Just at the start, one racer on "The Amazing Race 14" episode six has to earn my all-time reading comprehension award.
68-year-old Mel of the father/son team managed to stomp his competitors on what seemed to be a purely physical Roadblock task, simply by correctly reading and interpreting his clue card. While other racers in the mid-tier incorrectly used a water bucket to load camel feed, Mel correctly realized that he was to use a "native tool", a.k.a. one of the many (& much larger baskets!) piled nearby.
The result was that instead of getting clocked on the physical task, Mel finished it in second place... behind only the one team that had already established an insurmountable lead.
That aforementioned team, siblings/lawyers Tammy & Victor were (again!) the first to depart an airport, this one in Jaipur, India. Their lead was never threatened for the entire remaining length of the sixth leg. After letting their inhibitions go performing in an Indian dance troupe to raise money for the 'shakers' Detour, the sibs gained their second leg win.
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After Mel & Mike pitted in second place, the Kisha/Jen, Margie/Luke and Jaime/Cara teams all finished within seconds of each other in the third through fifth spots. Jaime & Cara had actually finished their own dancing Detour in third place but were delayed when their taxi driver departed from the Detour site with their bags. Their cabbie was eventually discovered a good distance away but the delay likely cost them a chance at a third place finish.
As per usual, the extreme poverty of India had an emotional effect on at least some of the racers including Luke who was visibly in tears over the living conditions for
children there. The Detour poised a unique challenge for Luke who had to dance without hearing the music. Luke mostly imitated the movements of others in the troupe to perform the task.
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The race to avoid elimination came down to flight attendants Christie & Jodi against brothers Mark & Michael. Even after performing the extra Speed Bump race task (decorating an elephant with paint for a festival), Christie and Jodi had managed to pass Mark and Michael on the Detour.
The brothers were the only team to choose the non-dancing Detour, transporting a rickshaw loaded with barrels for 1.5 miles, then searching the barrels for a miniature metal elephant. Ironically, it was the search for the small object that nearly derailed the smallest of stature racing team. The delay knocked Mark & Michael down to last place.
Unfortunately for the flight attendants, the taxi ride to the Jaigarh Fort Pit Stop would reconfigure the standings one more time. Mark & Michael had a super taxi driver all race leg and emerged from the sixth arriving taxi to stay in contention. The accumulated obstacles would prove too much for Christie & Jodi who were finally eliminated from "The Amazing Race 14."
____________________________Labels: christie and jodi, recaplette, tar 14.6, the amazing race, the amazing race 14
