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
Commercials. Have a Tylenol. No, seriously. Have one. Have several.
Ray and Deana and their Posse of Misery ask another guy about a bus to Ancon. Yeah, he doesn't know. But finally, Ryan and Chuck ask the right street vendor, and they get themselves pointed toward the buses. Ultimately, Ray and Deana, Ron and Kelly, Ryan and Chuck, and Megan and Heidi all wind up on the "3rd Bus to Ancon." That certainly took a while.
At the Plaza de Armas, Brian and Greg (whom I am nowhere near being able to identify individually) are looking for the clue box. They, along with Lynn and Alex, find a guy who takes them to the right spot. Uchenna and Joyce and Meredith and Gretchen are nearby as well, and then there is a shot of their local guide flipping and jumping down the street in one of those moments that nobody could have written into anything, but here's a guy who's going to be on TV, so why not show off your gymnastics? They're lucky more gate agents don't sing.
Ancon. Beaches. Surfing. Parasailing. Susan and Patrick and Debbie and Bianca hop off the bus and look for Playa Hermosa. They get into rickshaws and head out. Bianca and Debbie enjoy saying "andale, andale" to their rickshaw driver. Ah, yes. The touchstone of American cultural experience: Speedy Gonzales cartoons. And then Debbie reaches over and gives Bianca a big, noisy kiss on the cheek, which I'm sure does not escape the attention of their driver. "Te amo," Debbie intones. That is just getting stupid and show-offy.
Next to arrive at the beach are Rob and Amber, who hop into their rickshaw along with Craig the Fern. "You know what?" Rob says as they drive along. "This is pretty nice. I'm havin' fun." And...again, I admire that in anybody.
On the third bus to Ancon, there is tension. Probably because these people know they totally lagged getting on buses, and they're not sure where they stand. Ray interviews that they saw all sorts of things in Lima, and it put it all in perspective, and you can kind of tell he really wants that part to get on TV as he compares the unimportance of racing to the human spirit and blah dee blah he really, really loves the downtrodden. Much more than the girl he's "dating off and on."