Jaunted

Phil kicks things off, telling teams that eight of the race's pit stops will be elimination points. Oswald and Danny are the first team out to the airport--Danny lives in Miami, so he has an easy enough time getting to Miami International Airport. Most of the other teams get there easily enough, while deciding between two flights, one on Copa and one on American to fly to Quito, Equador.

JV tells his bus driver not to pick up anybody else. Boston Rob does the same thing, but decides to let Oswald and Danny jump on their shuttle. Could Rob be turning over a new leaf? Eh, prolly not. At any rate, most of the other teams quickly catch up and get to the airport.

Phil has tricked some of the racers: Copa's flight leaves earlier but arrives later than American's. While most of the teams are sorting out which flight to take, Uchenna and Joyce and Kevin and Drew are still driving around Miami. While waiting at the airport, star-struck Dave and Mary--big reality TV fans--get to meet their idols, Rob and Amber. "For us just to meet 'em...," says Dave. "We've already won," Mary adds. Five pairs, but not Team Kentucky, get on the first flight.

Now in Quito, Oswald is suffering: "My face is going through menopause." The groups head to Plaza de San Francisco to pick up their next clue. From the plaza, teams head to Pim's Restaurant. The sooner teams get there, the sooner they leave in the morning.

All five of the American-flight teams arrive before the Copa flight touches down. That gives teams time to talk. Like, say, Oswald, who we're now remembering is hilarious: "We have known of Rob and Amber because obviously we live on this planet." JV, on the other hand, makes his distaste for the reality TV duo known: "I've heard enough of Rob and Amber. I think Americans have also." Here we go with the Rob and Amber obsession. At least we know Uchenna and Joyce won't be in awe.

In the morning, teams head out to Hacienda Yanahurco in Cotopaxi National Park, which seems more difficult than it should be. Even with a Phil-provided map, some of the teams opt for the follow-a-taxi route. The rest struggle to find the park on their own. A handful of teams plow through the park instead of using the recommended north entrance. Drew hits a rock and bends the rim on his SUV--there's some vicious on-the-rim driving as they plow through.

While Kevin and Drew are grinding across the Ecuadorian countryside, other teams are tackling this week's Detour: Wrangle it or Recover it. With a choice between clipping horse toenails or digging for uniform pieces, teams realize that the task-driven wrangling is easier even though it involves normally-difficult animals.

This week's pit stop is the Mirador Cotopaxi--and Rob and Amber are the first to arrive, winning a vacay in Whistler. Thanks to bad navigating, JV and Jill are the last to arrive, and Phil sends them packing.

The wrap up:
First of all, we're glad Oswald and Danny are making this season watchable with their commentary. Rob and Amber proved that they deserve their race reputation with a first-place finish. Charla and Mirna speak terrible Spanish. Will Kevin and Drew be able to shrug off their bad attitudes in time to salvage their race? And why didn't we hear anything hilarious from Eric--is the casanova era over?!

The magical moment:
Comes from Mirna: "For Charla and me, one of the things we're good at is interacting with locals, and we aren't afraid of them... and we actually enjoy it." That should make going around the world easier, then, yeah?

Now we remember:
Oswald and Danny are hilarious. Charla and Mirna shout annoyingly at locals in a mixture of romance languages that we still don't fully comprehend. Team Guido constantly likes to remind the viewer that the are worldly and go all over the world all the time--example--"Good thing we come to Miami every seven years.

Coming next week:
Rob and Amber keep the other teams on their toes, while Rob goes out of his way to play head-games with them. And Charla gets all up in DuKa's face.

Story Credits: Todd & pbb