TAR S34 E9: Another mega leg, but there are no weak teams left!

Hola amigos, que tal? We begin this mega-leg in the beautiful city of Malaga in Southern Spain, it happens to be a city I know extremely well because one of my best friends worked at Malaga airport for the last 20 years and lives close to that airport. That's why I have visited Malaga many times over the years as I'd use his house as a base to explore that part of Andalucia which is stunningly beautiful. I particularly love the ski resort at the Sierra Nevada mountain range and it's certainly one part of the world I have visited more than others. Did you know that this is only the TAR US's fifth visit to Spain and their first to the city of Malaga. Normally, I would do the average ranking statistics to start off the blog post, but since this is a mega-leg that has yet to be completed, I will not do so as we have yet to see the pit stop. So I will simply cut & paste the statistics from the last leg with an indication of their position at the end of part 1 of the mega-leg in Spain. 

Average statistics after leg 8 + position at end of E9

= Derek & Claire: 3.14 (first)

= Marcus & Michael: 3.14 (hard to tell - joint last) 

Luis & Michelle: 3.85 (third)

Emily & Molly: 4 (hard to tell - joint last) 

Aubrey & David: 6.57 (second) 

How did Emily even get to the pit start? 

The pit start was at the Castillo de Gibralfaro, one of the most popular tourist attractions in Malaga. We all know that Emily's knee was injured and she was in a lot of pain but how did she get to the pit start? She would have had to climb to the top of this massive castle on a hill and it's not like there's a road where a car can conveniently drive to the top - this structure dates back to the 14th century and they weren't going to put a road or a car park in the plans back then! I was wondering if the crew carried her up there on a stretcher as she struggled so much to get down from the hill. The castle was on a hill about 130 meters high so that was a lot of walking for her on her injured knee - like I said before, I have had my share of bad knee injuries over the years and so I really do feel her pain. Hang on in there Emily, knees can heal but she badly needs some rest now. Unfortunately for Emily she now joins the long list of racers who got injured on the race. 

Has a racer dropped out of the race because of an injury before? 

Oh yeah! Look, we all love to see a brave racer soldiering on in spite of an injury but there are times when the production crew have just got to step in and say, look you're badly hurt and you need medical attention now, so you're eliminated. In the most recent TAR Australia S6, Fliss (of team Fliss & Tottie) had a really nasty fall in Santa Cruz, Belize on E14. She sprained her ankle badly and there was no way she could have continued when she was in so much pain she couldn't walk - hence, Fliss & Tottie were eliminated as a result. There are plenty more injuries on this list here though the list was compiled back in 2014, thus it discussed more memorable injuries from the earlier seasons. I did find another list here which is a bit more up to date. Would Emily have to drop out because of her knee? I hope not but it really all depends on how much pain she is in - nobody wants to see her in that much pain when struggling through the physical challenges. 

What a great roadblock featuring Picasso! 

I adore roadblocks that showcase the local culture but in particular, I love puzzle type challenges that totally change the order of the teams. In contrast, I hate the kind of very straight forward challenges whereby teams leave in the order they arrive in because each team would spend pretty much the same amount of time completing that challenge. The very worst kinds of such challenges are when only one team can attempt the task at a time, guaranteeing the outcome of them leaving in the order they arrive in. In this roadblock, the order they left in depended on the teams figuring out a difficult puzzle to assemble one of Picasso's famous paintings, Three Musicians. Whilst there were only six glass panels to assemble but that still meant a total of 64 possible combinations. This was a complex logic puzzle based on the iconic painting set in the lovely Plaza de la Merced, well done to the production team, I was really impressed on this occasion. 

I'm not a monster, I understand how some people have fears.

Yes I realize that both Derek and Michael have had nasty accidents whilst cycling, I get it. Yet they both just got on with having to cycle from Plaza de la Merced to the beach. I can understand how a fairly normal, ordinary activity like cycling can cause someone a lot of fear and anxiety if they have had a really traumatic experience but the fact is, they did face their fears and conquered it. That's what a viewer wants to see, we like to see racers succeeding rather than failing. Altogether the teams had to cycle a total of 6 km (3.7 miles), it was clearly an experience that some teams (like Luis & Michelle) enjoyed more than others. I'm just relieved that they didn't have to walk/jog that distance given how Emily was really struggling to walk at that point, but cycling was clearly easier for her and didn't cause her injured knee more pain.

What's the big deal with the fish?

So many teams were squeamish and complaining about having to deal with the fish, good grief, it's not like the fish was alive? I get it if you are vegan or vegetarian, then the thought of handling dead animals for food would be scary or offensive. Yes handling slimy, raw fish might be unpleasant but the teams have done far more difficult challenges on this season alone (nothing beats the Ducati roadblock in Italy on E3), this did come across as a relatively simple task. After all, you can always wash your hands after you handle that raw fish. Furthermore, this was a detour, so if you really have a problem with raw fish, then you could always deliver the ice to the yacht instead, which was what Luis & Michelle did.

How far is the drive to Ronda from that beach?

Actually it is quite a long distance, 116 km (72 miles) and there's more than one route that the racers could take so I am wondering if anyone might accidentally take the longer route and lose valuable time. On the fastest route, that drive ought to take approximately 90 minutes or so depending on traffic conditions but the longer route could add 20 to 30 minutes to your journey. Ronda is a major town in that region though and their destination is a famous tourist landmark, so it is not like they are sending the racers to try to find a farm in the middle of nowhere. But still, we have seen how navigation has determined the outcome of quite a few legs in this season already so watch this space, you never know.

Who will win this mega-leg in Spain? 

The teams head off to beautiful Ronda next with Derek & Claire in quite a comfortable lead ahead of the pack, thus it would be logical to predict that they will win this leg. However, we see Claire and Aubrey really struggling and Claire was even seen crying - there is a difficult roadblock involving heights at the bridge. However, we also see Emily & Molly struggling with navigation and Marcus & Michael struggling with a task involving building some kind of wheel-like structure, the only team that seemed to be enjoying the next leg was Luis & Michelle, hence I think they might actually stay calm and claw their way to the top in Ronda. Mind you, that was my original prediction last week and I stand by it. 

Who will be eliminated in Ronda? 

I'm afraid I think the time is up for Emily & Molly because of her knee injury. Marcus struggled with the Picasso roadblock but the brothers caught up with the twins on the beach - Emily & Molly needed more of a buffer to stay ahead of the brothers and I think they no longer have that given the mistakes they had made in this leg. Otherwise, statistically, the weakest team right now is Aubrey & David but they are doing quite well in this leg, leaving the beach in a very comfortable second place. Marcus & Michael are statistically stronger than Emily & Molly, unfortunately I'm afraid I'll have to predict that Emily & Molly will be eliminated next in Ronda. Again, that was my prediction last week and I stand by it. 

More haters attacking me on Facbeook. 

I post the links to my blog posts on some Facebook groups and it is entirely your choice whether to read it, ignore it or respond if you happen to disagree with what I have to say - I'd like to pick up on just two points to respond on my terms, here on my blog rather than get into an undignified argument on Facebook with a stranger. One guy claimed that my blog post isn't a 'discussion' but I am simply telling people what I think - he is right in that I really don't care what he thought of that episode, I am however writing this blog post because of a number of reasons: I am a hardcore fan of TAR. I have watched all the episodes in not just the US versions, but also the Canadian, French, Latin American, Brazilian, Ukrainian, Chinese and Asian versions. I doubt you're going to find anyone who has indulged in TAR more than me. Secondly, I have actually been to a lot of these countries - my count currently stands at 73 countries and I'm very lucky to be rich enough to travel the world. It has been an obsession of mine ever since I was a kid, I really wanted to travel and thus I am so fortunate to have been able to make that dream come true. So when all these people bitch about me judging the racers, I just roll my eyes and say, "dude, from Argentina to Australia, Ukraine to the United Arab Emirates, Malta to Malaysia, Canada to China, Morocco to Mexico, Czech Republic to the Dominican Republic, I've been to all of these places already." So yeah, forgive me for being painfully blunt, but when I watch an episode like this one in Malaga, I instantly recognize the places as I have been there before and that gives me a whole different level of insight when talking about the episode. People come to my blog because I have this insight and if you feel you have something else to share, then feel free to use social media to get your voice heard as well but don't bitch about me not interacting with you. It is normal for people who have a lot of knowledge on a topic to talk about it on social media whilst those who wish to learn from the experts would simply consume that content - that's how experts address their audience on social media. 

What is the norm - freaking out or staying calm?

 And another woman bitched that I was unkind to the racers who were under a lot of pressure in the race and that I might crumble under pressure if I was put in the same situation - I face a lot of pressure in my job everyday as I work in investment banking. I have mastered the art of staying calm under pressure over the years, this is because I'm a former national champion gymnast and the only way to win in gymnastics is to remain exceptionally calm during the competitions when you have to perform your difficult routines. But I really don't believe it is all that unreasonable to expect our racers to remain calm under pressure - as discussed last week, do we enjoy seeing people freak out and fail or would we rather see them rise to the occasion? Should we be handing out grand prizes of a million dollars just for people to remain calm under pressure and solve their problems? Heck, I was passing by a hospital earlier on my way home and I saw an ambulance pull up to A&E, the medics swiftly but calmly moved the patient from the ambulance into the A&E department where the doctors quickly took over - such is a nice example of professionals who remain calm under pressure and do their jobs very well. I don't see nurses or ambulance drivers being offered a million dollars just because they didn't freak out, cry and scream, "there is so much blood, I can't do this!" Hell no, they are stoic in the face of pressure and they just get on with their jobs like the professionals they are. Hence are we being too kind to racers who do crumble under pressure when on the race? The fact is so many of us face pressure at work all the time and we simply have no choice but to stay calm under pressure, cope with whatever challenges life throws at us that day and try to be calm at the same time. Of course, TAR takes our racers out of their comfort zones and the tasks they are given are not easy but at the same time, surely there's an element of, why are you bitching that you're afraid of heights? Haven't you done your research before signing up for TAR and realize what they typically make you do on the race? All racers ought to have known exactly what to expect on TAR when they choose to apply and if you can't cope with that kind of pressure or don't like to be challenged? Then please let someone else have this amazing once in a lifetime opportunity to do TAR. 

Okay I am going to go finish packing now but essentially, I'm going to be in the United Arab Emirates for 11 days and thus I am going to miss blogging next week, I'm sorry guys. There's just way too much to do when I am there - so the first part of the trip would be for work and then I shall be staying on for a few more days to be a tourist and do loads of fun activities there. There are so many places to visit whilst I'm there as TAR is very fond of Dubai and so I will catch up with the two episodes once I return from my trip. As always feel free to leave a comment below and many thanks for reading.