The Amazing Race 14: Phuket,Thailand

With six teams left, the race heats up. Tonight's first clue instructs the teams to fly to Phuket, Thailand.
On the way to the airport, Mike says, "Do you speak any Thai, Dad?" Mel replies, "Yeah, Mai Tai."
Margie expresses how exhausted she is from constant signing to Luke. "Sometimes, I just want a break; just want to rest my arms . . . but I wouldn't change it for anything."
Jaime's nastiness and disdain goes from occasional to constant as the race wears on. She admits she doesn't like to hear foreign languages; the sound gets on her nerves. She talks down to and yells at non-English speakers, which is everyone they encounter.
Kisha gives money to the Indian children with their arms outstretched into their taxi window. From a race perspective, sister Jen is right; she shouldn't do that. But the poverty of the children compels Kisha to give.
All teams end up on the same flight, so it's anyone's game today.

Phuket Zoo Gorilla

With only a photo of a gorilla statue, teams are at the mercy of their cab drivers to know the statue is at the Phuket Zoo. Mel and Mike are the only team to have trouble landing a cab. Getting in a cab last doesn't turn out to be the problem, it's their driver, who decides the gorilla is at the beach.
Several teams get out of their cabs on the street and wave the gorilla photo around, hoping someone will recognize it.
"Just say big-ass gorilla," said Jen.
Once they have their answer, the cabs travel in a herd toward the zoo. Mel and Mike watch the other cabs turn off together in the opposite direction. They hope their cab driver is the only one with the right answer. This hope turns out to be fatal--rarely is the pack wrong.
At the beach, Mel and Mike dismiss the one local who suggests the gorilla might be at the zoo. Mel says, "let's stop for a Thai massage," once they realize they have probably lost. When a second local swears the gorilla is at the Phuket Zoo, Mel and Mike head there, still doubtful.

Esso the Tiger

Teams each have their picture taken with Esso the Tiger, the danger made apparent by the one-armed tiger handler. Speedy Mark and Mickey reach Esso first. Kisha and Jen say, "If the tiger didn't eat Mark and Mike, they won't eat us. Well, they are bite-size."
After the photo op, teams take part in a typical Thai elephant performance. Racers lie on the ground and an elephant steps gently on their butts. Then elephant squats over the player on the end. The elephant likes Kisha's butt best and presses it twice.
Teams return to the tiger area and find their next clue pasted on their souvenir photo. Jaime says she could live with the animals and without people. I think people could live without her too.

The Oldest Herb Shop in Phuket

Jaime and Cara start calling the stuntmen "The Tweedles", a cringe-worthy nickname.
The nickname cracks the girls up and Jaime and Cara compare the stuntmen to cartoon characters. How can they talk like that on camera and not be ashamed?
Racers must make their way to the Old Phuket Town and find Nguan Choon Tong Herb Shop, the oldest herb shop in Phuket. Teams must ask the shopkeeper to open one of 99 herb drawers in search of a clue. If they choose the wrong drawer, they must keep on guessing.
Jaime and Cara suffer some poetic justice in the Herb Shop. Who's the Tweedle now?
Jaime starts screaming at the shopkeeper. I hope for Mel and Mike's sake the guessing game slows the teams down.
After taking Jaime's abuse, the shopkeeper love latecomers, Mel and Mike, who don't express any frustration or impatience. The team has fun with the guessing game, as they have with most of the tasks they've tackled.

Detour: Hundred Barrels or Two Miles

Both options for the Detour are physical tonight. In Hundred Barrels, teams prepare a fishing boat for ten days at sea. They must fill 47 fish barrels with enough drinking water to last the trip. They must also move 53 of the empty barrels from the bottom deck to the roof.
In Two Miles, one team member must pull the other in a red-and-pink rickshaw to a park two miles away. I am surprised that teams are allowed to switch off drivers.
Kisha/Jen and Jaime/Cara both pick the 100 barrels, stupidly I think. But later, I think the tasks are equally difficult.
Stuntmen Mark and Mickey pick the rickshaw challenge. Mark (or Mickey) mimics stereotypical Chinese nonsense chatter as he pulls the rickshaw. What's with mocking Asians? Both Miley Cyrus and one of the Jonas Brothers got bad press spoofing Asians recently.
Mark does another atypical move, spitefully hiding the rickshaw tire pumps. They are the only team to make sure their tires are filled before they ride off. But I can't tell if low tire pressure hinders the other teams doing the challenge, Margie/Luke and Tammy/Victor.

Pit Stop: Wat Thep Nimit Temple

I am so happy that Mike and Mickey hit the mat first and am surprised they incur two 30 minute penalties--one for tampering with with the pumps and a second for hiring the taxi to lead them to the park.
I thought teams often enlisted locals to help them and paid them for their help. Teams did that in previous seasons, I'm sure. New rule?
Tammy/Victor abandon their rickshaw too soon and have to turn around and retrieve it. But they become the technical winners of the leg as Mark and Mickey wait out their penalty. Jaime and Cara pass the penalized team to finish second.
Fourth-place finisher, Margie faints at the mat from the heat, right after Phil calls her The Bionic Woman. Phil and the staff scramble to get her water and cool her down. She refuses an ambulance and I think about Natasha Richardson refusing medical help. If someone thinks you need an ambulance, take it.
Mel and Mike do some catch-up at the herb shop and at the fishing boat. Again, Mel assess the task and figures out a faster way to get it done. Kisha and Jen still finish the Hundred Barrels ahead of them.
When Kisha/Jen get dropped off at the wrong location, I think Mel and Mike have a chance to finish before the sisters. Poor Kisha and Jen. They know how close Mike and Mel are behind them. But they fix their mistake quickly and finish fifth. Mike and Mel are eliminated. I am sorry to see them go.

The Amazing Race 14: India

This leg of the race belonged to father-and-son team, Mel and Mike. Sixty-eight-year-old Mike pulled off a remarkable tortoise-and-hare game. Though they finished second in the leg, it was a second place worthy of a standing ovation.
First, teams fly 2000 miles to Jaipur, India, known as the Pink City. They drive to Dhula Village in the remote outskirts, to the Sacred Tree, Peepli Ka Pedh.
Victor and Tammy have tightened up their game, since their "meltdown in Romania." Victor is challenging himself to adjust the mindset he has learned as his "right role as eldest son in Asian family." Victor narrates his actions like a sportscaster and his chattiness has gone from irritating to endearing.
Cara comments on Jaime's "aggressivity." To Cara's credit, she questions whether "aggressivity" is a word. Still, minus points for the non-word escaping her mouth.
Stuntmen Mark and Mike observe, "We have three teams of girls that are all almost six feet tall and here we are; we stand on each other's shoulders and we are not six feet tall." Their height doesn't hold them back, but sometimes their sense of direction does. They recognize they should always choose the physical task.
Arriving in India, Mel and Mike hop in a cab. The instant they realize the driver doesn't know the destination, they try to switch cabs. But the driver has already run away for directions. Mel and Mike stick with him, only because their bags are locked in his trunk. This cabbie isn't about to lose a promising fare.
Christi and Jodi's cab needs to stop for gas. Considering they face a Speed Bump in this leg, they don't have any time to lose. In hindsight, the gas stop may have eliminated them from the game.
As the teams drive through India's slums, all racers are moved by the stark, open poverty they see through the windows of the cabs. The naked children and stray animals eating garbage bring several racers to tears.
Once teams reach the massive Peepli Ka Pedh tree, they must search for their clue. No clue box this time--the teams must realize that the bright red phone next to mystic men sitting under the tree holds their clue. Teams must dial one of the numbers on phone to hear a recorded message. The phoned-in clue is recorded in heavily-accented English. Jaime and Cara grab their cab driver to listen and translate.

Roadblock: Care for a Camel?

Teams now travel to Amber Fort, Gaura Parvati Parking and face this week's Roadblock.
Mel and Mike's taxi driver, determined to make up for his earlier digression, becomes an asset for the team, driving them quickly and making himself part of the race.
In this Roadblock, one team member must choose a herd of camels. The team member must load and carry enough food and water to satisfy each camel in their group. This involves making many trips with heavy buckets of water across a large field. Tammy/Victor arrive first.
Victor shouts as grain blows out of the basket on his shoulder: "Camel feed doesn't taste that good." But victory does.
I knew this Roadblock would be tough for 68-year-old Mel. His heavy breathing sounded painful and I worried he would collapse. In my mind, I urged him to take it slow and steady as he carried each bucket. His son on the sidelines, expressed regret that he didn't grab the task himself. He hated seeing his father suffer and struggle.
Everything turned around when Mel moved from the water buckets to transporting the food. Most teams missed the stack of wide straw baskets and pitchforks available to tote the food. Kisha stuffs her shirt with the camel feed; someone else is filling the water bucket with food.
Christi and Jodi finish the Roadblock last, but not by much. Now they face their Speed Bump. They must go to a temple and use colorful paint to decorate an elephant for an upcoming festival.

Detour: Movers or Shakers

In Movers, teams choose a cycle rickshaw loaded high with barrels and drive 1.5 miles through the streets. Once they reach their destination, they must search through the containers for a small metal elephant to exchange for the next clue.
Stuntmen Mark and Mel are the only team to choose this option. They have no trouble with the cycling, but nearly lose the race looking for the tiny elephant.
Needle-in-the-haystack searches have always been a losing proposition in the Amazing Race. Steer clear.
In Shakers, teams don traditional costumes and makeup, then join a Rajasthani dance troupe. They must dance in the crowded street and shake their hips for tips. Once they've earned 100 rupees, they must return to the bandleader and exchange the cash for the clue.
This is a fun one. Victor and Tammy have a good time as shakers and develop a big lead. Margie takes the lead over shy Luke with lipstick all over her teeth. Screenwriter Mike says, "There's such poverty, but then there's also such festivity. The people were so generous."
Despite the poverty, India is filled with amazing sights: monkeys just hanging around, colorful turbans, camels, painted elephants, a snake charmer.
Jaime and Cara have an easy time making tips, but they freak out when their cab driver isn't nearby when they finish. They think the driver took off with their bags. Jaime whips out her sharp tongue.
Jodi and Christi arrive last to the Detour, but dance and make their tips easily. Here is a blonde advantage. For a couple minutes, I think they may beat out the stuntmen.

Pit Stop: Jaigarh Fort

The pit stop is a 15th century fortress. Tammy/Victor log another easy victory. Mel and Mike are a proud Team Number 2. Later Mel says, "When [Mike] said, 'you really smoked 'em, Dad,' that was better than a million dollars."
Teams ran a foot race for the middle positions. Kisha and Jen landed third, Margie and Luke, fourth, Jaime and Cara, fifth. Mark/Mike pull in just ahead of Christi and Jodi, who despite a good effort, were eliminated.
Anyone else grossed out by guy playing flute through his nostrils?

The Amazing Race 14: Novosibirsk, Russia

Christie and Jodi, a team with a few lucky breaks under their belts, are the first racers to start. The flight attendants' rolling bags have turned into backpacks. Rolling luggage might be bumpy over the frozen Siberian tundra.
As his team begins, screenwriter Mike says, "Let the first become last, and the last become first." That biblical quote would be prescient.
As fat snowflakes drift down, Kisha and Jen have this exchange:

--I ain't trying to walk around Russia
--Why not? It's beautiful!
--Beautiful, my ass

Teams must ride the Trans Siberian Railroad for 400 miles to Novosibirsk, Russia, then race to the Punkt Tehnicheskogo, Osmotra for their next clue.
All teams will be on the 10:20 pm train. The early teams must wait around ten hours until departure. The overnight train, equipped with sleeper cars, make for an easy 24-hours for the racers. But as soon as the train pulls into Novosibirsk, all the teams dive into race mode and make a mad dash from the train.
One of the stuntmen runs out onto a heavily trafficked boulevard. "Being stuntmen, we do know how to get hit by cars," he says.

Amazing Race Alliances

Last week, I criticized teams that take offense at using the U-Turn. This week, my beef is the "assumed alliance".
Being nice does not create an alliance. Jaime/Cara and Luke/Margie have the only real alliance of the race.
The girls call out to Luke and Margie to follow their cab driver. Cara gets angry at her cab driver for smoking a cigarette instead of "racing". Cara has a habit of berating cab drivers, and assuming they don't understand English.
Margie and Luke lose Jaime/Cara, but they spot and follow Tammy/Victor. Tammy/Victor stop for directions and take off without sharing the directions or waiting for Margie/Luke. Margie is angry and says Victor showed his true colors.
No deal had been struck between the teams. Some teams think friendly words constitute an alliance. When teams purposely mislead or lie to each other, that is dirty pool. Unless teams state: "let's help each other get to this destination," all bets are off. Most alliances are fleeting in this game and I'm tired of teams' perceived sense of betrayal.

Detour: Russian Bride or Russian Snowplow

In Bride, teams choose a manual transmission car known as a Lada, go to an Soviet-era apartment complex and search for one of the waiting brides. Teams must drive the bride across town to her waiting groom. Once the photographer snaps a photo, the groom hands off the next clue.
Jovial Mike says he doesn't choose the easiest option, he chooses the detour that sounds more fun.
"I'd rather party with virgin brides than snowplows," he says.
Christi and Jodi stop for directions at a gas station. But it's useless trying to get directions from "wasted" guys with "disgusting teeth" that "reek of vodka". Christi/Jodi wisely disregard the buffoons' misdirections.
Christi and Jodi feel bad that their bride isn't getting married under the best conditions. They say, "If we really came to your wedding, we would have dressed better." A sweet sentiment. I wonder if the bride and groom are actors. Christi and Jodi take a freezing, unhappy bride to the wrong church.
"She thinks we're trying to kill her," says Jodi.

In Snowplow, teams also grab a Lada and drive downtown to a stadium. Each team member must take a turn at driving the jumbo snowplow through a zigzag training course. Jaime and Cara have some trouble communicating (again) with the snowplow drivers. But they, along with Mike/Mark and Tammy/Victor, finish the task with relative ease. Victor was digging the ride, almost as much as he loved the Leg 1 bungee jump. Tammy/Victor finish the Detour first.

Driving Stick

I wonder what percentage of Americans know how to drive a manual transmission these days. Less than half, I bet.
With seven teams driving, only a couple have mastered the art of the stick shift.
Tammy: "We don't tend to break the Asian stereotypes very often, sadly." Females are the only group I am aware of that stereotypically can't drive stick. Tammy, I don't break that stereotype either.
If you can't drive stick, just stay in first gear, who cares about the longevity of the car? That's Jen's motto. I like her more and more each episode.
Jen has the most trouble with the manual transmission. At one point she can't move the car forward and a bus is coming at her, but she pulls it out.

Roadblock: Running without Shame

Now teams drive to the largest bibliotekah (library) in Siberia. It also has the longest, most unpronounceable name.
Margie/Luke are first to the Roadblock. One team member must run a winter marathon in their underwear. The lucky racer must warm up for ten minutes, and run 1.4 miles to the Pit Stop, the town's ballet and opera theater.
Our mothers always told us to wear clean underwear and here we add another reason besides a potential car accident.
Tammy says, as she strips down, "I'll never be able to come to Russia again."
This task gets the attention of the locals. A police car turns blips his siren on for a second in appreciation of an NFL cheerleader running in her underwear. American police would have stopped her.
Jen said, "I had to actually change into underwear because I don't wear any." I knew there would be one person who went commando. After the minus 4 Celsius run, Jen said, "People were whistling at me and I didn't mind it one bit."
Jodi was wearing a thong and the editors had to blur her butt. Despite their best efforts and great attitude, Christi/Jodi face Phil, the last team to reach the mat.
But this round turns out to be the first non-elimination round. Relieved, Jodi says, "I was hoping I did not run through those street nekked for nothin'."

Alabama Shooter Hates Dogs Too

What would the Alabama gunman have done with his pent-up hatred if he didn't have guns? He probably would have just stayed home and seethed. Besides the ten human victims, he shot and killed his mom's three dogs, for god's sakes. The murderer pushed both sets of my buttons: I'm up with dogs and down with guns.
The media doesn't know yet what the teenage German gunman's problem was, but since he had access to his father's 15 guns, we know he was angry.
The guns in both rampages were legal. Ask the NRA, they will tell you we should all carry guns to protect ourselves from other people carrying guns. We could have a worldwide shootout.
The incidence of these shooting sprees come closer and closer together. Both sprees claimed victims in the double digits, and happened only a day apart. Second amendment supporters need to wake up and face reality: guns kill far more innocent people than they ever protect.

The Amazing Race 14 Siberia

Baby, it's cold outside. Siberia conjures up images of blizzards, exile and hard labor camps. Teams had to be disappointed to rip open that first envelope and read their destination--Siberia.
Teams must fly through Moscow to Krasnoyarsk, deep in the icy heart of Siberia. From the airport, teams must find the actual Hydroelectric Dam featured on the back of the ten-ruble note.
Stuntmen Mike and Mark learned a lesson last week and right away, try to book their flight from the taxi. Somehow, they dial Jaime and Cara instead of the airport. Don't ask me. Jaime and Cara can't resist the easy mark and play along with them, pretending to book their flight.
None of the flights to Moscow are direct, and teams transfer through four different cities. But all teams schedule the same flight to Krasnoyarsk that lands at 5:40 am. But flights notoriously don't co-operate. Only three teams make the transfer and five teams wait for a later flight.
The Hydroelectric Dam doesn't open until 8:30 am, so all three teams on the first flight cluster up, then run for the clue box. The little stuntmen, Michael and Mark, are the first team to grab their clue, but this will be their best position for the rest of the leg.
From here, teams must taxi to Church Saint Innokenty to face their Detour.

Detour: Stack

In Stack, teams travel to the riverbank and create a wall of firewood, using a traditional lattice pattern. Once the wood is stacked correctly, they get their next clue.
All three teams who made the Moscow connection, Mike/Mark, Kisha/Jen and Christie/Jodi, opt to stack.
They perform the grueling work accompanied by traditional Russian accordion music and lots of singing. The locals are having a blast, eating, drinking and making very, very merry. Lately, Amazing Race has been designing tasks to amuse the locals and frustrate the racers. Remember the Indian paint wars and the now-infamous Russian army marching? And the amused crowd at the pie-throwing tent?
Kisha and Jen liken their task to life-size Jenga.
"Mark and Michael get lost a lot," the girls giggle. When M & M's wall half-collapses ("Mark and Mike just got beat by girls," they taunt) the stuntmen head to the alternative task.

Detour: Construct

Teams walk to a workshed where they find materials to build a set of colorful wood shutters. They must assemble the shutters and take them to the house with a "Repairs Needed" sign outside. They must install the shutters before they get the next clue.
Michael and Mark seem baffled by the Construct task as well. They are losing their lead by wandering around, trying to find the house. The girls are right; they do get lost a lot.
Kisha and Jen finish building their wall quickly and head off in first place.
They come across a "Blind U-Turn" which Phil explains. This season, the perps who U-Turn a teams remains anonymous. The new rule changes the dynamic of the option. In previous seasons, teams treated the use of the U-Turn as foul play. Teams who used the device were vilified. No one accepted the U-Turn as an appropriate strategy. I like this new twist because I got tired of teams pouting and angry over U-Turns.
Kisha and Jen choose not to u-turn because they know the five teams who missed the flight are well behind them. Christi and Jodi pass up the opportunity as well. But Margie and Luke u-turn Amanda and Kris to help their redheaded cheerleader friends, Jaime and Cara. I don't blame them, Amanda and Kris are strong, they reason.
All five teams in the second cluster chose to stack wood. A lot of walls are tumbling down. Mel and Mike abandon their broken wall in favor of the Construct task. Tammy & Victor and the flight attendants keep at it. Tammy and Victor avoid any crumbles, and congratulate themselves, crediting "Asian engineering".
Switchers Mel/Mike and Amanda/Kris team up with the stuntmen to complete the shutters and find the house. The six of them are scratching their heads while they stand kitty-corner from the house. The throw up their hands in frustration. Old Man Mel spots the house and deservedly, he and his son finish the task first.
Teams taxi to local amusement park, Bobrovy Log Park, to find their next clue and this episode's Roadblock.

Roadblock: Bobsled

In the Roadblock, one team member must ride a bobsled up to 55 miles an hour and complete a three-mile course in under four minutes. That's not so hard by itself, but the racer must memorize seven letters posted along the way. The racer doesn't seem to have much control over his speed and all the teams come in at or just under the four minutes. Two teams had to repeat the ride because he or she only noticed six of the seven posted letters.
Once the racer has the letters in their head, he or she must unscramble the letters to spell the name of a Russian playwright.
I can see how one can get through high school, and maybe college, without encountering Anton Chekhov. If I had to spell it without letters in hand, I'm not sure I would have put in a second H in the spelling.
Apparently, no one but Victor studied Chekhov in school. Victor: "Who doesn't know who Chekhov is?"
Luke and everybody else, that's who. The racers unscramble the letters fairly easily and Luke finally does, after many frustrating tries. Cara gets it right on the first try. Chekhov must be buried in her subconscious somewhere.

Pit Stop

Teams go to the theater of musical comedy, Krasnoyarsk Theatre, for the finish of the leg. Christie and Jodi let out a scream when Phil tells them they are team number 1. Mike and Mark got a reprieve. They would have been eliminated if Amanda and Kris were not u-turned.
The other teams resent Amanda and Kris, because Kris does all the heavy lifting and Amanda stands back. Amanda and Kris seem fine with the division of labor between them so, so what? Amanda gives direction while Kris does all the wood stacking. But when their half-completed wall falls, Amanda and Kris switch tasks. Little do they know that they will have to go back and finish it later. Amanda and Kris are already in last place when they discover that they were u-turned.
I thought Amanda and Kris would make the final three and I am sorry to see them eliminated.

The Amazing Race 14: Bucharest, Romania

The drama of Tammy and Victor dominate the third leg of The Amazing Race 14.
Much of the episode covers flight jockeying from Munich to Bucharest, Romania. Victor and Tammy have an ninety-minute headstart over the rest of the teams. They book a 4:45 flight to Bucharest before they get on the train to Munich. They manage to get on an earlier flight as standby passengers. Easy victory, you'd think. But planes, train, and automobiles thwart even the strongest and most strategic teams.
Tammy and Victor's major jump ahead backfires when their early flight returns to Munich because of technical problems.
Three teams make the 4:45 flight, which turns out to be the best choice. Despite having reservations, Tammy and Victor miss the 4:45. They must get on 9:25 with the rest of the pack. The 9:25 teams are shocked and a little gleeful when they learn of Tammy and Victor's setback.
But this will not be the only setback for the hard-driving team.

Dangers of Amsterdam

I am happy for Brad and Victoria when they are the only team to take a 7:30 flight through Amsterdam. That should have put them in a solid, safe, 4th place to start the Roadblocks and Detours.
But always be wary of changing planes. Their flight is delayed and they don't make their connection in Amsterdam.
The couple must spend the night in Amsterdam and face almost certain elimination. We find out in a interview cutaway that Brad is a recovering drug addict and alcoholic who has been sober for 25 years.
Are we going to see a first on The Amazing Race? A former addict give in to his demons because he has to spend the night in Amsterdam? No such thing happens.
I wish that we could see more of Brad and Victoria. They have not had much camera time so far. In the first two legs, Brad and Victoria remained solidly in the middle of the pack with no dramas.

Romanian Gymnastics

In Bucharest, teams taxi to the gymnastics hall where Nadia Comaneci, 1976 Olympic Gymnastics sweetheart, trained. Amanda/Kris, Mel/Michael, and Margie/Luke arrive at the gym far ahead of all other teams.
One team member must learn and demonstrate moves in three gymnastic disciplines: balance beam, parallel bars and floor exercises. Amanda whips through this challenge with ease, no surprise to me. I would have paid to see Linda, who was eliminated last week, on the balance beam.
Mike, who claims minor celebrity as the screenwriter and actor in the movie School of Rock, realizes this is no advantage on the race, but his dad is sure proud of it.
The 4:45 teams all do well in the gymnastic challenge.
When the 9:25 gang heads for the gymnasium, Tammy and Victor get lost looking for the gymnasium in the dark. Suddenly, they are second-to-last behind Brad and Victoria, who are stuck in Amsterdam. This will not be the biggest setback for Tammy and Victor.
Now teams must travel by train to Brasov, Transylvania. The next train isn't til morning, so this will be an equalizing point. This gives Brad and Victoria some catch-up time, but it doesn't even get tantalizing close. All teams are on the same train, except unfortunate Brad and Victoria, who presumably are in some Amsterdam cafe.

Gypsy Moves or Vampire Remains

At Biserica Neagra, also know as the Black Church, teams face their Detour: Gypsy Moves or Vampire Remains.
In Gypsy Moves, teams go to a gypsy settlement and load all of a family's belongings onto a horse-drawn cart. Teams must drive the cart to next encampment and help the family unload. A physical, but straightforward challenge. The gypsy camps seem fun and there's loads of great music.
Mel and Michael are a little overwhelmed loading the Gypsy belongings. But who expected a car frame? Every gypsy family owns a car frame, it seems. But the Gypsies chip in and that doesn't seem to break any race rules.
In Vampire Remains, teams go into the woods, drag a coffin to a clearing, unlock and untangle a series of chains. The coffin contains antique frames which teams must impale on a stake until they find a hidden flag. Practice for vampire slaying?

Victor's Mountain

Til now, Victor's control of all team decisions has been inconsequential, except in annoying Tammy, who routinely brushes the slights aside. But in the vampire challenge, Victor makes a Linda-sized mistake and follows the wrong markers, taking his team up an entire mountain.
Tammy recognizes the error right away, but Victor won't listen to her. His confidence makes him blind. When he is forced to face his error, Victor wants to die. What a drama king! This will be a pivotal moment in his life. Will there be any fallout next leg?
I predict Amanda and Kris will be in the final three because they are strong and they get along. Kris and Amanda are the first to open the clue directing them to the pit stop, a mountain cottage, Villa Panoramic. It looks like an easy first place for them, but Kris loses their fanny pack with the money and passports. Kris immediately thinks someone stole it. They are Gypsies after all and how does the song go? Gypsies, tramps and thieves, right?
But the honorable Gypsies have found the fanny pack and return it to Kris. This delay allows Mel and Michael to pass them and take first place. I fear Mel will have a heart attack when he hears the news of their victory.
As expected, Brad and Victoria are eliminated.

Happy 75th Birthday, Jane Goodall! from The Jane Goodall Institute on Vimeo.

Watch the chimpanzees who are where they should be--in the wild.