Recap, Episode 4: Aberdeen to Lisbon
OFF TO PORTUGAL After the mandatory twelve-hour rest period in Dunnottar Castle in Scotland, twins Derek & Drew departed first at 10:56 pm, followed two minutes later by brothers Ken & Gerard. The band of brothers had decided to work together as they embarked on a 1.5-mile journey by foot to Stonehaven Harbor, to search for a message in a bottle. Several minutes later, the "twin hunt" resumed as Teams Flo & Zach, Aaron & Arianne, and Heather & Eve left the Pit Stop in an attempt to catch and overtake the two brothers Teams. On the way to the harbor, Zach found a shortcut, which allowed the three Teams to reach the destination first. There, they found a bottle with a label bearing the address of the Calem Port Lodge in Porto, Portugal, their next destination. Soon after, the brothers, as well as Michael & Kathy, found the bottles along the Harbor. After finding pay phones, Gerard managed to book flights for the brother Teams, while Flo booked tickets for the three Teams, who, along with Michael & Kathy and John Vito & Jill, took an early morning flight from Aberdeen to London just as Andre & Damon and Teri & Ian left the Pit Stop. Both of these last-place Teams got a 10:00 am flight to London, where they were thrilled to find all of the other Teams still waiting for their connecting flight to Portugal. Ian proudly claimed, "it's time for someone else to smell some rear end for a while." Annoyed by Teri & Ian's proud arrival, Aaron commented, "We thought they weren't going to catch this flight. So here they are, loud and obnoxious as ever." While waiting in London, several Teams learned that Derek & Drew and Ken & Gerard were not taking the direct flight from London to Porto, Portugal. Instead, they opted for a connecting flight through Cologne, Germany. Even with that stop, their flight would land in Porto, Portugal almost 25 minutes ahead of the other Teams. The concern, however, was the brief 30-minute layover to catch their plane in Cologne. Flo commented, "We looked into that. We decided that the layover there was too brief and we didn't want to risk it." After landing in Cologne at 1:05pm, the four brothers scurried to board their next flight, which was two terminals over. With only minutes to spare, they were told the flight was already closed and prepared for takeoff. In the nick of time, the airline representative held their plane and the brothers made their flight, giving them a slight and early lead. KEEP ON TRUCKIN' After landing in Porto, Teams made their way to Calem Port Lodge, a winery on the outskirts of town, where they would find their next clue. In the taxi to the winery, Derek & Drew commented on their alliance with Ken & Gerard, "We're very excited. We were the first two Teams in. So traveling with Ken & Gerard has been great. We get along so well with them." At the Calem Port Lodge, the brothers found a Detour, where they had to choose between two ways of delivering port wine to local restaurants: "Old School" and "New School". In "Old School", Teams would have to load one ninety-pound barrel of port wine onto a traditional Portuguese boat and help the oarsmen row across the river to the town of Porto. Then they would have to deliver the wine to one nearby restaurant. In "New School", Teams would load crates of port wine bottles into a truck and drive into the city to deliver the wine. While physically less demanding, Teams would have to deliver crates to three different restaurants, as well as navigate the tight streets of Porto. In both choices, Teams would have to get signatures from the restaurant to verify a proper delivery. Both Teams of brothers chose "Old School". While the twins breezed through the Detour, a less-athletic Ken & Gerard struggled, but finished soon after. Gerard said, "Oh, my back. I'm not going to be able to walk tomorrow." As they finished, the other Teams began arriving at Calem Port Lodge to begin the task. Teri & Ian battled it out with Aaron & Arianne in a race across the river, while Heather & Eve, Andre & Damon, Flo & Zach, and John Vito & Jill took to the streets in trucks. John Vito read the directions to Jill that informed them they must deliver wine to the Majestic Café last. Andre & Damon tried to make their second delivery to the Majestic Café, but the management refused to sign for the wine. While John Vito & Jill completed the task, Andre & Damon encountered difficulty at the second restaurant, where they found themselves suddenly boxed in by Flo & Zach to the rear and Heather & Eve at the front. To solve this dilemma, Damon helped Eve unload wine crates in exchange for moving their truck. Soon after, Andre again found himself behind Heather & Eve at another intersection in the narrow Porto streets. Eve struggled to make sense of the truck's gearshift, and had difficulty moving, again boxing in Andre & Damon. He exclaimed, "She's killing me, D! She can't frickin' drive a stick. I'm surprised she hasn't hit anyone yet or driven through a store!" Andre's prediction came true, but fortunately, Eve only hit a pole as the lawyers made their last delivery. Meanwhile, Michael & Kathy still hadn't made it to the Calem Port Lodge, having problems with a lost cab driver. Michael said, "We just can't be eliminated this leg. We're too damn good for this." They eventually made it to the winery and completed the row across the river to deliver the wine. GOAL! From the restaurants, Teams needed to travel 200 miles by train to the city of Lisbon and make their way to Gate F of the Estadio do Restelo complex to find the next Route Marker. The excitement of being in the lead quickly dissipated for the brothers as every team managed to catch them at the station before the first train to Lisbon departed at 7:10pm. Drew commented, "The other Teams all caught up to us and that's when the nightmare began." Tension ran high on the train to Lisbon, as the Teams faced the realization that one of them would be eliminated soon. Ken said, "We're all going to be competing and somebody's going to be eliminated, so we're not real thrilled about that." Aaron added, "Alliance, schmalliance. It is so vital to just stay in the game." Once off the train, Teams ran to taxis to take them to the Estadio do Restelo soccer stadium in Lisbon. Derek & Drew were passed by Michael & Kathy and John Vito & Jill. Derek commented, "We're getting passed again by everybody. This is our luck." Aaron & Arianne's cab driver knew a short cut, which unfortunately for them, resulted in the pair arriving in last place at the soccer field, alongside Teri & Ian. Aaron exclaimed, "Everybody's here. Go!" Ken & Gerard led the pack to the field and the next clue, a Roadblock that only one member could perform. In this case, that person had to enter a soccer goal and block one penalty kick from a teenage soccer player, not an easy task in a country where kids begin playing soccer almost as soon as they can walk. An agile Michael had no problem finishing the task, saying, "It took me only two tries. It was just my cat-like reflexes." Ken, Damon, and Drew soon followed. Teams read the next Route Marker, which instructed them to walk 1.5 miles to the Torre de Belem, a 460 year-old fortress and the next Pit Stop. Teams took off on foot. After Ian successfully blocked a kick, only Arianne remained on the field. A dejected Aaron exclaimed, "Everyone's gone. That's it." Arianne exclaimed, "I'm too short!" Aaron tried to rally her, replying, "Arianne, don't think negatively. You can do it!" She eventually did defend the goal and they joined the other Teams in the footrace to the Torre de Belem. ELIMINATION Finding the Pit Stop proved to be difficult for several Teams. Michael & Kathy, the first to leave the Road Block, became lost and had to ask for directions. Ian shouted to a lagging Teri, "This is where we suck it up. Show them what we're made of!" The twins lost their compass and their bearings as they tried to navigate the streets. John Vito & Jill found themselves having to overcome Jill's bad cramp in her leg. All Teams dug deep, trying to avoid elimination. Heather & Eve, seventh to complete the Roadblock, sought out and quickly found a taxi to drive them to the Pit Stop. In the cab, Heather reread the directions, "You must walk to the Pit Stop." Confused, Heather instructed the driver to stop. She and Eve then discussed what the clue meant and concluded that they had to walk into the Pit Stop. As they continued in their cab towards Torre de Belem, Heather observed, "I don't see other Teams walking on the road." Once at the pit stop, Heather & Eve walked up the stairs and to the finish mat, where host Phil Keoghan informed them that they were the first team to arrive. The surprised pair wondered where everyone else was, as they had left the soccer stadium after several other Teams. While Aaron & Arianne practically begged people for directions as they desperately tried to wave down cars, brothers Ken & Gerard were the second to arrive at the Pit Stop, followed by Flo & Zach and twins Derek & Drew. For their hustle and determination, Teri & Ian were the sixth to arrive, after Andre & Damon. Ian commented, "We ran our asses off. I yelled at her. I dragged her. I prompted her. We made it!" Losing their way proved costly for Michael & Kathy, who left the Road Block in first place. They were the second-to-last to arrive, behind John Vito & Jill. Believing they had been eliminated, a tearful Kathy said, "This means a lot. We really thought we were last." Still on the streets of Portugal, Aaron remarked, "This is like a bad joke. It can't get any worse than this right now. I mean, we already think that we're out and now we're just lost." Indeed, they were the last to arrive at the Pit Stop; however, there was still an outstanding issue that would have a great impact on their fate. Teams Heather & Eve and Aaron & Arianne together met with host Phil Keoghan. He explained that as Heather & Eve had acknowledged, they did not follow the directions of the last clue correctly. They needed to walk from the Road Block to the Pit Stop. In THE AMAZING RACE rulebook glossary, the term "walk" is defined as traveling by foot as opposed to by car or athat in this situation, the custom is to issue a penalty of the time gained plus 30 minutes, for a total of 37 minutes for Heather & Eve. Inny other means. By taking a taxi, Heather & Eve gained at least a seven-minute advantage by taking a cab rather than walking. He explained most legs of the race, such a penalty would have a minimal effect, but with Teams arriving within 31 minutes of each other, the penalty resulted in Heather & Eve finishing in last place, and making them the fourth team to be eliminated from THE AMAZING RACE. Eve commented, "This is a bad way to go out." Aaron remarked, "We want to win the Race, but we didn't want to have to win it this way." Heather added, "We made a choice and it turned out to be the wrong one. We got eliminated because we misread a clue. We're both really happy with how we played the game. We played it very ethically, very honestly." Eve added that she was happy to have confronted fears on the race and that it was an amazing experience. A COSTLY MISTAKE RESULTS IN HEATHER & EVE'S ELIMINATION After the Road Block, lawyers Heather & Eve proceeded to the Pit Stop via taxi rather than by foot, as the clue instructed. With all Teams racing to the Finish Mat, and separated by only 31 minutes, the thirty-seven minute penalty they received resulted in the pair going from first place to last. They become the fourth Team to be eliminated from THE AMAZING RACE. http://www.cbs.com/primetime/amazing_race3/show/episode04/ar3story01.shtml