Recap: The Amazing Race 13, Episode 3 – “Did you push my sports bra off the ledge?”

The Leg
Before the 3rd leg even begins, we find out Christy’s sports bra flew out of the window after it was sitting on the ledge and she deduced Starr was the culprit since she was at the scene of the crime. 

This leads us into the leg where the teams find out they must fly to La Paz, Bolivia.  Phil says the teams could be literally breathless 12,000 feet above sea level. 
The teams all head straight to the airport and board one of two flights to La Paz, arriving in the middle of the night.  The teams make their way to the Statue of Simon Bolivar where a woman happily bundled up hands them mats and blankets for their night (literally) on the plaza. 

A couple of hours later, the teams wake-up to shave and put their make-up on, meet new friends named Anna Maria and for some, discuss a certain sports bra and an attempt to avoid any bad blood because of a certain sister.
The teams wait for the newspaper delivery truck who’ll deliver a stack of papers in which the teams must search (like in TAR12) for the next clue hidden somewhere in the paper’s classified ads.

The clue reads:
HAT SALE!!
Make you way to Narvaez Hat and Shoe Store near Plaza Murillo and buy a traditional Cholita Hat. 
Additional Information: Please hold on to your Hat!!

Team Superbad takes off first, while Ken & Tina find the clue 2nd and tell Nick & Starr and they go off together.  Terence & Sarah and Mark & Bill decide to walk to the shop while everyone else takes a taxi and gets caught up in traffic.

At the shop, the saleslady hands them their next clue, a Detour.
In this Detour, teams must choose between Musical March and Bumpy Ride.  In Musical March, teams must make their way on foot to two plazas several blocks apart to collect a couple of musicians to form a traditional carnival band and deliver them to a bandleader waiting at Plaza Abaroa who will hand them their next clue.
In Bumpy Ride, teams walk to the nearby mercado where they’ll find traditional local bicycles which they must use along with a given map to navigate through the cobbled, busy streets to the same plaza for the next clue.
Caution though!  The first U-Turn is waiting for them at the Plaza.

Never forgetting the definition given of what it means to “walk” thanks to Heather and Eve of TAR3, Terence & Sarah and Mark & Bill hop into a taxi to their chosen Detours.  Terence & Sarah catch their mistake however, and head back to the shop while Mark & Bill chug along.
Kelly & Christy, who were allergic to reading clues correctly last leg make a point to read them thoroughly this week, noting they are to walk on foot.

The altitude and the walking get to some of the teams as they ready to complete the Detour, which isn’t any easier.
Andrew & Dan discover their band doesn’t walk very fast as Dan shoots down Andrew’s attempts at making the most out of the situation, while Marisa & Brooke decide to have total fun with theirs. 

Meanwhile, the rest of the teams (complete with chicken helmets) cobble their way down the hilly streets of La Paz on their wooden bikes. 
Mark & Bill arrive first at the Plaza and decide they are too far ahead to not U-turn as TAR’s rattlesnake “Oops” sound effect plays.

Phil then tells us the teams must make their way to Los Titanes Del Ring where they’ll find their next clue.

The teams on the bikes speed down the streets and through a tunnel, while Marisa & Brooke’s dancing and clapping motivates their guys to move a little faster (actually, they start running) which turns out to help them as they pass Superbad to finish before them.  
As they finish, Ken & Tina and Terence & Sarah are neck and neck with them as they jump into taxis.

Back at the bumpy rides, Starr flies past Kelly & Christy.  Christy then completely wipes out, almost running into a girl on the street who jumps back to avoid the oncoming Racer.  Meanwhile, Starr asks Aja & Ty to U-turn Kelly & Christy, promising not to U-turn the couple.  Then at the U-turn, while Kelly goes to see if her partner is okay, Nick declares they are not using the U-turn as Starr says “Wait!” to be sure if they will or not.They ultimately not use it.

Toni & Dallas bring up the rear as Kelly & Christy recover and arrive at the U-turn.  Thinking they were last, they do not use the U-turn only to find out Toni & Dallas right behind them.

Ken & Tina arrive first at Los Titanes Del Ring and find the Road Block.
In this Road Block, the teams face the Fighting Cholitas, a group of female wrestlers.
They will undergo training where they learn a wrestling routine consisting of six different “moves” (Chestkick, Taunting, Re-entry, Duck & Flip, Kicked, Slingshot) and when they feel they are ready, they will head to the main arena to perform for the crowd.  When the referee feels that they have completed the six moves, they’ll get their next clue.

Marisa & Brooke and Mark & Bill arrive next as Ken successfully completes the Detour.
He and Tina make their way to the Pit Stop, Mirador El Monticulo.

The other teams meanwhile encounter some troubles on the road.  Terence & Sarah mistake a referee’s red and yellow flag for a Race flag, Aja & Ty’s taxi breaks down, while Andrew & Dan are stuck in traffic.  The rest of the teams get lucky with theirs’.

Toni & Dallas arrive next at the Ring, followed by Terence & Sarah and the others one after the other.
Mark takes to the ring, but faceplants his re-entry while Marisa uses the wrong arm to flip her opponent.  Both have to go back to training.  

While waiting for their teammates, Aja tells Christy about Starr’s U-turn and she does not take it lightly.

Back in the ring, Dallas easily completes the Road Block to Mom’s delight (“That’s my baby!!”) and they are off.
Sarah fails her first attempt as Dan easily finishes, Nick and Ty have a go as Mark gets some oxygen. 
Eventually, Marisa and Mark finish and move on as Sarah gets it right as well, leaving Kelly & Christy, worried they will be eliminated.

At the Mat, Ken & Tina finishes first for a 2nd leg in a row, winning a 7 night trip to Cabo San Lucas.  Toni & Dallas jump to 2nd.

The streets of La Paz work their chaotic magic once again as  teams pass each other on the roads.

Terence & Sarah once again manage to climb up to place high on the mat (3rd) despite trailing most of the leg.  Marisa & Brooke also manage to jump higher into 4th after finishing next to last in the first 2 legs.

Mark & Bill finally realize their mistake and worry about their time penalty once they get to the Mat.  

Aja & Ty edge Nick & Starr for 5th as the siblings take 6th.  Andrew & Dan finish 7th.

Now for the wait, Mark & Bill arrive 8th, but incur a 30 minute penalty.    Kelly & Christy, upset at everything that’s happened during the leg make their way to the Mat… before the 30 minutes are up and end up as Team #8.

That leaves Mark & Bill as the 3rd team Philiminated.

Overall
This was an awesome leg I thought.  All the drama was in the leg itself.  The flights didn’t matter, so no need for 10 minutes of airport drama, all the more time for the hectic events of the leg in La Paz.

One of the interesting storylines this season has been the enemy teams.  Terence & Sarah were annoyed by Ken & Tina and Nick & Starr’s alliance, now Nick & Starr draw the evil eye from Kelly & Christy.   

This is the first Race in a while that not one team has stood out for me to either love or hate by the 3rd leg.  That can be a good thing, but it can also be a bad thing depending on how you look for it. 

I thought this week’s tasks were hilarious.  With the band, it wasn’t clear if they were supposed to walk that slowly the whole time or if there was some magic word like “Please” to make them go faster.  Apparently though, Marisa & Brooke found out what it was since they passed up Superbad with their clapping and dancing.  
With the bikes, while it wasn’t as fun as TAR3’s biking in Vietnam, this one looked like it hurt a lot more.  Your butt bouncing on wooden seats… ouch.

And the Road Block was pretty awesome, I have to say.  The rules of it were maybe a little, well I don’t know.  But it was still fun to see them in the ring “wrestling” the Cholitas.

One thing I always love in a leg if it happens is when teams are so close to each other that they literally pass each other on the road.  We saw that lot this leg, which is one reason I enjoyed it a lot.  That’s what you call a Race when they are so-neck and neck that they couldn’t hide the cameras and boom mic fast enough from each other.

And you’d think after 12 seasons, the difference between one’s own feet and a cab would be easy to decipher, but paying tribute to TAR3’s Heather & Eve, we have teams taking cabs when they’re supposed to make their way on foot.  Simple mistake, no question.  But in a Race like this, you’ve got to be able to be quick, yet careful.

Funny though how the divorcees were saved from elimination this week because another team didn’t read their clue correctly.  Hmm… 😉

So TAR13, good so far.  The teams are all right.  Let’s hope they get out of South America now though, time for some jet lag!