Farewell, Gus & Hera

The time has come, and it has come much sooner than expected or wanted. Gus & Hera has been eliminated from the Amazing Race 6. Let's all go into a state of mourning. I know that I definitely have already. This team was my favorite of this race; they were just great. Gus was so fun to watch. I remember that first episode were he stopped to say hello to a by-passing team. Even though he wasn't tough physically, he was definitely a pretty smart person. He is a former CIA agent and was the first person in the world to fly open-cockpit over the North Pole. He has been through so many adventures in his life. He always displayed his brillance throughout the race. He made sure to be cool and collective despite the situation and made sure to save all the money that he could. He always knew the historical facts behind all the sites. I remember that great moment at the Berlin airport where Jonathan & Victoria had arrived earlier than Gus & Hera. Instead of going to the ticket counter like the married couple, they went straight to the travel agency. Very smart move! They got the very last ticket on the earlier flight to Budapest while Jonathan & Victoria got stuck with the later flight. Gus also like to have fun. This was a strength but it was also a weakness for this team. In all of his interviews, he said that he had a lot of fun, which was one of his goals by coming on the race (the other was getting closer to his daughter). This was a weaknesss because they would choose their tasks based on how fun they were. The consistently chose the harder task. Too bad they let this get the best of them. Hera was proved to be a great racer. She had much spirit and drive. She was full of energy and drove her and her father. Hera is also very quirky and cool like Gus. When she was hit in the head by the gate, she didn't make a big deal about it. She just let bygones be bygones. She didn't even speak up when she got the last number for the mini-train ride because of that incident, which I believe started the series of events that caused this great team to get eliminated. I do think that these two have definitely gotten closer as a father and daughter. You can see it in their eyes and in their actions that they are now a closer family.

I don't know who I am going to be rooting for now. There really wasn't anyone that I wanted to see win other than Gus & Hera. This team was fair, nice, and great to watch.

The other teams don't really offer anything that makes them deserve the million dollars. I guess I'll just have to let go and find wait and see who gets into the top three.

EP7: Leaderboard

Here is how the racers stand as of Episode 7 (Budapest, Hugary). Click on the image to look at a larger image.

EP7: Who Now?

Episode 7 of 12
Episode 7 opened witht the teams still in Budapest, Hungary, after being stuck there for two weeks (at least, in the minds of viewers). Every team, except the wrestlers, are hanging outside an internet cafe and are waiting for it to finally open (at 10pm of all times). The scene then goes to the train station outside Budapest with the wrestlers just waiting for the next train that is suppose to leave the next morning. Bolo gets fed up and gets up to make sure that this information was true. Turns out that the ticket woman that talked to the wrestlers did not drink her coffee because Bolo finds out that a train leaves at 2:55am. Although they are far behind the other teams, this still gives them some hope. At the cafe, the teams find out that they are to meet at the Hungary Heritage Rail Museum and ride some mini-train to the clue box. The racers don't rush towards the museum; they all instead go to a near-by hotel. The producers must have had some sense this time and went ahead and got everyone hotel rooms since the museum would of course be closed at that time. This provides the wrestlers plenty of time to catch up to the other racers. After they leave the internet cafe, the head strait to the museum and arrive before anyone else. This didn't last long, though. This stop was an equalizing point in the leg. The teams had to once again wait for the place to open up. This provided some drama in the race. Everyone was extremely restless to be the first to get to the clue box. As soon as the gate opens, everyone makes a mad dash to the box. The gate falls back down onto Hera and Freddy. They put that aside for a second and race towards the box. The racers knock it down and the numbers the teams were suppose to get were scattered all over the ground. This made teams pick whatever they saw on the ground regardless of the order of arrival (Gus & Hera received injustice since they got there sooner, Hera got knocked in the head, and they received the last number which meant they would take the last train ride). After the teams get their numbers, Freddy blows up! He starts yelling and screaming and threatens to "break in half" whoever tampered with the gate that hit him. The person that tries to support and cool him down--Jonathan of all people! I believe that this is the last person that Freddy needs help from. I think Lori may have had something to do with this because she keeps repeating that it couldn't have been her and Bolo because they were already ahead. She keeps screaming and screaming that point. Sure, Lori! Lori & Bolo get the first mini-train ride and get to the next clue box first. They take the option of the Fast Forward. They both have to drink a cup of pig's blood in accordance with Hungarian vampire tradition. Both of them chug it down and arrive at the pit stop first. The other racers they take part in the detour, Swim or Paddle. In swim, the racers have to go to a pool and must score a goal in water polo against a Hungarian olympian. The teams also had to wear speedos. I believe the producers are trying to rake in some more ratings. In paddle, the racers had to pump up a boat and navigate against the current across the river in downtown Budapest to get to the clue box on the other side. All the teams, except Gus & Hera choose Swim. I thought both tasks would be difficult, but the olympian didn't prove to be a very good defender. Gus & Hera of course picked the task that proved most difficult and time consuming, although I am glad that I didn't have to watch Gus in a speedo. Gus & Hera got way behind here, and I started getting very scared! After performing the detour, the teams had to take part in this leg's roadblock at the Gundel Restaurant. One member of each team had to eat a 24 lb bowl of extremely spicy soup. Jonathan of course made Victoria do this task since "she's the eater." Big mistake, Jonathan! Victoria can't keep it down and keeps puking. The atmosphere also proved to be very annoying. The workers wouldn't stop playing music, which I found intolerable and I wasn't even there eating this. Aaron also started puking. He said that Victoria was causing him to do this. Rebecca chugs her soup down, but she starts up-chucking once she gets outside with Adam. Freddy ends up having to eat some of his barf because he accidently points for his bowl instead of the floor. The teams get by and no gets too far behind with this task. Gus & Hera, however, arrive last with everyone already gone since they lost some big time with the detour. Gus does chug down that soup with no problem at all. Proud of you, Gus! They do, however, arrive last and this is not a non-elimination leg. Now, we all must go into a time of mourning! This great team is out of the race. Gus left us though with a great thought, though. He said, "my daughter will always be my daughter, but now ny daughter is my friend." Great moments! Now, the question comes. Who can we root on? This was a great team that was honest, fair, and great to watch. What do the other teams have to offer. Models? Liars? A wife beater? It is going to be hard to pick another favorite. I sure will miss you, Gus & Hera.