Leg 8: Italy to Malta
It's been a long two weeks since the last recap; sorry for the holdup, but when The Amazing Race takes a week off, so do I. That's just how it goes. But we're definitely back now though, for at least another week, if not more.
Let's get the main thing out of the way first: One of my favorite teams, #CollegeSweethearts Tim and Te Jay, bit the dust. It's Monday now, so that's not a surprise if you're following this show, but it's still the first cut that really hurts for this season.
I'm going to miss them for sure, but I'm incredibly happy that Amy and Maya of Madison's #SweetScientists team are staying in the mix, coming in fourth place on this leg.
I was sincerely worried about the #SweetScientists right from the start of the episode, when Amy mentioned a leg injury she sustained that was becoming a problem. The worry increased as I watched the team have a lot of trouble with the first challenge, requiring them to carry a tray of glasses and a bottle up a seemingly endless set of stairs to some seemingly thankless "knights."
These knights appeared to revel more than any other passive participant so far when things went awry for the teams. When #SoulSurfers Adam and Bethany made it all the way to the top -- only for Bethany to drop a glass -- the head knight made a huge to-do about it, rubbing her face in the failure.
Given this challenge, the #SweetScientists were in last place heading into the Roadblock. Nevertheless, they were impressed by Malta and its history.
For this episode's Roadblock, one member of each team had to rappel 20 stories down into the Blue Grotto, and swim in the water beneath to pick up a clue with instructions for the upcoming Detour. While being ferried out to the "drop zone," Maya discusses the "strenuous" Roadblocks tackled by Amy.
The Detour options consisted of two words, "Flag" and "Shine," and for the first time one of them beat all takers. If a team blindly committed to the potentially more difficult one, then they were on the hook for completing it -- or else lose all the time spent on it. "Flag" consisted of a traditional Maltese game name Gostra, which consists of running up a greased log over water to grab flags. "Shine" required the teams to polish a set of armor until it shined.
Amy's leg troubles actually spurred the #SweetScientists to make a quick switch to the latter.
A few of the teams came close to completing a successful round of Gostra, but everyone ended up polishing the armor in the end.
After this week, five teams remain: #SoulSurfers, Adam and Bethany; #TheDentists, Misti and Jim; #TheCyclists, Kym and Alli; #SweetScientists, Amy and Maya; and #TheWrestlers, Brooke and Robbie. This is really going to be challenge to challenge from this point on, so buckle up -- it's gonna be a race to the finish!
Keep up with the #SweetScientists and view images of them racing on the team's Facebook page.
