TAR25, Recap Leg 8, 11/21/14

Welcome to Leg 8! Last time, on Put Your Foot to the Florio, six teams raced to Palermo, Italy on the island of Sicily.  Much of the leg was occupied by the rivalry between the Cyclists and Dentists, ending in the fourth win for the Dentists.  Tim and Te Jay continued to flail and resulted in their last place finish on the second non-elimination leg.  Who will be eliminated. . . next? (click for more)

Arrival at the pit stop last episode:

1st – Misti/Jim, Team Noodle Domination, #The Dentists

2nd – Kym/Alli, Team Nonstop, #TheCyclists

3rd – Amy/Maya, Team Frizzle Twins, #SweetScientists

4th – Brooke/Robbie, Team LoriBolo2, #TheWrestlers

5th – Adam/Bethany, Team Sharknado, #SoulSurfers

6th – Tim/Te Jay, Team Gaysian TNT, #CollegeSweethearts

Villa Niscemi, Palermo, Sicily, Italy

6:37 AM Misti/Jim (1st)

Clue: Make your way via ferry to Valetta, Malta!  Once there, find The Bridge Bar and pick up two sets of two glasses and wine to carry up St. Ursula’s Stairs to the Knights of Malta to get your next clue.

And Misti and Jim have no clue where Malta is.

6:42 AM Kym/Alli (2nd) – Alli: “Is Malta part of Italy?  Greece?  Is it it’s own country?”

7:10 AM Amy/Maya (3rd) – and we learn that Amy overdid her TAR training and is now in pain when she walks.  This could be a problem.

7:11 AM Brooke/Robbie (4th) – who proceed to make fun of Amy’s gimpiness.

7:40 AM Adam/Bethany (5th) – who remind us they still have the Express Pass and need to use it by the end of Leg 9.

7:44 AM Tim/Te Jay (6th) – who also have no clue as to what Malta is.

Teams head to the ferry dock to travel from Palermo, Italy to Valetta, Malta.  On the boat, the Cyclists separate themselves from the rest of the teams, leading to speculation about their friendliness and involvement.  Kym: “It’s a race, if we don’t want to be friends, we don’t have to be.”  (Toyouke: “Sitting by yourselves is not "sneaky". Maybe they just don't like you.“)  Instead the other teams make a U-Turn pact and given themselves code names.  The Wrestlers: Piper and Sniper.  The Dentists: Cuspid and Molar.  The Scientists: Cookies and Cream.  After that ridiculousness, teams arrive in Malta the following order:

1- Adam/Bethany

2- Amy/Maya

3- Brooke/Robbie

4- Misti/Jim

5- Kym/Alli

6- Tim/Te Jay

Teams make their way to The Bridge Bar and  arrive in the following order:

1- Adam/Bethany

2- Brooke/Robbie

3- Kym/Alli

4- Misti/Jim

5- Amy/Maya

6- Tim/Te Jay

Teams pick up their glasses and wine.  We now learn that not only do the trays have to be carried up the stairs, and they have to be carried properly.  If a team drops one of their trays and breaks something, they must clean it up and then get a replacement from the bartender.  They eventually make it up St. Ursula’s steps and deliver the wine in the following order:

1- Kym/Alli

2- Brooke/Robbie

3- Misti/Jim

4- Adam/Bethany – after getting all the way to the Knights and dropping the first tray in front of the head knight.

5- Tim/Te Jay

6- Amy/Maya – who are having a hard time with Amy’s legs and the SIX attempts.

(Toyouke: “This season has had a lot of Race Info tasks. Tasks that are not Detours or Roadblocks.“)  Teams are now instructed to travel to the Zurrieq Valley Sea Inlet and find the boathouse and search for their next clue.  They arrive in the following order:

1- Kym/Alli

2- Tim/Te Jay

3- Misti/Jim

4- Brooke/Robbie

5- Adam/Bethany

6- Amy/Maya

When they arrive, teams are instructed to take a Maltese Cross.  Each cross has a departure time of 7:30 or 7:45 am.  Teams take crosses with the following times:

7:30 am Departure:

1) Kym/Alli

2) Tim/Te Jay

3) Misti/Jim

7:45 am Departure:

1) Brooke/Robbie

2) Adam/Bethany

3) Amy Maya

Teams camp out and wake up the next morning and get their clues in the following order:

1- Tim/Te Jay

2- Misti/Jim

3- Kym/Alli

4- Brooke/Robbie

5- Adam/Bethany

6- Amy/Maya

And teams get the sixth roadblock clue.

ROADBLOCK:

Who’s feeling blue?

In this roadblock, teams must travel by boat to the Blue Grotto, and the roadblocker must rappel 10 stories off the cliff to where their partner is waiting.  Once in the lagoon, roadblockers swim into the grotto and get the next clue.

(Toyouke: “Why is rappelling a Roadblock when it doesn't take that much skill, when carrying glass on a tray is not?”)

The following teammates take the Roadblock:

1- Tim

2- Misti

3- Alli

4- Robbie

5- Bethany

6- Amy

After much rappelling and swimming, teams complete the Roadblock in the following order:

1- Kym/Alli

2- Misti/Jim

3- Tim/Te Jay 

4- Adam/Bethany

5- Amy/Maya

6- Brooke/Robbie

Teams are now instructed to travel to the Church of Saint Scholastica in Birgu and find Triq Antika to get their next clue.  Teams arrive in the following order:

1- Kym/Alli

2- Tim/Te Jay – who accidently get changed for part of the Detour first before actually finding the clue.

3- Amy/Maya 

4- Misti/Jim – who manage to find the Detour before finding the clue box.

5- Adam/Bethany

6- Brooke/Robbie

Once teams arrive at Triq Antika, Tim and Te Jay find their Speed Bump.

SPEED BUMP:

A Speed Bump is a task that must be performed by the last place team on a non-elimination leg. Once they complete this task, they may return to the place where the Speed Bump occurred and continue the leg. In this speed bump, teams must go to Saint Lawrence’s Church Oratory and each paint the Maltese cross onto a shield using the provided stencils.  Once the shields are approved by the church guard, they may continue racing.

Teams complete the Speed Bump in the following order:

1- Tim/Te Jay

After much shield painting, they continue with the rest of the teams in getting the detour clue.

And we get the Detour Clue.

BLIND DETOUR:

Flag OR Shine

Teams choose their Detour blind with only the titles to guide their decision.

*Flag: Teams make their way to Birgu Harbor and participate in a game called gostra, in which teams run along a greased pole to grab flags.  One team member must grab the yellow flag, and the other team member must grab the red flag to get their next clue.

*Shine: Teams make their way to the Gate of Provence, climb a ladder to take down two tarnished helmets and two tarnished breastplates and use metal polish to make them shine.  Once complete, teams get their next clue.

1- Kym/Alli choose Flag – and switch after Alli realizes she has to get the farther red flag.  So they Bald Snark to Shine.

2- Brooke/Robbie choose Shine – but decide it is taking too long.  So they Bald Snark to Flag.  Brooke: “Where do they come up with these sports?”  After Robbie strips down to his underwear and declares the task impossible, they Double Bald Snark to Shine.

3- Misti/Jim choose Shine

4- Adam/Bethany choose Flag – and promptly use the Express Pass.

5- Amy/Maya choose Flag – but Bald Snark to Shine when Amy realizes she’s going to have to sprint to do Flag properly.  Maya: “I hope this polish has chemicals that will remove the rust faster.”

6- Tim/Te Jay choose Flag – and make twenty-five attempts at the red flag before finally Bald Snarking to Shine.

(Toyouke: “Why is this Detour choice blind? What the hell?  This is too gimmicky for you, Amazing Race.“)

After much greased pole running and armor shining, teams complete the detour in the following order:

1- Adam/Bethany  

2- Misti/Jim

3- Kym/Alli 

4- Amy/Maya

5- Brooke/Robbie

6- Tim/Te Jay

Teams are now instructed to travel to Fort Manoel, the PIT STOP of the eighth leg of this racearoundtheworld.  The last team to arrive MAY be eliminated!

1- Adam/Bethany – who win $10000 each.  And are greeted by a Maltese Falcon.  (Toyouke: “OK that's two birds at Pit Stops that I can think of. Just saying.”)

2- Misti/Jim

3- Kym/Alli

4- Amy/Maya – and then Maya takes a victory lap.

5- Brooke/Robbie

6- Tim/Te Jay

And Tim and Te Jay are. . . eliminated!  They made it further than they thought, and they hope that the race will show their moms that they are more than just roommates.  Clearly, your chyron has been “College Sweeethearts”.

ORDER NOW:

1st – Adam/Bethany

2nd – Misti/Jim

3rd – Kym/Alli

4th – Amy/Maya

5th – Brooke/Robbie

Next week: The Double U-Turn is back and better than ever.  Teams get massages in Singapore, the Surfers make a run for a Fast Forward, and Jim tries unsuccessfully to fall to his death.  Until next time!