The Amazing Race 6: Episode 4

Lots of people need little notes after tonight's episode:

Kendra: Your whining is really starting to grate on me. You had a challenge in a pink lake today. American television producers picked this task for you to do. I don't really think you need to ask if it is sanitary and question whether the pigmentation comes from blood.

Producers: When the final team leaves the final challenge AGES after the rest of the teams have completed it you do NOT need to have the big suspenseful cliffhanger of Phil standing at the Pit Stop wondering who will check in last. It seems the farther behind the final team is the longer the suspense gets dragged out.

Gus: I beg of you to keep your shirt on! Your man-boobs were frightening! Sweetie insisted on rewinding the tape over and over and over again to watch. The TiVo ended up freezing on him so he had to restart and he missed a few minutes of taping NYPD Blue. I hope it's a really important moment of NYPD Blue he missed and he lives to regret that.

Anyone traveling by taxi in Africa: Negotiate your fare before you get in the cab, then pay the driver the full fare you negotiated at the end of the journey. You will get a flat tire. You will need to stop for gas. Your cab will probably spontaneously burst into flames at some point. That's the joy of the taxi ride in Africa. Just smile and go with the flow and you're better off than if you yell at your driver. Just listen to your driver, "No Worries!"

And a couple of notes for future contestants of the Amazing Race. You'd think today's contestants should know these things by now, but apparently not.

1. ALWAYS travel to the next route marker BEFORE making lodging arrangements for the evening. Don't trust the locals, they haven't run this race before. Tonight the two teams in front ended up in the rear when they trusted the locals that a location didn't open until 10 am. It really opened at 7 am. Thankfully for those two teams a plane flight was next and everyone ended up on the same flight.
2. When faced with a detour you always want the known quantity over the unknown possibility. Tonight teams were faced with the choice of stacking a bunch of small fish on a platform (known quantity), or going out and catching 4 fish via traditional fishing technique (unknown possibility). The teams who decided to catch the fish ended up behind. Who the heck knows how long it's going to take you to catch fish? At least if you're filling up a platform you can see the end of the task ahead.

The sacrificial lamb team came in last place tonight. However, it was a non-elimination leg, so they will get to participate one more week, albeit having to beg for money to fund their adventures. Let's see how much longer they can hold on.