The Amazing Race Episode 20.02 You Know I'm Not As Smart As You

As teams raced to Buenos Aires, Argentina, a shattered window on a bus and a Roadblock involving math skills tripped up married clowns Dave & Cherie while army wife and combat pilot Rachel & Dave won their second leg in a row.

"THE TEACHERS"Departing the Pit Stop in first place at 2:46am, Army wife and combat pilot Rachel & Dave ripped open their clue instructing them to drive to the town square in Cafayate, Argentina and wait for a chasqui, a mounted postman, who would deliver their next clue.

Arriving at the Cafayate Town Square in first place, Rachel & Dave asked a local where to find the chasqui and he replied that the chasqui would not arrive until sunrise, several hours away. This gave ample opportunity for the other nine teams to catch up with the Army wife and combat pilot as everyone waited for sunrise. Among the teams gathered, Federal Agents Nary & Jamie continued to conceal a More...secret from the other racers: their profession. The Federal Agents decided to tell teams they were kindergarten teachers because, according to Nary, "If we told them about the other profession, they're like, 'Oh, they're a pretty tough team so we're gonna try and backstab them.'"

DETOUR DECISION

Once the sun rose over the tiny town of Cafayate, teams heard the clip clopping of hooves as the chasqui rode through the town square. After a mad dash towards the mounted postman, the ten teams swarmed around him jostling for better position as he handed out clues. In the madness and chaos, an aggressive Brendon & Rachel irked Art & JJ when the former Big Brother houseguests swiped a clue from Border Patrol agents.

The ten teams all ripped open their clue to discover the first Detour of the Race giving the choice of Boil My Water or Light My Fire. In Boil My Water, teams had to visit one of three isolated villages and provide them with a means for cooking. Once there, teams had to take a basic solar kitchen from a pickup truck and assemble it using only the picture on the side of the box. Then, they had to carefully position the kitchen in direct sunlight and place a teakettle on the dish. Once their kettle came to boil and whistled, teams would receive their next clue. Light My Fire required teams to gather firewood and clay by the riverbank, load it onto a donkey, and transport it one mile to a local pottery workshop. Once they delivered their goods, teams would receive their next clue.

AGAINST THE GRAIN

As nine teams arrived at one of the three isolated villages to begin assembling solar kitchens, Art & JJ bucked the trend by attempting to deliver firewood and clay to the local pottery workshop, believing that waiting for water to boil in the early morning sunlight would take far too long. However, the Border Patrol Agents drove along the rural highway, passing each of the villages where the other teams built their solar kitchens, but they could not find the riverbank and pottery workshop. After stopping a small settlement beyond the villages, Art & JJ discovered they needed to drive eight kilometers in the other direction. Getting back in the truck, undoubtedly in last place, JJ worried, "We're so far behind. Man, you go from high to low."

SOLAR POWER

While Art & JJ backtracked to the riverbank, the other nine teams assembled their solar kitchens with varying degrees of success and aptitude. Kentuckian Mark relied on his past experience building Lego structures with his son, prompting an impressed Bopper to marvel, "Your skills are surprising me." Meanwhile Army wife and combat pilot Rachel & Dave, made good progress with their solar kitchen, but showed some small signs of conflict in their relationship. Not appreciating Dave's orders and commands, Rachel asked, "Why are you so obnoxious?" Faring worse in their construction, married clowns Dave & Cherie wondered what they were missing, a mystery solved by another team who pointed out the directions on the side of the box. Cherie joked, "The things you miss when you're hyped up on adrenaline." Putting the metallic dish onto its base, Long Islander Danny cut his finger pretty badly, but kept on going, saying, "Blood and tears. I'm from New York. Blood don't matter."

COMING BACK

As the nine teams put their kettles full of water on their solar kitchens and anxiously waited for them to boil, Art & JJ reached the riverbank and began to collect firewood and clay fragments strewn along the muddy land. Then, the Border Patrol Agents bundled the wood, put the clay in a traditional sack, and loaded the materials onto a donkey for their journey to the pottery workshop. With the sun only peeking over the mountaintops, Art & JJ still believed they had a shot at overtaking the other teams as they slowly led their rather cooperative donkey along a dusty path. After getting their bundle of firewood snagged on some brush, JJ initially panicked until Art told him, "Relax man, we're all right." Once they freed the firewood and their donkey, the Border Patrol Agents continued to the pottery workshop and arrived to deliver the firewood and clay. With exception to Bopper & Mark, Art & JJ beat all the other teams, who were still waiting for their water to boil. The best friends from Kentucky heard their teakettle whistle, leaving the Detour in first place, just ahead of Art & JJ, and headed for the bus station in Salta where teams would travel to Buenos Aires on an 18-hour bus ride and find Mercado de Hacienda de Liniers. Art & JJ had a moment of satisfaction when they drove past one of the isolated villages and spotted Brendon & Rachel still waiting at their solar kitchen, gleefully commenting, "That's who we like to go by!"

SHATTERED HOPES

In Salta, Border Patrol Agents Art & JJ, best friends Bopper & Mark, Army wife and combat pilot Rachel & Dave, and PhD student and event hostess Brendon & Rachel all got on the first available bus to Buenos Aires while dating divorcees Vanessa & Ralph, married clowns Dave & Cherie, twins Elliot & Andrew, and trainer and club promoter Joey "Fitness" & Danny settled for the next fastest bus. Having just missed the second bus, Mississippi cousins Kerri & Stacy were forced to take the third bus to Buenos Aires with last place Federal Agents Nary & Jamie, who waited over 45 minutes for their water to boil. As their bus pulled away, Nary joked, "We're just gonna hope their bus breaks down."

Teams rode through the day and into the night along the rural highways of Argentina, getting some much needed rest before reaching Buenos Aires. However, for one group of teams, the tranquility came to a sudden halt when a window shattered, sending glass flying everywhere. While thankfully nobody was hurt, Dave & Cherie, Andrew & Elliot, Vanessa & Ralph, and Joey "Fitness" & Danny now had to wait with the other bus patrons while the driver tried to repair the window using duct tape and cardboard. With the massive amount of time they spent stranded on the roadside, the four teams could not help but feel like they now were battling for last place. Their fears were founded, because, by the time the driver fixed the window well enough for him to resume driving, the bus carrying Nary & Jamie and Kerri & Stacy had already passed by. Vanessa simply said, "Awful. Just awful."

CATTLE CHAOS

Arriving at Mercado de Hacienda de Liniers in Buenos Aires in first place, Rachel & Dave ripped open their clue to find a Roadblock. In it, one team member had to enter the Liniers cattle market and join a cattle auction. When the head auctioneer yelled out the total weight of the cattle in one of the corrals, the team member had to quickly count the number of cattle and calculate the average weight per head while buyers bid on the cattle and before the auctioneer went to the next corral. If they came up with the right number in time, they would receive their next clue.

Running into the cattle market, Rachel, disappointed that teams were not allowed to use calculators, heard the auction bell clang as she joined the auctioneer and bidders on the walkway perched above the crowded corrals below. After the auctioneer used his megaphone to announce the corral number, he then proceeded to reveal the total weight of the cattle in the corral before opening the auction up to the bidders. As Rachel tried to count the number of cattle and calculate the average weight, the auctioneer began to yell out the number of each bid from the prospective buyers, making it difficult to concentrate.

TEAMING UP

With the arrival of JJ, event hostess Rachel, and Mark at the bustling market, Army wife Rachel found a natural ally in JJ to help overcome the confusion of the auction. Working together, JJ and Army wife Rachel separately counted the number of cattle in the corral and then confirmed their count with one another, making sure that event hostess Rachel, who appeared entirely overwhelmed by the situation, did not overhear their calculations. After dividing the total weight in the corral, 7540 kgs, by the number of cattle, 22, JJ and Army wife Rachel presented an answer of 342 kg/ head and received their next clue, instructing them to travel by taxi to the Pit Stop to El Gomero, a 200-year old rubber tree standing in the center of La Recoleta neighborhood. In the taxi to El Gomero, JJ commented about struggling event hostess Rachel, "I'm not going to help her run the race. Big Brother, they're tagalongs."

In a tight taxi race to the Pit Stop with Art & JJ, Army wife and combat pilot Rachel & Dave once again came out on top, winning their second leg in a row and earning a trip for two from Travelocity to Grenada for their efforts. Afterwards, Rachel said, "I definitely think there's a target on our backs. Fortunately, we have the Express Pass, very much of a safety net at this point."

BREAKING DOWN

Watching Rachel & Dave and Art & JJ exit the cattle market, event hostess Rachel became even more flustered, crying, "I'm really bad at math." Trying to stave off a full-blown meltdown by Rachel, Brendon suggested that she work Mark, who quickly accepted the offer. With Mark's calming demeanor and mathematical acumen from his job, Rachel settled down and tallied the right answer with her Kentucky ally, prompting a squeal of excitement as she ran towards Brendon with the clue.

However, Rachel's fleeting mood of elation slid back to despair when she and Brendon searched for a taxi. After running to the spot where their taxi dropped them off, hoping he would still be there waiting, Rachel felt like Brendon blamed her for the idea when the taxi was not there. Bursting into tears, Rachel cried, "I'm sorry. I tried. I can't do things under pressure." Trying to calm her down, Brendon reassured Rachel and attempted to refocus her energy back to racing. Once the engaged couple flagged down a taxi, Brendon apologized, saying, "I love you very much and I'm sorry." The PhD student & event hostess ended their day in fourth place, just behind best friends Bopper & Mark.

Unaware that they passed teams on the bus with the shattered window, cousins Kerri & Stacy, led by Stacy's strong math skills, cheered in shock and delight when Phil informed them of their fifth place finish. Meanwhile, believing they came in last place, Federal Agents Nary & Jamie jumped with excitement upon learning they ended up in sixth place, capitalizing on the other teams' bus breakdown.

DIVIDE AND CONQUER

The four teams on the last bus into Buenos Aires all arrived at Mercado de Hacienda de Liniers within moments of each other. With elimination on the line, Vanessa, circus clown Dave, Andrew, and Joey "Fitness" all elected to perform the Roadblock for their teams. Right off the bat, Ralph and Cherie expressed concerns because their respective partners both lacked math skills. However, Vanessa surprised herself and Ralph by being the first of this last pack to solve the math problem to end the day in seventh place. Leaving the cattle market, Vanessa shouted, "I don't suck at math!"

Seeing Dave struggle with the intricacies of long division, Joey "Fitness" and Andrew saw their opportunity and joined forces to blow past the circus clown. When the two guys came up with the correct answer and walked right past Dave, Joey "Fitness" told Andrew, "Don't show him." Seeing Andrew and Joey "Fitness" get their clue, a helpless Cherie asked, "What did they write? We're not making any friends here today." In a race to the Pit Stop, Joey "Fitness" & Danny edged out twins Andrew & Elliot to finish in eight place.

NOT ADDING UP

With all the teams long gone and the corrals now empty, Dave continued to wrestle with the math problem as Cherie looked on with sympathy, saying, "I feel so bad for him. I know he's struggling. I know he feels bad." After finally getting the correct answer, Dave & Cherie took a taxi ride to El Gomero, where Phil told the married clowns they had been eliminated from the race. On her husband, Cherie commented, "Even though this was a short journey for us, I was proud of Dave. He didn't give up." Citing his battles with cancer, a tearful Dave said, "Cherie and I have been through a lot worse in our close to 20 years of marriage and at the end of the day we still have each other, so we really haven't lost. We're the luckiest couple on earth."

2002 ROUTE MARKERS

Detour: A Detour is a choice between two tasks. In this Detour, teams had the choice of Boil My Water or Light My Fire. In Boil My Water, teams had to visit one of three isolated villages and provide them with a means for cooking. Once there, teams had to take a basic solar kitchen from a pickup truck and assemble it using only the picture on the side of the box. Then, they had to carefully position the kitchen in direct sunlight and place a teakettle on the dish. Once their kettle came to boil and whistle, teams would receive their next clue. Light My Fire required teams to gather firewood and clay by the riverbank, load it onto a donkey, and transport it one mile to a local pottery workshop. Once they delivered their goods teams would receive their next clue.

Boil My Water: Rachel/ Dave, Brendon/ Rachel, Bopper /Mark, Nary/ Jamie, Joey"Fitness"/ Danny, Elliot/ Andrew, Kerri/ Stacy, Vanessa/ Ralph, Dave/ Cherie Light My Fire: Art/ JJ

Roadblock: A Roadblock is a task that only one team member can perform. In this Roadblock, that team member had to enter the Liniers cattle market and join a cattle auction. When the head auctioneer yelled out the total weight of the cattle in one of the corrals, the team member had to quickly count the number of cattle and calculate the average weight per head while the auction was going on and before the auctioneer went to the next corral. If they came up with the right number in time, they would receive their next clue.

Performed Roadblock: Rachel, JJ, Mark, Rachel, Nary, Stacy, Joey "Fitness", Dave, Vanessa, Andrew Order of Finish: 1. Rachel & Dave 2. Art & JJ 3. Bopper & Mark 4. Brendon & Rachel 5. Kerri & Stacy 6. Nary & Jamie 7. Vanessa & Ralph 8. Joey "Fitness" & Danny 9. Andrew & Elliot 10. Dave & Cherie ...