Mar 26 2007
Next Stop
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Another Reason the Graveyard Shift Sucks
We really sympathized with the poor woman, staffing the sole office open at the Maputo airport late at night, as team after team came into her office asking about booking flights and she had to tell them (often more than once) that nothing would open until that morning.
What Sucks More Than the Graveyard Shift?
Stand-by status on a flight. Flights to Dar es Salaam are either very popular or very rare because every flight was booked. Even the connecting flights were booked. Every team went on stand-by but Charla/Mirna managed to get seats on their connecting flight in Johannesburg with some hustling and the help of a very patient ticket agent. They are the first team out of Mozambique.
Waiting In Line Doesn't Always Pay Off
None of the remaining teams made it on the first available flight out of Maputo, so must wait for the second flight, which again, is full so everyone must go on stand-by status. Danny/Ozzie, Dustin/Kandice, Danielle/Eric and Joyce/Uchenna decided to book their tickets in a ticket office, while Teri/Ian and Joe/Bill decided to remain in the line at the airline ticket counter. It turned out that Teri/Ian and Joe/Bill made a critical error because when the first stand-by goes out, the teams who had booked in the ticket office all get on.
Slight Glitch
Eric/Danielle were initially on the second flight out but literally as the flight is about to take off, they are told they must get off the plane, stranding them at the airport with Teri/Ian and Joe/Bill. But despite Danielle's whining about them having no luck, they managed to get on the next stand-by flight out. . .the next morning.
Finally!
Teri/Ian and Joe/Bill were at their wits' end when they had to spend a day and a half at the Maputo airport before they finally get seats on stand-by and are finally on their way to Dar es Salaam.
Mother Nature Intervenes
Charla/Mirna's significant lead is wiped out thanks to Mother Nature when the dhow (a sailing ship unique to the area) launch to Zanzibar was delayed until early the next morning because of a developing storm. By the time the first dhow launched, Danny/Ozzie have caught up.
Solve It or Schlep It
The Detour required teams to either solve a puzzle (that looked like giant-sized version of the children's wooden puzzles where you have to fit pieces into pre-cut shapes in the puzzle board) or deliver (on wooden carts) two 50 pounds logs to a nearby shipyard. Neither task was particularly hard to complete, but only Dustin/Kandice chose the schlepping task.
Fruit Stop
Danny/Ozzie pretty much gave away first place in this leg when they decided to make a stop at a roadside fruit stand to get some food because they were feeling dehydrated. Still, we can't fault them for it because they've been running a very strong race, and doing so with a pretty awesome attitude.
Hunting, Masai-Style
The Roadblock required a racer to use a traditional hunting weapon of the Masai tribe to hit a target. The weapon looked like a small wooden club and throwing it so that it'll hit a target looked like it depended more on luck than skill for a lot of teams.
'Two Ones'
Charla/Mirna finished first again and each won a catamaran.
Meanwhile. . .
Eric/Danielle are just arriving in Dar es Salaam and Teri/Ian and Joe/Bill are still in the air. Dustin/Kandice and Joyce/Uchenna are just completing their Detour task. That's how much the stand-by delays have separated the teams.
Not First, But Safe
Joyce/Uchenna, who were marked for elimination, checked in third so they picked up a 30 minute time penalty which proved to be insignificant, as the time passed with no other team checking in, which allowed them to finish the leg third. To further demonstrate just how brutal the airport stand-by delays were, Teri/Ian and Joe/Bill haven't even landed in Dar es Salaam yet when Joyce/Uchenna are finally allowed to check in.
Night Into Day. . .Again
By the time Joe/Bill and Teri/Ian finally arrived in Tanzania, it is late at night and they rush to complete the Detour. Joe/Bill managed to complete the puzzle task faster than Teri/Ian and once they reached the Roadblock task, the sun is literally coming up, meaning these two teams have been racing for about 72 hours non-stop. Talk about brutal.
Sealed Fates
Teri/Ian knew, once Joe/Bill had beaten them at the puzzle task that they were destined to be eliminated and that's exactly what happened. We commend them for never giving up, not even after the soul-crushing delays at the airport.
