica & Joseph were the first teams to the lighthouse and got their clue which was a Detour. 

 
The Detour was divided into 2 tasks.  The first being Sand, which had the teams dragging heavy branches across the sand which the locals called “brushing the beach”, it detours erosion. They then pile the branches in another pile and get their clue.   The second task was Sea.  In Sea the teams had to dive in the ocean and locate some crayfish traps and bring up 2 crayfish and take them to the monitor and get their clue.  Eric & Jeremy were the first to arrive at the beach and chose to do Sea.  They quickly changed into provided bathing attire and located their crayfish and deposited them with the monitor who gave them their next clue.  The hippies, arriving shortly after Eric & Jeremy, chose to do sand.  It was harder than they anticipated but they were able to complete the task and get their next clue.  Fran & Barry decided to do the Sand task, found it difficult but completed it nonetheless.  MoJo arrived and decided on the Sea task.  After changing and charging in the water Joseph was able to find a crayfish, but wah-wah Monica was scared and did not get a crayfish as quickly.  After a lecture from Joseph, Monica got it together and grabbed a crayfish and they too got their next clue.  Ray & Yolanda arrived and they decided to do the Sand task. 

 
The next clue had the teams going back into Freemantle and trying to find the Freemantle prison, which meant the teams had to reboard the ferry.  Eric & Jeremy, for completing the Detour so quickly, were the only team to get on the earlier ferry.  The hippies arriving just after the ferry left grabbed the next ferry to Hilary and found out it docked not far from Freemantle.  The rest of the teams were able to make later ferry departures.  Once Eric & Jeremy found the prison they got their clue.  This clue was a Roadblock.

 
The Roadblock had one member of the team going into the deserted prison and finding a flashlight and some batteries in a designated section.  From there they were to find the entrance to the tunnels that ran beneath the prison and look for the next clue.  My son said this was the hardest of the Roadblocks so far.  It was difficult in the fact that things weren’t labeled very clearly which had the teams running around inside the complex searching to complete task.  Eric & Jeremy being the first team to arrive at the prison, Jeremy had the luxury of trying to complete the tasks without the other teams witnessing where he went.  He found the flashlight rather quickly but took a long time locating the entrance to the tunnels.  He finally found it after some of the other teams arrived on the scene.  Once he got into the tunnels he did not find the next clue quickly.  He went through one side of the tunnels, the wet side, and then came round and went to the dry side and was able to find the next clue.  He promptly exited the tunnels and found Eric and went onto the Pitstop.  The other teams had a bit of trouble finding the entrance to the tunnels but once they found that it seemed they found the clues faster.  Eric & Jeremy saw a cab but MoJo had reserved it and they were kicking themselves because they realized that MoJo has the potential of passing them and getting to the Pitstop before them.  They ran most of the way and beat MoJo in a footrace to the destination. 

 
The Pitstop was at the Sailing Club and after the close race between the frat boys and MoJo, the hippies were able to come in 3^rd for this leg.  They were followed by Ray & Yolanda that meant that Fran & Barry were eliminated this leg for finishing last.  They got a little emotional but were gracious losers.  They really did better than I anticipated but this race is more for the younger fit teams.  There is too much running around, weird hours and stress for older or even less fit teams to endure.  I am hoping that MoJo gets eliminated soon.  I don’t like them and I hope that the hippies are successful in Yielding them.  If MoJo gets eliminated and the frat boys, hippies and Ray & Yolanda are left – I wouldn’t mind who won, I like them all. 

This leg ended in more of an inverted pyramid; first was last and last was first.¬† This will be better explained as you read further.¬† Eric & Jeremy started out first, they had about a 4¬? hour head start on the second team of Monica & Joseph.¬† They were followed by Ray & Yolanda, who were having some relationship strife, and Fran & Barry.¬† They were all supposed to take a bus to the airport and catch a flight to Muskat, Oman.¬† Everyone made the 9am bus to the airport but the hippies, BJ & Tyler.¬† They had to catch the 10am bus and got to the airport after everyone else and were not included in the group travel plans.¬† They seemed a bit miffed and made their own accommodations and arrived in Muskat an hour after the rest.¬†

 
Once arriving in Muskat they were to find the Giant Incense Burner and from there they would have to drive to a fishing town called Sur.  It was during this trip they encountered flooding conditions.  There was a local man there that showed them the way through one flooded area and then they started to stack up when they encountered the second flood area.  MoJo was in the lead followed by the hippies.  Ray & Yolanda were lost and fast losing it with one another.  Fran & Barry due to their age, lagged behind running up to the Incense Burner which put them behind the pack.  Eric & Jeremy came upon MoJo and the hippies idling by the 2^nd flood site.  They decided to bust on through the water and see what happens.  MoJo and the hippies soon followed without incidence.  Monica got a little snarky, commenting that the frat boys jumped the line, like they weren’t sitting there waiting for the hippies to plow through the water so they could follow.  Once they got to Sur they found the ferry crossing to get their next clue, which was a Detour.

 
The Detour was located in a city called Baith Al Battha.   The Detour consisted to two tasks, Camel or Watchtower.  In Camel the teams were to use a block and tackle system in which to hoist a camel onto the back of the truck and then take it to a Bedouin to get their next clue.   Eric & Jeremy decided to do the camel and loaded the camel into the back of the truck but they unfortunately got lost using the map to locate the Bedouin at his camp.   This turned their task into a time consuming feat and dropped them into the back of the pack.  Meanwhile, Monica & Joseph opted to do the Watchtower which sent the teams to check these watchtowers to find a message box and if they found a message box they were to take it to a man in a silver shop in the town.   MoJo ran to the first tower cutting BJ & Tyler, Fran & Barry off which forced them to try the other towers.  MoJo’s tower did not have a message so they changed course and did the camel hoist.  BJ & Tyler and Fran & Barry were able to find message boxes and found the silver smith and got their next clue directing them to a village called Al Hawiyah.  Monica & Joseph got their camel loaded and delivered to the Bedouin without mishap and Eric & Jeremy were still driving in the desert in search of their missing Bedouin which they managed to find after backtracking.  

 
Al Hawiyah was a Roadblock, which only allowed one member of the team to participate.  This Roadblock was called the Dig.   The member was to dig through 117 sand piles in search of this local dish called shuwas – and to add to its difficulty there were only six of these shuwas and 117 sand piles.   These shuwas were going to be their evening meal – so not only were they digging to stay alive they were also digging for their dinner.  It was slow going and though Barry located a shuwa first his hole collapsed making more digging necessary.  In that time Monica unearthed a shuwa and ran and got their clue for the pitstop.  Barry managed to extricate his shuwa from the ground and got his clue and he and Fran were on their way.  Eric found one too and he and Jeremy were on their way to the pitstop too.  BJ was still there seeing people pull these things from the piles and he was getting discouraged and hot and Tyler was trying to encourage him but it only irritated BJ further.  But Tyler backed off and then continued trying to bolster BJ’s flagging spirit.  Ray & Yolanda showed up and Yolanda found a shuwa and BJ was still there.  He managed to finally find one and he and Tyler were on their way to the pitstop, Jabeen Castle, 150 miles away. 

 
Though MoJo found the first shuwa they needed to ask for directions and it enabled Fran & Barry to slide into first place by arriving at the pitstop before them.  Monica & Joseph arrived 2^nd with Ray and Yolanda snagging 3^rd place because Eric & Jeremy took a wrong turn and then tried to do a shortcut which only shortened their lead over Ray & Yolanda to nothing and had them coming in 4^th place.  BJ & Tyler sure they were out of the race finally got to the pitstop and Phil informed them they were the last team to check in BUT it was not an elimination leg.  So they got a reprieve but they lost all their cash and possessions, but being the true hippies that they are they were philosophical in the loss of their possessions and ready cash.  They will do well and they still have their happy go lucky attitude. 

 
What’s kinda scary to me is the deterioration of Ray & Yolanda, their relationship.  It seems to be full of sniping at each other.  It appears to be that they are pulling it together to make it through the race, but I’m sure the animosity will start affecting them, eventually.   And Monica & Joseph, if that girl does not stop acting like a baby – I may bust through the tv & pull a Cher on her.  (You know – from Moonstruck – when she slaps Nicolas Cage & tells him to “Snap out of it!”).  This might be a deal breaker for Joseph – if he is looking at the long term for their relationship.  Too whiny and needy.  Frank & Barry did very well this leg.  They were able to navigate and utilize the locals for information, very well played and a very much needed boost to a team that felt it was just hanging on.  Eric & Jeremy- my cute boy team.  Whoa Nelly – I thought they might have been doomed on this day of directionless navigating, but they lucked out that BJ & Tyler were having an even worse day.  So it’s a new race on the next leg and let’s see if the former top runners can rise to the top again.

Hallelujah! Hallelujah! I’m playing the lotto this weekend and I think I may have a good shot at winning something! I am just so excited that Lake is gone – I can hardly stand it. Mister-Shirk-the-Blame, Mister-Intensity, Mister-Bad-Mouth-Spouse’s-Mistakes-While-Not-Doing-Anything-to-Contribute, I can go on, so I will stop. But needless to say – I am static (a Mike Tyson saying from an old TV show called “In Living Color”).

Anyway, this leg started off with Eric & Jeremy, the frat boys, leaving first and then BJ & Tyler, the hippies. They had about one hour jump on the other teams leaving for the train station. As happens at least once on each leg airports, attractions, transportation seem to cause the teams to bunch waiting for things to become available and that is what happened here. All the teams were able to board the 8am train to Rome where they were to look for the Trevi Fountain where there was a man on a scooter to give them their next clue. Upon arriving in Rome Eric & Jeremy and Monica & Joseph opted for a cab whereas the rest of the teams decided to go by metro. The cabs proved to be quicker and Eric & Jeremy and Monica & Joseph found the guy on the scooter and moved on to the rest of the task which was to find the Spanish steps and find a carriage with a portfolio folder in it and they were to match up their clue from the scooter guy and the one from the carriage and “crack the code”. It was a tie-in to the Da Vinci Code movie, of which Eric & Jeremy gets to walk down the red carpet at the premiere, that was the prize for “cracking the code”. The rest of the teams found the scooter guy and the Spanish Steps with no problem and everyone moved onto the next destination, Athens, Greece.

All the teams bunched again, this time at the airport waiting to fly to Athens. They all landed and believe it or not Barry & Fran were the first out. Their lead didn’t last due to the fact that the place there were to go to, Agora, was closed and wouldn’t open until 8am the next morning. Monica took the opportunity to voice her awe at being at the place where thinking began and all the great philosophers lived. Obviously thinking is not a strong point of her’s. Enough with my cattiness, moving along to the race.

The Fast Forward was introduced this race. It was the first of the two that will be available this race. Eric & Jeremy, Monica & Joseph, and Fran & Barry all tried for the Fast Forward. The task to claim the Fast Forward was to go to a local restaurant and smash plates in the time honored tradition of the Greeks. The first team to find the Amazing Race red and yellow flag baked into the dishes can claim the Fast Forward. Eric & Jeremy found it and made their way to the pit stop. Monica & Joseph and Fran & Barry had to go back and go to Corinth and join the rest of the teams looking for the Isthmos Station to get the next clue.

The clue had them going by train to Corinth. Joseph took the opportunity to tell Monica to suck it up and don’t be so negative. She was crying because they didn’t get the fast forward and lost time.

At the Isthmos Station they found out they had to do a Roadblock and it was bungee jumping. Most of the teams had no problems – but Fran did not want to bungee jump and was very scared. Monica tried to boost her up but Fran was petrified. But she finally overcame her fear enough to jump. She did it and appeared not to be too worse for wear. From the bungee jumping the teams got a clue to go to a Detour.

The Detour had them choosing between two tasks. The first task involved doing a mini-Olympics. One team member had to throw the discus a predetermined distance and it was the same with the javelin and then both team members had to wrestle a wrestler out of the ring. Ray & Yolanda did the mini-Olympics. Yolanda did the discus and after a couple of tosses got it to the mark but Ray had some trouble throwing the javelin. Joe came and finished before Ray did in javelin throwing. Neither team had problems wrestling the wrestler. It was here that BJ & Tyler made a HUGE screw-up. They drove an hour in the wrong direction and then had to drive an hour back and then onto the Roadblock. They were so upset at this and I thought they might be done. But if you had read my first line you know they didn’t get eliminated. The opted to do the mini-Olympics and got through the three tasks and made their way to the pit stop.

The second task to choose from was “It’s all Greek to me”. In this task they were to pick up 9 pottery shard pieces which had a letter on it and try to decipher, with the help of some locals, the letters the Greek letters stood for and then on a map figure out what city the letters spelled. Fran & Barry and Lake & Michelle did this task and got frustrated because it was harder than they anticipated. But they managed to figure out the city and got the clue to the pit stop. It was here that Barry backed into a tree and shattered the back window and smashed in the bumper of their vehicle.

Eric & Jeremy had won the Fast Forward and were already at the pit stop. Ray & Yolanda came in 2^nd and since they did not follow the directions on one of the tasks were penalized 15minutes, while they were waiting for their 15minute penalty to run out Monica & Joseph arrived and were able to check in for 2^nd place and Ray & Yolanda got 3^rd place. Fran & Barry arrived and took 4^th place. BJ & Tyler being 2 hours behind were pretty certain they got eliminated, but much to their surprise and mine – they placed 5^th even after their 15minute penalty. Lake & Michelle came in 6^th and were eliminated. If I could have traveled back in time and through a television I would have loved to say that. But I will just enjoy the moment.

Lake & Michelle were really at odds this leg. She got mad at him for saying “Damn it” to her instead of getting mad at him for calling her a “Bitch”. But they had to stop while he collected himself – he was stressing too much. I’m just glad they weren’t much of a threat to winning or else I would have been subjected to them more. But they are gone and now to enjoy the rest of the race. I’m really surprised that pretty much all the legs have been elimination legs. I think I remember there being more non-elimination legs and the teams had to beg for money. I don’t agree with that scenario, I thought it was a bit harsh. But the race is tightening and getting close to the end, only 5 more teams left out of the 11.

Beautiful scenery and history ‚Äì can it get any better for the racers?¬† I would love to be there racing.¬† But anyway ‚Äì enough of my traveling desires and get to the race.¬† BJ & Tyler, the hippies, had about an 1 ¬? hour jump on Eric & Jeremy, frat boys, but it did not matter since the amphitheater ruin they were to visit in Sicily didn‚Äôt open until later in the morning.¬† Jeremy & Eric caught up with them there.¬† Since I have been writing my perspective on the race I‚Äôve noticed that I gravitate towards the teams that have fun and are able to complete the tasks without too much emotion or intensity.¬† That being said, BJ & Tyler have goofed their way onto my favs list.¬†¬† I would not be upset if the frat boys or the hippies win.¬† I like them both.¬† I especially enjoyed the little prank that the hippies pulled at the gate to the amphitheater.¬† They set up a sign up sheet in case the other teams were able to catch up they might be able to fool them into thinking there is an order to entering the site.¬† And not that they really expected that the other teams would fall in line they thought it might be fun to see what happens.¬†

 
Anyway – the task there was fairly easy, count the number heads mounted on a fence surrounding the amphitheater.  Once they give the groundskeeper the correct count after having to search for him inside the site, he gives them the next clue.  The hippies and frat boys completed this without any problems and moved onto the Detour. 

 
Fran & Barry, being the 4^th team out, got lost in the city looking for the site and were starting the panic but they were able to find their way there and count the correct number of heads to get their clue to go the fish market.  Lake & Michelle and Monica & Joseph also got the correct count and proceeded to the fish market.  Ray & Yolanda and Dave & Lori got caught in morning traffic and made it to the amphitheater but with the added pressure of getting further behind on time.  They both got the correct count and went onto the fish market. 

 
The Detour was in Catania and it involved the teams having a choice between 2 tasks called Big Fish and Little Fish.  In Big Fish, of which most teams did, the teams had to pick up a 32 lb swordfish each and carry it through the streets to the fish market to a particular fish vendor, the distance was about 1/3 of a mile.   Eric, frat boys, said it felt like he was carrying a wet cat and Jeremy said it was throwing up on him.  He had fish juice & blood trailing down his arm, yuck!  But they were able to find the fish market and the right fish vendor and got their clue to the next destination, a Roadblock.   BJ & Tyler had similar success.  Fran & Barry were realistic about their physical limitations and opted to do Little fish which had them sell 4 kilos of a little Italian fish.  They were selling the same time that MoJo, Monica & Joseph, were hauling the fish through the town to the fish market.  They were still selling when Joseph & Monica couldn’t find the vendor and Monica had a melt-down.  She started crying the fish smelled, she couldn’t carry it anymore, the fish was bleeding on her, wah-wah-wah.   Joseph, in the meantime, was getting irritated with not being able to find the vendor and then having to listen to Monica rant – he was not a happy camper and was snapping at her.   They finally found someone who could point them in the direction of the fish vendor and got their clue.  Barry & Fran wrapped up their sales and also got their clue.   Dave & Lori and Ray & Yolanda also had little problems completing the task and were soon on their way to Siracusa, to the Roadblock, where the rest of the teams had headed.

Siracusa, a costal town was the site of the Roadblock.  It had one member of each team get in a kayak and play a local game akin to kayak polo.  The frat boys and the hippies sailed through their task and went on to the pitstop with the frat boys coming in 1^st and the hippies coming in 2^nd.  Joseph had no problem making a basket/goal and team MoJo went on to place 3^rd.  Fran & Barry had a bit of problem.  Barry did the roadblock and he had some problems trying to shoot the ball into the basket/goal, but he finally made it and they made their way to the pitstop and came in 4^th.  Mr. Intensity & Michelle came and there was some debate as to whom would do the task, it was agreed that Michelle would perform.  Lake was on the sidelines second-guessing her efforts but she finally made a basket and they went on to 5^th place at the pitstop.  Ray & Yolanda came and Ray said he would do it, but he initially had some problems navigating the kayak, he dumped himself into the water.  But he quickly righted himself and made what I would call “a half-court shot”, very nice.   They went to the pitstop and came in 6^th.   Dave & Lori did well and came in last at the pitstop and were eliminated.  So much for the Nerd Power.  But I must say they gave it a good shot and but came up short.  Dave got emotional and proclaimed his undying love to Lori and both went out graciously with Dave giving his version of a Nerd Power sign. 

 
I must say the contestants are thinning out and the competition intensity is ratcheting up.  Who will get eliminated next week?   I’m thinking Fran & Barry, they are doing well, but I don’t believe they have the skills to compete to the end. Barry gets frustrated too quickly and some of these tasks the teams are asked to perform have 2 levels.  One,  a more intense/physical task but if done right can be done quickly and the second level,  a somewhat less physical task but it could take considerably longer to complete.  With Fran & Barry’s limitations I think they are destined to be eliminated before the finale.  If all the stars are in alignment and I don’t step on any cracks between now and Wednesday, maybe I will get my fondest desire and see Lake & Michelle given the boot.  It’s dreams like these that make it easy to get up in the morning.  ;->