Once again, eager contestants, grouped into eleven teams gathered in Long Beach, California for the seventh edition of The Amazing Race. Their first stop was Lima, Peru , where they had to make their way to the Plaza de Armas to find their first clue. They were directed to take a bus to their next clue, in Ancon , a seaside resort north of Lima. See map. One team is fluent in Spanish and immediately led several teams to the right bus. Another team, Rob and Amber of Survivor 8: All- Stars were helped by a fan who recognized them.
Once in Ancon, the teams had to make their way by rickshaw to the beach known as Playa Hermosa and dig through one of three sand piles for airline tickets to their next destination, Cuzco .
After spending the night in Ancon, the teams flew to Cuzco, where the next clue instructed them to take a marked taxi 22 miles to the small town of Huambutio, about 40 minutes east of Cusco. Located at the mouth of Huatanay, Huambutio is a popular river rafting destination. In Huambutio, the teams were to find a kiosk where the owner would hand them their next clue, directing them two miles to the top of a gorge, take a zipline across it, then take a second zipline to get to the bottom.
Some of the teams discovered the first Detour of the Race. In this Detour, they had to choose between Rope a Llama and Rope a Basket. For Rope A Llama, each Team had to rope two llamas and take them to a pen. Roping the llamas didn’t require strength, but getting them to cooperate and walk to the pens could be frustrating and time-consuming. Rope A Basket required each Team member to use a rope to tie a basket containing 35 pounds of alfalfa to their back and carry it two-thirds of a mile to a store. Carrying the heavy baskets required strength, but Teams with endurance could finish quickly.
The next stop was Pisac , in the Urubamba Valley , also known as the Sacred Valley of the Incas. Pisac is the site of a famous market, and here the teams had to find the next clue which directed them back to , to La Merced, a 325-year old convent and church and the Pit Stop for this leg of the Race. See this interactive map of Cuzco, Pisac and Huambutio from Expedia.
Debbie and Bianca, the team with language skills, arrived first and each won $10,000 for their efforts. Arriving last, Ryan and Chuck were the first Team eliminated from the race.
Next stop:
Chile?
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