Episode Report Card Miss Alli: A | 543 USERS: C+ YOU GRADE IT Peru-ff beyond a reasonable doubt
By Miss Alli | Season 7 | Episode 1 | Aired on 2005.02.29
Back at the Airport Lounge of Totally Unfair Developments, the people from the theoretically better flight are now battling to get on the theoretically worse flight. "Listen to me," Gretchen says to Deana, Lynn, and Alex. "Get used to being burned. It's going to happen a lot." Yeah, thanks, wise old lady who dug in the 7:40 AM pile and is benefiting from all this and therefore can kind of afford to be smug about it. As it turns out, they all do get on the 7:40, so aside from the three lead teams on that 6:00 AM flight, everybody else is in a big tie, and is more than an hour and a half back. Bunch-errific! But sort of by accident, in fairness.
The first flight lands in Cusco, and people talk almost immediately about feeling odd from the altitude adjustment. Bianca claims that she and Debbie feel "lightheaded," which they chalk up to the altitude and I...don't. They all buy some coca tea, which is apparently what you're supposed to drink for altitude sickness. And if you're waiting for that storyline to pay off, it's not going to. The teams get to the clue box and rip the next clue. It tells them to get themselves to Huambutio, where there's a kiosk owned by a gentleman who will give them their next clue. As the clue instructs, the teams head for "marked taxis," and they get going. Debbie's Spanish appears to be serving her well, although she seems to use the familiar forms of address on everyone. And Rob and Amber, on the way, admire the mountains. Which, again, I think is cool.
Debbie and Bianca spend some time crowing about being in first place, and then they hop out of their taxi at Felipe's kiosk and ask him for their clue. When they rip it, it tells them to take a taxi across the bridge to the top of the gorge. Phil explains that at the top of the gorge, they'll take a zip line across the gorge, and then another one to the bottom, where they'll find another clue. Patrick and Susan are next to find the clue. As they're leaving, Rob and Amber are arriving and clue-fetching. "Oh, yes," Patrick says rapturously in the cab. "We keep Rob and Amber behind us!" Bleh. Older than Survivor references? Obsessing about other teams. Run your own race, Young Patrick. Your own race! Back in the cab, Rob talks about being on the side of a mountain, and makes use of "sayonara" in a way that makes me laugh, because he has magical powers. Not generally, but over me, certainly.
Debbie and Bianca talk about being number one again as they get to the zip line, followed by Patrick and Susan and Rob and Amber. Bianca is first on the zip line. Zip! She screams. There's never much to say about zip lining, unfortunately. Debbie zips across the gorge. Bianca zips to the bottom; Debbie zips to the bottom with their next clue. At the bottom, they open the clue, which is for a Detour. The Detour choices are Rope a Llama and Rope a Basket. In llamas, you rope two llamas and move them up a hill into a pen. Not physically taxing, but llamas are stubborn. In baskets, you put on silly hats and sling baskets onto your backs, each carrying 35 pounds of alfalfa two-thirds of a mile, turning it in to a store vendor who will give you your clue. So it's basically a matter of whether you want to use your brute strength or not, particularly with the altitude situation. Also, llamas spit. Just so you know.