TAR 37, Recap Leg 7, 4/16/25

 

Welcome to Leg 7! Last time, on I’ll Have High Tea With The Hot French Pastry Chef Anytime, 8 teams raced from Indonesia to Dubai. Teams jumped out of airplanes, and the Gaymers took the Fast Forward to land in first place. In the meantime, The Jeffs decided not to take a certain train, which landed them in a footrace with the Brothers to the mat, which Nick and Mike won, so Pops and Jeff were eliminated. Who will be eliminated. . . next? (click for more)

Arrival at the pit stop last episode:

1st – Carson and Jack, Team DND Gaymers

2nd – Han and Holden, Team Sibling Rivalry

3rd – Alyssa and Josiah, Team Newlywed Nurses

4th – Brett and Mark, Team Vegas Showgays

5th – Jonathan and Ana, Team California Fitness

6th – Melinda and Erika, Team Mother-Daughter Dance

7th – Nick and Mike, Team TAR Brothers

Museum of the Future, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

12:34 PM Carson/Jack (1st) 

Clue: Fly 2000 miles to Sofia, Bulgaria! Once there, find the marked cars that you will be driving and get your next clue.

(Toyouke: “I love that Phil basically admitted having to drive themselves WILL screw at least one team. He knows. Also that they warned everyone in the clue.”)

1:16 PM Han/Holden (2nd)

1:19 PM Alyssa/Josiah (3rd) – Josiah: “Sofia Bulgaria? I’m pretty sure that’s a famous person.”

1:27 PM Brett/Mark (4th) – Mark: “I’m not sure where Bulgaria is.”

1:35 PM Jonathan/Ana (5th).”

1:36 PM Melinda/Erika (6th)

1:37 PM Nick/Mike (7th) 

So teams make their way to the airport. Teams arrive in the following order:

1- Carson/Jack

2- Han/Holden

3- Alyssa/Josiah

4- Brett/Mark

5- Jonathan/Ana

6- Melinda/Erika

7- Nick/Mike

Teams arrive at the airport to book their flights and discover that they are all on the same flight to Bulgaria. So the Amazing Yellow Line transports us from Dubai to Sofia. Teams arrive and get the clues at the marked cars in the following order:

1- Carson/Jack

2- Nick/Mike

3- Melinda/Erika

4- Jonathan/Ana

5- Alyssa/Josiah

6- Brett/Mark – who struggle to figure out reverse, but get it.

7- Han/Holden – who struggle to figure out reverse, and back into a team, but get help from Jonathan. (Toyouke: ”"Let me tell you what to do if you let us go ahead of you" is not the worst deal.”)

Teams are now instructed to drive themselves to the village square of Negushevo in order to get their next clue. They are using a map. (Toyouke: “Did they all get the same map? Would they have given them maps? Or maybe they had one map in the airport. The number of people saying "I have never read a map before" is sad.”) Teams arrive in the following order:

1- Jonathan/Ana

2- Alyssa/Josiah

3- Brett/Mark

4- Han/Holden

5- Melinda/Erika

6- Nick/Mike – who get lost and ask for directions, but not as lost as . . .

7- Carson/Jack – who end up 3 hours southeast of Sofia instead of east and must go all the way back to Sofia in order to get to Negushevo. (Toyouke: “Not the team I wanted to drive hours out of the way.”)

Anyway, teams get their clue and find that they have to help locals with a Kukeri ritual by loading a wheelbarrow with two crates of apples and carrying a third and then depositing the apples at the Kukeri altar in order to get their next clue. Teams deliver the apples and get their clues in the following order:

1- Jonathan/Ana – who liken the ceremony to Where the Wild Things Are.

2- Alyssa/Josiah – Josiah: “My family has carried a lot of fruit. I guess the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”

3- Brett/Mark

4- Han/Holden

5- Melinda/Erika

6- Nick/Mike

7- Carson/Jack

Teams are now instructed to drive themselves to Osoitsa Village and search the Library for their next clue. Teams arrive at the library and get their clue in the following order:

1- Jonathan/Ana

2- Alyssa/Josiah

3- Brett/Mark

4- Melinda/Erika

5- Han/Holden – who have to get directions to Osoitsa.

6- Nick/Mike

7- Carson/Jack

Teams open their clues and we get the fifth Detour Clue.

DETOUR:

Haystack OR Woodstack

*Haystack: Teams drive themselves to Sarantsi and make their way to the hayfield where they must search three large haybales for a red and white Martenitsa bracelet. Once teams find the bracelet and give it to the farmer, they will receive their next clue.

*Woodstack: Teams drive themselves to Sarantsi and make their way to the wood shop to collect 200 kilos (440 pounds) of wood and deliver it to a nearby home using a backpack and a wheelbarrow. Once the homeowner verified the wood, teams get their next clue. Teams must return the backpack and wheelbarrow to the woodshop before proceeding.

(Toyouke: “Phil, why are you making people search for stuff in haystacks. Didn't we learn our lesson last time? Also, I'd rather haul 400 pounds of firewood than Swedish Roulette.”)

1- Jonathan/Ana choose Haystack – after parking in a ditch rather than at the arrow that says “Parking”. (Toyouke: “The Amazing Cameraman strikes again!”) And Jonathan starts complaining when it gets hard.. (Toyouke: “Was Ana the one who picked out the Detour? Did Jonathan really have no input? I find that hard to believe. But I do feel like this is not a situation where they should switch, simply because Ana seems very determined not to. It's not like they are both complaining but not Bald Snarking.”)

2- Brett/Mark choose Woodstack – who would rather do hard work than struggle with finding a bracelet in hay, because they’ve watched the Amazing Race.

3- Alyssa/Josiah choose Haystack

4- Han/Holden choose Woodstack – Han: “Bulgaria really loves their wheelbarrows.”

5- Melinda/Erika choose Haystack – Erika asks God for help, and then proceeds to find a dead Gecko. God: “That’s what you get, I’m still in the tub.”

6- Nick/Mike choose Woodstack

7- Carson/Jack choose Haystack – (Toyouke: “NO DON'T DO THE SAME DETOUR! How will you ever get ahead that way?! You have to do the other Detour or you're automatically behind.”) They realize very quickly based on the other team that is still at the Detour that it could take a really long time, so they Bald Snark to Woodstack.

Much haybale searching and wood hauling ensues. So, teams complete the detour in the following order:

1- Alyssa/Josiah
2- Jonathan/Ana – Jonathan: “We have the worst luck.” Ana, immediately: “Here it is!”
3- Brett/Mark

4- Nick/Mike – who had to make 3 trips because they were 1 kilo short of the 200 they needed.

5- Melinda/Erika

6- Han/Holden

7- Carson/Jack

Teams are now instructed to make their way on foot to the Church of Saints Cyril and Methodius in Sarantsi.

CAUTION: DOUBLE U-TURN AHEAD!

When they arrive, teams find the U-Turn.

This is a Double U-Turn. Teams may choose to U-turn any team they wish (well, the team has to be behind them), but they may only use the U-Turn once during the race. If a team is U-turned, they must go back to the Detour choices and complete the Detour that they did not complete. This U-Turn is doubled, meaning two teams may U-Turn two other teams. It is revealed that this is the first of two U-Turns there will be on this race.

1- Alyssa/Josiah choose not to use the U-Turn – (Toyouke: “No! U-Turn someone! You are ahead of stronger teams and can knock them out! Dumb.”)

2- Jonathan/Ana choose not to use the U-Turn – (Toyouke: “Everyone is dumb.”)

3- Brett/Mark choose not to use the U-Turn

4- Melinda/Erica choose to U-Turn Nick/Mike – whom they got ahead of because they had to return their backpack and wheelbarrow.

5- Nick/Mike are U-Turned and choose to U-Turn Han/Holden

6- Han/Holden are U-Turned and cannot U-Turn

7- Carson/Jack cannot U-Turn – who finish Woodstack, and leave Nick and Mike, who are still working on their U-Turn.

So the pairs of siblings have been U-Turned and now must complete the other U-Turn option, which for both of them is Haystack. Han and Holden manage to get it in one and a half haystacks. Nick and Mike destroy all of theirs and the Amazing Cameramen have found the bracelet and point it out to us. Twice. (Toyouke: “Oh WOW. I did not expect an Amazing Cameraman shot of THE BRACELET. They are being VERY sly about only pointing the camera down when they are not looking.”) Nick: “I guess we just wait here for Phil then.”

Teams then leave the U-Turn in the following order:

1- Alyssa/Josiah
2- Jonathan/Ana – and when they get to their car, which was parked incorrectly, they discover that they can’t get out of the ditch. (Toyouke: “I am glad Jonathan fucked up the car. Mostly because I don't like him, but also because if it was Ana, after he complained so much about the Detour being her fault, he would be super obnoxious.”) They get help from Brett and Mark (Toyouke: “NO DON'T HELP THEM.”), and then some locals, before someone goes and gets a tow cable. (Toyouke: “OK it is nice that the locals are helping you but "I'll hook a rope to your car" is not some kind of brilliant genius solution.”)
3- Brett/Mark

4- Melinda/Erika – who are unaware that the Gaymers have yet to show up until they see the clues.

5- Han/Holden

6- Carson/Jack

Teams are now instructed to drive themselves to the town of Belopoptsi and find Snezha’s Farm to get their next clue. Teams arrive and get their clues in the following order:

1- Alyssa/Josiah
2- Brett/Mark
3- Jonathan/Ana

4- Han/Holden

5- Melinda/Erika – who drive about 30 miles in the wrong direction.

6- Carson/Jack

We are introduced to Nevenha Oshavchieva, a 102 year old woman eating yogurt. Teams open their clues and come to the eighth roadblock.

ROADBLOCK:
Who’s ready to fill ‘er up?
In this roadblock, one team member must milk a sheep to get a half liter of milk. Once complete, teams meet Nevenha and her granddaughter to get a bowl of Bulgarian yogurt. Once they eat all the yogurt, they get their next clue.

The following team members complete the Roadblock.

1- Alyssa
2- Mark
3- Ana

4- Holden

5- Melinda

6- Carson

After much milking and yogurt eating, teams complete the Roadblock in the following order:

1- Alyssa/Josiah – (Toyouke: “Alyssa and Josiah have really grown on me. I feel like I wasn't sure about them at first. But I know I did call Jonathan and Ana sucking.”)
2- Brett/Mark
3- Jonathan/Ana

4- Han/Holden

5- Melinda/Erika

6- Carson/Jack

Teams are now instructed to drive themselves to Elin Pelin and make their way on foot to the Village Square, the PIT STOP of the seventh leg of this racearoundtheworld. The last team to arrive WILL be eliminated!

1- Alyssa/Josiah – who win 1 Key Cash for a trip for 2 to Marrakesh, Morocco.

2- Brett/Mark

3- Jonathan/Ana

4- Han/Holden

5- Melinda/Erika

6- Carson/Jack

7- Nick/Mike

And as foreshadowed by Nick, Phill has to meet them in Sarantsi to eliminate them, since all the other teams have checked in. (Toyouke: “If I had a nickel for every time Phil had to come out to a field to eliminate a team who had been searching hay for hours, I'd have two nickels. Which isn't a lot but it's weird it happened twice.“) Mike: “The city boys were not meant for the farm.” They had a good time.

ORDER NOW:

1st – Alyssa/Josiah

2nd – Brett/Mark

3rd – Jonathan/Ana

4th – Han/Holden

5th – Melinda/Erika

6th – Carson/Jack

Next week: Teams continue racing in Bulgaria. And there’s another Express Pass! Until next time!