Amazing Race 11 Tidbits -- Thoughts and Outlook

Amazing Race Tidbits

CBS' The Amazing Race 11 -- All Stars Edition

THE MIGHTY HAVE FALLEN

Thoughts on Episode 4 and Outlook for Episode 5

Thoughts on Episode Four-- Argentina

Episode Four was an elimination leg. Surprise! Having won three straight legs, Boston Rob was supremely confident. He boasted that he was not even close to his prime, followed by the sound for a miscue. Teams departed the Pit Stop at Playa Petrohue, Chile. From Puerto Montt Airport, teams had to book a flight to Punta Arenas, Chile. There was a flight departing at 9:40am and a later one scheduled to depart at 11:15am. Due to scarcity of tickets, Teri and Ian only made the first flight after begging and pleading. Joe and Bill were forced to go on the second flight, along with Charla and Mirna.

Near Punta Arenas, teams had to find Lord Lonsdale's shipwreck to get their next clue. Boston Rob and others got the hint with a name like "barca viejo" in Spanish

Detour

Sign It: First, team members carry supplies up a steep series of flights of stairs along a seawall in Punta Arenas. Then they had to study the displayed Magellan's Map showing the globe-circling voyage started by Ferdinand Magellan with each of 14 ports of call to be represented on the signs and nailed to the pole to make a traditional signpost. The signs did not have to point in the correct direction, but they did have to be spelled correctly, and in the correct order. Both the spelling and the order of the ports of call could be obtained from the large map. Only Uchenna and Joyce completed this Detour, while some teams gave up in varying degrees of frustration.

Navigate It: Each team used an oversized map of downtown Punta Arenas to get to the town plaza where a sailor would hand them a compass. They were to rely on the compass to walk directly south to a salvage shop, the Nautilus Building, selling deep-sea diving supplies. All teams other than Uchenna and Joyce made the trek to the Nautilus; the lucky teams picked this Detour right away. The fortunate teams were: Oswald and Danny, Teri and Ian, Eric and Danielle, Joe and Bill, as they gained an advantage on all the others.

Episode Four Detour
Members	Detour Selected	Result
Rob and Amber	Sign It, then Navigate It	In first to start, seventh to leave--Rob thought he had both the construction skills and the specific knowledge of history to do this one cold. Rob got frustrated until the queens proposed switching. Then, they fell behind the queens to the Nautilus building.
Danny and Oswald	Navigate It	Virtual tie with Eric and Danielle
Eric and Danielle	Navigate It	Virtual tie with Danny and Oswald
Teri and Ian	Navigate It	Third to finish--Ian was quick to pick this Detour
Dustin and Kandice	Sign It, then Navigate It	Saw how difficult the signs were and proposed to Rob and Amber to switch together. Then they did better at the Navigate to boot, to finish sixth.
Uchenna and Joyce	Sign It	Fourth overall, as Joyce figured out correct order of the signs.
Joe and Bill	Navigate It	By picking this detour, vaulted to fifth.
Charla and Mirna	Sign It, then Navigate It	Had trouble with climbing stairs, eighth to finish

The first three teams to arrive at the airport after completing the Detour took the first LAN charter plane to Ushuaia, Argentina, leaving at 8AM the next day, while the last five teams to arrive from the Detour took the second charter at 11 AM the next day, making for a five way competition for last place to follow a three way competition for first place.

The first two teams had a relatively uneventful search of Playa Larga for the cluebox, while Teri and Ian looked in the wrong area initially. But, Rob and Amber were distressed to be with on a flight with Charla and Mirna, and little hope of reclaiming first. Worse yet, both teams were forced to compete for cabs at the airport in Argentina after all available cabs took the first three teams to Playa Larga. At Playa Larga, Amber tried some trickery on Mirna, and it succeeded in putting the couple ahead of the cousins in leaving for the boats at the bay, Bahia La Pataia.

At the boat landing, Teams had to pick numbers for boats to the island, Isla Redonda. At most two teams could take a boat, and boats left every 20 minutes. Due to the closeness at Playa Larga in finding the cluebox, teams already in places 4-6 raced for numbers for the boats, with the next boat to carry teams taking numbers 4 and 5. The more athletic Joe and Bill and the beauty queens outraced Uchenna and Joyce over gravel paths and footbridges for the coveted numbers when Uchenna and Joyce struggled to get their backpacks from the taxi. The black couple were frustrated to be left fehind, but not so surprised when they were later paired with their old nemesis, Rob and Amber.

Episode Four Boats to Redonda Island
Members	Boat	Tag Number
Rob and Amber	4	7
Danny and Oswald	1	1
Teri and Ian	2, boat went by itself	3
Eric and Danielle	1	2
Dustin and Kandice	3	4
Joe and Bill	3	5
Uchenna and Joyce	4	6
Charla and Mirna	5, Last	8

Roadblock

Who is good at sorting things out?

It was crucial to those doing the Roadblock to read the complete clue.

Episode Four Roadblock
Members	Team Member	Result
Rob and Amber	Rob	Sixth or seventh in, last out. Letter from mother and son Susan and Patrick hoping they would be miserable and in last place.
Danny and Oswald	Oswald	First out. Letter from brother and sister Blake and Paige.
Eric and Danielle	Eric	First or second to arrive, second out. Letter from former teammates Jeremy and Dani, urging "no babies on the Race!"
Teri and Ian	Teri	Teri did well enough to hold third. Letter from Race 3 winners Flo and Zach, who was not sure they would get this far.
Dustin and Kandice	Kandice	Kandice worked methodically to be fifth out. Letter was from Lyn of Team Alabama. "TAR 10 for the Win!"
Uchenna and Joyce	Joyce	Seventh or sixth in, sixth out. Also got letter from Susan and Patrick.
Joe and Bill	Bill	Fourth or fifth to arrive, fourth to leave. Letter was from Frank Mesa, very strange indeed!
Charla and Mirna	Mirna	Last of 8 to arrive, worked quickly to be seventh to leave with just enough time to spare. Letter was from the abrasive Lance and Marshall.

A desparate race was waged for last place over the rough, weed-filled terrain at the bottom of the world, the southernmost point of South America. Rob and Amber tried to catch up to Charla and Mirna. Even though Charla fell headfirst along the way, they were able to reach the mat ahead of Rob and Amber.

Episode Four Order of Finish
Members	Team
Rob and Amber	8
Danny and Oswald	1
Teri and Ian	3
Eric and Danielle	2
Dustin and Kandice	5
Joe and Bill	4
Uchenna and Joyce	6
Charla and Mirna	7

Rob and Amber gave their thoughts on the FINISH LINE. Besides the shock of being out, is that they thought they would face stiffer competition from teams like Colin and Christie, and BJ and Tyler of Race 9.

Outlook for Episode Five

What are teams to do now that the heavily favored Rob and Amber are out?

Danny and Oswald have chosen to communicate effectively, leveraging their experience, and are performing smoothly without being unduly hurried. Eric and Danielle, Teri and Ian, Joe and Bill, and Dustin and Kandice are doing quite well for the most part. Ian seems to be in better form now that teams are not at high altitude.

The bottom team of Charla and Mirna is in real trouble, as both are trying to do too much. Uchenna and Joyce have looked a bit drained at times, and lost a crucial footrace to the beauty queens and Team Guido.

Comparison of Teams in AMAZING RACE 11
Place	Members	Strengths	Weaknesses
1	Danny and Oswald	Athletic, fast enough in footraces, good at tasks. Both are highly motivated and determined.	They have had friction between them.
2	Eric and Danielle	Eric is highly athletic, both are intelligent enough. Both are highly motivated and determined.	Danielle had trouble getting lost and losing things. Both can be geographically challenged at times.
3	Teri and Ian	Ian is very intelligent	Not paying attention to details of clues, oldest team, Ian struggled in locales at high altitude
4	Joe and Bill	Very intelligent, surprisingly athletic, good strategists	Can get seriously lost, fighting tendancy to lose focus.
6	Uchenna and Joyce	Both are athletic. Joyce is a quick read	Look drained at times, can be beaten in footraces.
7	Charla and Mirna	Communication, determination	Limited traveling experience, short in stature, slow at tasks, Charla is not as strong, Mirna forced to overcome Charla's shortcomings.
5	Dustin and Kandice	Competitive, college educated, athletic	Not paying attention to details of clues--or even preservation of clues, try to push ahead of others, not fastest in foot races, emotional. Dustin is bossy and domineering.

What will Episode 5 reveal about the racers as the action out of South America? It may well be a non-elimination leg, but with plenty of action. Watch the exciting fifth episode of Amazing Race All Stars Sunday, March 18th at 8 PM Eastern/Pacific.

Episode Four Order of Finish
Members	Team
Rob and Amber	8
Danny and Oswald	1
Teri and Ian	3
Eric and Danielle	2
Dustin and Kandice	5
Joe and Bill	4
Uchenna and Joyce	6
Charla and Mirna	7

Outlook for Episode Five

Episode 5 may be non-elimination. What will Episode 5 reveal about the racers as the action moves out of South America, and who will be eliminated next? Watch the exciting fifth episode of Amazing Race All Stars Sunday, March 18th at 8 PM Eastern/Pacific.