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Leg 21.08 – “They don’t care if you think I’m fat.”
During the Pit Stop, teams will take a train back to Rome and will begin the 8th Leg of the Race from the iconic Spanish Steps in the afternoon. Teams will open the first clue of the Leg which reveals their next destination is Kigali, Rwanda!
Teams must secure their own flights to Kigali and will end up on one of two flights: KLM via Amsterdam departing Rome at 6:30am and arriving at 7:10pm or Egyptair via Cairo departing at 2pm and arriving at 2:40am.
Upon arrival in Kigali, teams must make their way to the Kigali Genocide Memorial where HOURS OF OPERATION! Teams must wait until 8am when it opens.
At this memorial, teams will learn about the devastating Rwandan genocide from a local student. They will then be led to the Gardens of Reflection where teams will pay their respects before heading outside to receive their next clue.
That clue contains a patterned fabric which they must take with them to Kimironko Market. Here, teams will find the Yield!
And after checking in at the Yield, teams will head to this fabric shop. They will first need to take their pattern sample and search amongst thousands of fabrics to find a matching roll. Teams will then measure each other for three different types of clothing. If their measurements match the tailor’s own measurements, they will receive their next clue and a receipt which they can exchange for their finished pieces of clothing once they leave Kigali.
Teams will now choose a waiting driver who will take them to Volcanoes National Park.
Here, teams must find a mountain gorilla family who will hand them their next clue.
This is also the Trigger Point for this Leg of the Race. If a mountain gorilla family hands any team a Trigger Point card, the U-Turn or Yield will be activated on the next Leg.
Teams will now encounter the Detour: Welcome Dance or Welcome Drink. This is a Limited Stations Detour with only room for three teams at each side of the Detour at one time.
In Welcome Dance, teams must learn how to play and properly perform the drum in the traditional Intore dance.
In Welcome Drink, teams must learn how to and properly produce local banana beer known as urwagwa.
After the Detour, teams can now make their way to Lake Kivu where they will shockingly encounter an Intersection!
For this Intersection, teams must attach two traditional fishing boats. Then when deemed safe, teams must paddle together to a waiting clue in the middle of the water.
Once each team has their own clue, they are no longer Intersected. Now teams can separately row themselves to the Pit Stop on Malahide Island.
The first team to check-in here will win P200,000 courtesy of Shell V-Power Nitro+.
The last team to check-in here WILL NOT be eliminated! This is a Non-Elimination Leg and that last place team must now choose a Non-Elimination Penalty Envelope:
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“Director’s” Commentary
A historic Leg! The first ever visit to Rwanda for any TAR! Yay! Of course, once again, Google scouting limits what we can do. But I think it’s about time a TAR does visit Rwanda. If TARUS weren’t on its last breaths, perhaps Rwanda would be an option. But these days, we’ll probably see more of the same countries if the show actually survives.
Anyway! To simplify logistics, we will have teams head back to Rome during the Pit Stop. Over the years, such out-of-Leg moves have become more accepted. Though not as extreme as TARAu or TAR China of course. But keeping the Race going while helping to minimize any logistical headaches.
Since we will get teams into Rome, might as well visit one of the city’s iconic landmarks as the Pit Start for this Leg.
Speaking of logistics, teams may get on different flights. But we of course need the equalizer once they arrive in Rwanda.
The first Route Marker at the memorial I think is an important one to have. Being the first ever visit to Rwanda, I think it is important to have a nod to its history. That is to be respectful, but also to show the progress the country has made since that tragic time. Of course, we’ll have it at the start of the Leg so the rest of the day will be uninterrupted, competition-wise.
First up, this task at the market was originally a Road Block. But I made it an Active Route Info task instead. Matching colorful fabrics is a typical, easy-to-recycle task for many places around the world. The only difference here is teams will actually measure each other in order to *spoileralert* get their own souvenir once they leave Rwanda next Leg.
I’m not much of an animal rights advocate. That is, I don’t know all the issues or anything like that. But for this mountain gorilla family task, we will naturally ensure what we do is proper and does not harm our new friends. It’s sort of an odd task. Really, not a task at all. But a tourist experience. A wonderful experience for the teams. But not necessarily a challenge.
The Detour is very straightforward. And it maximizes our time here in the national park. Making it Limited Stations is just an added twist to a simple Leg.
This Leg is a very travel pron type of Leg. Highlighting the natural beauty of Rwanda. So a finish at Lake Kivu would be nice. The Intersection is just a “twist” to add to make this Leg a bit more interesting since it’ll be a Non-Elimination.
Now, if we have a better Leg, perhaps we can make this an Elimination Leg.
Getting teams to team-up right before the Pit Stop to grab the clue and then separate before rowing themselves to the Pit Stop might be great for fun drama.
Overall, Rwanda deserves a TAR visit. And for our Google scouted-TARPHDME, this is an okay Leg. But there’s certainly better things to do with more effort. (hehe)