Self-proclaimed "Glamazon" sisters Lisa Hinds and Joni Glaze were unable to move from the back of the pack during last night's broadcast of The Amazing Race 9's second episode, resulting in the pair becoming the second team to be eliminated from the new edition of the CBS reality show.
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The Amazing Race 9's second episode began with the teams leaving the first leg's Pit Stop at Estadio de Pacaembu, a World Cup soccer stadium in Sao Paolo, Brazil, and receiving instructions to travel Edificio Copan, a Sao Paolo office building located about two miles away. Once they got there, the teams experienced their first bunching of the Race, with the racers discovering that the Bloco F part of the building that they had to visit wouldn't open until 8AM -- a delay that allowed every team to be waiting in the lobby by the time the facility opened.
Once the teams obtained access to Bloco F they retrieved a clue informing them that it was time for them to perform The Amazing Race 9's first Roadblock. Dubbed "Fire Drill," the task required one team member to climb up one of the building's three fire escapes and then put on a harness and repel nearly 400 feet back down the side of the building. Only one team at a time could repel down from each fire escape, so some team members were forced to wait at the top before they could complete the repel. Anxious about her decision to confront her fear of heights, Danielle Turner sobbed as she waited her turn to repel down the building. Meanwhile, best friends BJ Averell and Tyler Macniven were surprised to see that they were the only team choosing the third fire escape -- a development that allowed the pair to easily maintain their position near the top of the pack.
After successfully completing their repel, the teams received a clue telling them to head a nearby bus station and book tickets on one of three charter buses departing for Brotas, a town located 150 miles away. The first bus departed at 10:15 with the first three teams. The next three teams left at 11:15, with the final four teams leaving at 12:15. Married couple Lake and Michelle Garner were the fourth team to complete the Roadblock but made the mistake of traveling to the wrong bus station -- a delay that resulted in the couple ending up on the final bus.
Once teams arrived in Brotas, they chose a Volkswagen Beatle and decided on which Detour option to tackle -- "Press It" or "Climb It." Teams that chose "Press It" had to visit the Camping Bela Vista plantation and spend their time turning raw sugar cane into ethanol while the "Climb It" teams had to perform an extremely physical 90-foot rope climb alongside a waterfall at Usina Jacare. Most teams chose to climb, trusting their physical ability.
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Although the Race's oldest competitors, married couple Fran and Barry Lazarus also chose to climb after deciding that since they had failed to successfully complete the previous leg's motorcycle assembly Detour, they weren't sure that they would be able to successfully handle the scientific process involved to make ethanol. They were able to complete the task ahead of lifelong friends Dani Torchio and Danielle Turner -- a pair of 22-year-old recent college graduates barely one third their ages -- but Fran and Barry still faced possible elimination after their car battery died and they were forced to wait for a replacement vehicle.
Since Dave had previously done the experiment in school, nerdy lovers Dave Spiker and Lori Willems enthusiastically chose the "Press It" task. And even though she joked about all of the high school chemistry classes in which she had fallen asleep, Desiree Cifre and her mother, Wanda Lopez-Rochford, also chose to make ethanol.
After completing the Detour, the teams were directed to drive 20 miles to Primavera da Serra, a 19th-century coffee plantation that would serve as the Pit stop for the second leg of the Race. BJ and Tyler were the first team to arrive at the Pit Stop, winning a trip to Tahiti as a bonus. Eric Sanchez and Jeremy Ryan -- the winners of The Amazing Race 9's first leg -- ended up in checking in second after stopping at a gas station less than a mile away from the Pit Stop because they were worried that they were traveling in the right direction. All but two teams were able to check in before nightfall, leaving the Lazaruses and the Glamazons fighting to avoid the elimination. While Fran and Berry rejoiced when Phil Keoghan informed them they had not finished last, Lisa sobbed when she and Joni learned that they were eliminated from The Amazing Race 9.
Next week, The Amazing Race will continue its newfound investigation of contestant fears. After dealing with a fear of flying (Episode 1) and a fear of heights (Episode 2), The Amazing Race 9's third episode will address a fear of water when the teams are sent to Russia. Teams also will be forced to search thousands of nesting dolls to find a clue, but fortunately, none of them are afraid of painted dolls.