Within the first minutes of this first episode, the teams were all introduced. Kevin & Drew admitted that they are “five years older, five years more out of shape.” Rob & Amber claimed that they have new tricks in store that will help them win the race. Uchenna & Joyce admitted to having problems in their relationship because of their failed attempts at having a child through in vitro fertilization. Teri & Ian looked like they are in way better shape than before, kicking ass on some bikes. We’ll see.

The start of the race was some park in Miami. Phil warned everyone not to take anyone else for granted. Duh!? The pre-race speech was nothing special. The same thing that everyone has heard before was said. Then “travel safe, go!” Teams found that they needed to make their way to Ecuador. As the teams ran to the cars, Charla was actually ahead of Drew. That has to be a bad omen for them—they are out of shape!

Teams got to Ecuador on two flights that were two hours apart. The first flight had the lead five teams which included Rob & Amber, Teri & Ian, Oswald & Danny, Charla & Mirna, and John Vito & Jill. The teams were sleeping on cots under a tent in a restaurant terrace! This seemed strange because the teams normally stay at hotels and seems to stay in separate rooms. Maybe the All-Stars edition is about keeping the teams in closer proximity than usual in between legs. If teams can’t get private time at the leg stops, prepare to see some fireworks.

John Vito & Jill got lost on the way to the park and then entered the park through the wrong entrance. Frankly, it wasn’t even all their fault. The taxi driver that gave them directions to the park led them in the wrong direction. At the end of the day, it was too big of an issue to overcome. They were eliminated even though Kevin & Drew had a flat tire on the way to the Detour and drove the car with a flat tire all the way there.

CBS now has something called Elimination Station, in which eliminated teams will be followed and filmed after the mat. John Vito & Jill found out that the Elimination Station is a big ass mansion in Acapulco, Mexico. They will be there relaxing until other eliminated teams join them. Whatever. This Elimination Station business will only be fun if teams get into screaming matches in the house. We’ll see.

My biggest disappointment about this leg of the race was that Charla & Mirna didn’t bust out their Heelie roller skate tag team maneuver that they talked about in the pre-race interview. It remains to be seen if they will bust out this move later in the race. Alas the Heelie Maneuver could have just been filler for the pre-race interview. They may never do it.

Rob & Amber made this leg look easy. They do seem to have an uncanny ability in choosing the best taxi drivers that know how to get to their next clue in the fastest way. I shouldn’t jinx them though. It was a bad taxi driver that made them come in second place the last time they ran the race. It will be interesting to see how many more first place finishes they get throughout the race.

Here are the highlights of this episode:

Episode Stats

Detour: Wrangle It or Recover It. In Wrangle It, teams had to wrangle, tie down, and clip the hooves of a wild horse that cannot walk properly. In Recover It, one team member needed to put on a uniform while both team members search for missing items from the uniform: a sword and a button.

Roadblock: None.

Yield: None.

Fast Forward: None.

Pit Stop: Mirador Cotopaxi, Cotopaxi, Ecuador.

Smartest Play: Rob & Amber getting a taxi to lead them into the North Entrance of Cotopaxi National Park.

Dumbest Play: Charla & Mirna deciding to enter the park through the South entrance even though the clue, and the local they had in tow, explicitly said to enter through the North entrance. They could have turned around much earlier in the process but chose not to.

Balls of the Week: Drew deciding to drive the car to the Detour “riding the rim” on a flat tire.

Funniest Moment: Drew saying that Peru is nice and beautiful even though he was in Ecuador.

Pick to Win: Rob & Amber (Currently in 1st Place)

Next to Be Eliminated: Kevin & Drew.