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In this seventh episode of The Amazing Race Season 38 (U.S. Edition), teams travelled eastward from the southern Croatian city of Split — the second most populated city (after Zagreb) in CROATIA 🇭🇷 — to the southern Romanian city of Bucharest, the capital and the most populated city of ROMANIA 🇷🇴. Natalie and Stephanie — known as the “Yin Yang Sissies” according to Natalie — were the last team to depart from Croatia since they finished second to last in the previous episode. Teams arrived in Romania and slept overnight in bunk beds to do a thrilling and height-defying “Who’s Ready to Jump in the Race?” Roadblock. They achieved the highest skydive in Amazing Race history at 13,000 feet!
Teams flew from Croatia and arrived in Bucharest.
After landing in a grassy field and relishing the amazing experience they just had, teams went to a sheep farm to meet shepherds known locally as ciobhani. Teams were tasked with moving five sheep from one pen to another. This was occasionally difficult because the sheep had a herd mentality; teams tried to move one or two sheep without the whole herd following. Eric and Tucker successfully completed this task in relatively little time. Teams later built a floating pontoon raft by attaching empty blue water jugs to the bottom. They navigated the craft south of Bucharest through Delta Neajlovului and arrived at the Detour challenge.
For the Detour task, teams chose either “Brick Builder” or “Mask Maker” — both located northeast of the delta near the Debarcader Lebǎda canoe and kayak rental service. In “Brick Builder”, teams formed ten bricks using a mixture of water, straw, and mud manure! Teams were definitely grossed out by having to shovel manure then forming said manure into sloppy, gooey bricks. Some of the manure conveniently landed on their shirts! Taylor joked about being “Miss Congeniality” to later becoming a “manure shoveler”. In the relatively tidy “Mask Maker” challenge, teams tried to replicate a winter mask purportedly said to ward off evil. This task required precision, craftiness, and sewing abilities, but at least did not require poop!
Teams crafted a floating pontoon raft and navigated it through Delta Neajlovului located about 9 miles (14.5 kilometers) south of Bucharest and closer to the border with BULGARIA 🇧🇬.
With mixed success, teams accomplished the Detour and then arrived at the King Carol I Park (Parcul Carol) Pit Stop. The expansive 89-acre park is situated in the south side of Bucharest; use the top map above to locate Parcul Carol below the Sectorul 4 label. Amusingly, two locals were dressed in brown bear costumes and danced in homage of bears — which are rare in some European countries. For the fourth time in a row, Eric and Tucker arrived first at the Pit Stop! They won $5,000 each. Jag and Jas (with unused Express Pass) arrived second, followed by Adam and Joseph in third, Kyland and Taylor (also with unused Express Pass) in fourth, Chelsie and Jack in fifth, Izzy and Paige in sixth, and Natalie and Stephanie in last. The “Yin Yang Sissies” were eliminated from the The Amazing Race.
First of all, I want to express my thoughts and well wishes for everyone in JAMAICA 🇯🇲, HAITI 🇭🇹, CUBA 🇨🇺, and other places in the Caribbean dealing with Hurricane Melissa and its destructive aftermath.
In the sixth episode of The Amazing Race Season 38 (U.S. Edition), teams drove a manual stick-shift vehicle northwest from Dubrovnik, CROATIA 🇭🇷 (HRVATSKA) to the town of Trsteno. Here, they visited the Trsteno Arboretum featuring trees that are over 500 years old. 🌳 Teams found a clue near the arboretum’s Neptune statue then drove further northwest along the Adriatic Sea coastline to the partially walled town of Ston. They encountered the “Bag It Up” versus “Pull It Up” Detour challenge. In “Bag It Up”, teams filled ten bags of local raw salt — each bag weighing slightly over 20 pounds each. In “Pull It Up”, teams visited a major oyster harvesting area known as Mali Ston Bay. They rowed a boat to find buoys with oysters attached; the teams then gave those oysters to a local restaurant known as Bota Sare. 🦪
Overview map of Trsteno — a town northwest of Dubrovnik and known for its arboretum
Remaining in the town of Ston, teams visited Park Komarda for the “Who Knows Their Way Around Croatia?” Roadblock. 🚧 With the navigational help of a 3D relief map of Ston, a member of each team visited several locations throughout the town to find and remember Croatian (Hrvatskan) facts. These facts involve multiple topics: letters not featured in the Croatian alphabet (Q, W, X, and Y), one of the several mottoes of Croatia (“As long as there is heart, there is Croatia”), highest mountain in Croatia at 6,007 feet* (Dinara), famous poet in Croatia (Ivan Gundulić), original length of the Walls of Ston (22,965 feet*), the date when Parliament proclaimed independence from Yugoslavia (June 25th, 1991), first king of Croatia (King Tomislav) 👑, and Croatia’s coastline length (3,625 miles*). Amazing Race contestants arrived back at the map and were tested with three questions asked by a Croatian. Contestants who did not answer the questions correctly had to answer a different set of questions for their next attempt, so some of them went back to the locations to memorize all facts.
Overview map of Ston — the second town featured in this episode
Prapratno Cove was the Pit Stop for this episode. 🏁 Eric and Tucker arrived in first place and both won another trip — this time to various locations in EGYPT 🇪🇬 including Cairo, Alexandria, and the famous pyramids. Tucker excitedly mentioned that Egypt was always on his bucket list, so it is awesome that he can check that one off! ☑ Kristine and Rubina were the eighth and last team to arrive, so they were eliminated from The Amazing Race.
* 6,007 feet equals 1,831 meters, 22,965 feet equals 7,000 meters, and 3,625 miles equals 5,834 kilometers.
In this fifth episode of The Amazing Race Season 38 (U.S. Edition), teams left Budapest and arrived together in Dubrovnik, a seafaring city near the very southern tip of CROATIA 🇭🇷. I looked on an interactive map of Dubrovnik and noticed an island 🏖️ with a pinpoint saying “Qarth – Game of Thrones”. I am familiar with the Game of Thrones but have never watched the HBO series. I had no idea what Qarth is, but I found out it is a fictional setting that is partly inspired by Dubrovnik. Some scenes were filmed in and around Dubrovnik. Please let me know with a comment if you wish to see more GeoFact of the Day posts that are focused on cinema and TV filming locations around the world. If you don't mind, maybe share about your travel experiences 📷 if you ever visited a place featured in the The Amazing Race.
Anyways, teams arrived at a classy statue of a famed Croatian poet, Ivan Gundulić. Teams found the Detour and chose between 1) lugging a heavy fishing net 🐟 and chum bucket for a ½ mile to the Old Port or 2) preparing and filleting one slimy monkfish (grdóbína) each. Whoever named this fish likely noticed the pointy shape — the monkfish somewhat looks like it is wearing a monk’s hood. It is possible that whoever named it did not think very highly of monks since the monkfish is quite ugly and ghastly! 😱 Next, teams made their way through a hard-to-see stone walkway and arrived at the proverbial “light at the end of the tunnel”: the scenic seaside sojourn known as the Buža Bar watering hole. Here is where teams found the infamous ↪️ Double U-Turn ↩️ board. Eric and Tucker did not use the U-Turn to ensure that teams would not be upset with them. Jag and Jas did not have that thinking when they U-Turned Izzy and Paige. I don’t usually mention middle fingers right here on the GeoFact of the Day Blog, but I will mention that Izzy used both middle fingers to flip off the Jag and Jas photo at the Double U-Turn board. Adam and Joseph used the second U-Turn against Kristine and Rubina.
Teams arrived at the Ploče Gate to take on the frustrating Roadblock challenge mentioned above in the episode info. One member of each team had to assemble a not-so-sturdy scooter board by hand with many types of screws and wooden pieces. Natalie and Simone had the most struggles in assembling the handmade kart. The same team member who assembled the rectangular board with wheels then sat on and raced it with the help of their hands and/or feet for propelling. Chelsie, Izzy, Kristine, and Simone struggled to race the scooter in under 36 seconds. While Natalie took relatively long to create the kart, she steered it quite well — clocking in at about 38 seconds for the first attempt then crossing the finish line in about 35.7 seconds for the second race.
Finally, teams arrived at the Pit Stop known as Fort Bokar, a cylindrical bastion fortification overlooking the Adriatic Sea. Just like the previous episode, Eric and Tucker arrived 1st but each won $2,500 this time. Kyland and Taylor arrived 2nd, followed by Jag and Jas 3rd, Adam and Joseph 4th, Natalie and Stephanie 5th, Chelsie and Jack 6th, Izzy and Paige 7th, Kristine and Rubina 8th, and Hannah and Simone 9th. Host Phil Keoghan told Hannah and Simone that they were eliminated from this season of the The Amazing Race. I am wondering if there will be a non-elimination leg in this season since it hasn’t happened yet. The next episode will be Wednesday, October 29th at 9:30 p.m. Eastern Time on CBS and soon streaming on Paramount+.
What is the capital of HRVATSKA (CROATIA)? The correct answer is listed further below!
A — Madrid
B — Paris
C — Zagreb
D — Bucharest (București)
E — Bratislava
ANSWER
C . . . . . Zagreb
● Episode info: Eleven teams begin their journey and travel to London.
This post recaps the second hour of The Amazing Race season 33’s two-hour premiere episode on January 5th. Teams continued their journey in London, England, UNITED KINGDOM. After the episode 1 Pit Stop at the National Museum of History, teams then visited the Royal Mail Center (Mail Rail) in Clerkenwell. That facility has sorted and delivered mail by train for over 75 years. The current mail transporting vehicle resembles a modern, domelike version of a small train that an amusement park might have. At Mail Rail, teams encountered a…
● Roadblock (“Who Still Gets Mail?”), in which a team member searched among hundreds of letters and other mail to find the The Amazing Race clue. While the clue cards’ coloration was not as vibrant as usual, the clues were relatively straightforward to discover compared to most tasks in the shows’ extensive history of clue-finding tasks. An example of a task on the other extreme of the clue-finding scale would be the season 31, episode 9 (CROATIA) Detour in which Bret and Chris took hours to find a goblet and three rusty medallions underwater; they gave up the task after struggling to spot the two remaining medallions! Therefore, finding the season 33 clue among several large bins of mail was a relative cake walk compared to the season 31 clue. With relatively few motions of rustling through the mail, Penn and Ray found their clues right away but did not redeem their clues right away; they second-guessed themselves due to how easy the task was! Penn and Ray searched some more to see if there is something else to find, but this allowed other teams to catch up. Let’s just say that the other teams did not second-guess themselves upon finding the clue, so a couple teams found an opportunity to surpass Penn and Ray.
● Teams redeemed their “snail mail” clues and subsequently travelled to Leicester Square (Theater City) to find the episode’s Detour.
● Detour, choice between “Bull’s-Eye Mate” or “Decorate”: teams choosing the Bull’s-Eye Mate option visited the Flight Club Victoria pub and had to throw three darts per team member in each round. Within a round of three throws, each member has to throw one dart that hits the bull’s-eye to advance to the Pit Stop. Teams choosing the Decorate option visited a bakery that displayed fruit-topped cakes resembling the flags of about a dozen or so countries. Before advancing to the Pit Stop, teams were tasked to figure out the flags of two European Union member nations then decorate their cakes — to the best of their artistic ability — to resemble those flags. Flag possibilities included Chile, France (correct), Germany (correct), Hungary (correct), Italy (correct), Jamaica, Lithuania (correct), Norway, South Africa, Thailand, and the United Kingdom. Some teams initially decorated their cakes based on the flags of Norway and/or the United Kingdom, but all Decorate Detour teams eventually chose France and Germany. France’s flag cake was topped with blueberries and raspberries, while the top of Germany’s flag cake featured blackberries, peach slices, and raspberries.
● Pit Stop: Russell Square Metro Station area
● At the sort-of “Pit Stop,” contestants arrived on a double-decker bus parked near the Russell Square Metro Station and enjoyed a cup of tea. Since Phil Keoghan told them to continue their Amazing Race journey right away with a trip to Glasgow, Scotland, no prize was awarded to Dusty and Ryan who arrived in first place. Continue watching The Amazing Race on CBS and/or stay up to date with these recap posts! The next episode is coming very soon: Wednesday, January 12th.
Season 33, Episode 2 Results
1st — Dusty and Ryan
1st place prize — nothing
2nd — Connie and Sam
3rd — Arun and Natalia
4th — Cayla and Raquel
5th — Kim and Penn
6th — Caro and Ray
7th — Anthony and Spencer
8th — Akbar and Sheri
9th — Isaiah and Taylor
10th — Lala and Lulu
Eliminated from the competition? No; non-elimination leg
People all across CROATIA are celebrating their country's Independence Day today. Croatia achieved independence from Yugoslavia in 1991. Happy Independence Day!
The following items are major exports of CROATIA: apples, beverages (particularly wine) and processed food, cabbage, calcium, chemicals and plastic, clay, construction materials, dairy products, fabricated metal, grain, grapes, gypsum, machinery and tools, mica, natural asphalt, olives, onions, paper, peppers, plums, silica, sugar beets, sunflowers, textiles, tomatoes, and transportation equipment. According to the International Monetary Fund (data.imf.org), countries and territories buying and importing most of those exports (February 2017 statistics) include Italy (top importer), Germany, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Austria, Serbia, the United States, Hungary, Cyprus, the Netherlands, France, Czech Republic, Poland, Spain, Slovakia, Japan, Switzerland, Belgium, Russia, and the United Kingdom.
As of May 4th, 2015, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ for CROATIA in Southeastern Europe lists one extinct species (Telestes ukliva ray-finned fish), 30 critically endangered species, and 43 endangered species. Most critically endangered species in Croatia are aquatic animals. Ten of the thirty critically endangered species include the Adriatic Sturgeon, Angel Shark, Balearic Shearwater, Beluga sturgeon, Blue Skate, European Eel, European Mink, Mediterranean Monk Seal, Slender-billed Curlew, and Zaton Cave Water Snail.
Hence its name, the Zaton Cave Water Snail (Saxurinator labiatus) is found in - and only in - the Zaton Cave in southern Croatia. Threats to this water snail species include pollution from road run-off and untreated sewage as well as tourist development.
Croatia post (links opens in new tab/window)
On May 22nd, the SUNY-ESF Institute for Species Exploration announced ten recently discovered species that topped its list, ranging from a one-celled organism to a much larger tree species (SUNY stands for State University of New York and ESF stands for Environmental Science and Forestry). The Olinguito mammal (in the raccoon family) lives in the Andes mountains of Colombia and Ecuador. Kaweesak's Dragon Tree was discovered in Loei and Lop Buri provinces in Thailand. Named after the Antarctic Geological Drilling Program (ANDRILL), the ice-dwelling Andrill Anemone were discovered under a glacier on Antarctica's Ross Ice Shelf. Aptly named for its appearance, tiny Skeleton Shrimp were found in a cave on Santa Catalina island in California, USA.
The Orange Penicillium fungus was discovered in Tunisia soil, while scientists found a type of one-celled Amoeboid Protist in underwater caves in the Mediterranean Sea, specifically off the coast of Spain. Northeastern Australia is a habitat for the rare Leaf-Tailed Gecko. Clean Room Microbes have an interesting discovery story. They were discovered in spacecraft assembly clean rooms, where most microscopic organisms cannot survive, in the USA (Florida) and French Guiana. Another interesting small organism is the Tinkerbell Fairyfly, a parasitic wasp discovered in Costa Rica. Finally, eyeless Domed Land Snails certainly have a ghostly appearance with their translucent shells. They were found in western Croatia's Lukina Jama-Trojama caves.
Flowing through the Dinaric Alps mountains in Southeast Europe, the Sliv Neretva (Neretva River in English) winds around the cities and towns in the southern part of BOSNIA and HERZEGOVINA, as well as 20 miles across the Dalmatian coastline of extreme Southern CROATIA. The river carves through steep gorges that are fascinating and "gorge"ous! Amongst the natural beauty that the river and surrounding gorges provide, there are manmade hydroelectric dams. The largest city located along the banks of the Sliv Neretva is Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Other towns include Metović and Ploče in Croatia and Jablanica, Jasenjani, Obalj, Ostrožac, and Ulog in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Off the west coast of CROATIA, the Dalmatian Islands consist of mainly elongated islands in the northern part of the Adriatic Sea. The two largest islands, which actually are the same size, are Cres and Krk (no vowels!). Other islands include Dugi Otok, Ugljan, Silba, Ilovik, Permuda, Pag, and many more.
By the way, the men's water polo team of Croatia defeated Italy's team with a score of 8-6 in the gold match at the London Summer Olympics (2012). Croatia won 3 gold medals, 1 silver, and 2 bronze at this year's Olympics.
Diocletian's Palace, built in the 3rd century A.D. for the Roman emperor Diocletian, is located on the Adriatic Sea coast in the city of Split, which is located in southern CROATIA. The structure stands in the city center of Split.
Kopački Rit is a wetlands area in the panhandle of northeastern CROATIA. There is a nature park with the same name, and it is located along the famous Danube River.
The Istria Peninsula, which projects into the Adriatic Sea, is located in northwestern CROATIA and includes southwestern SLOVENIA and a narrow strip of land belonging to ITALY — where the city of Trieste is located.
HRVATSKA is the name that citizens call their country located in Southeastern Europe. Hrvatska is commonly known as CROATIA in English and other languages. The Dalmatian coastal area of western Croatia is known as the birthplace of the famous black-and-white Dalmatian dog breed. Hundreds of islands in the Adriatic Sea are located close to the coastline, a majority of them being only several miles away. Slovenia, Hungary, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina are Croatia's surrounding countries. The capital and largest city of Croatia is Zagreb, about 20 miles and 30 kilometers east of the border with Slovenia. Osijek, Rijeka (Fiume), and Split (Spalatum) are other cities with populations greater than 100,000. Croatia is a member of the European Union, and in January 2023 the Euro became the currency. Croatia's former currency is the Croatian Kuna, which has an ISO 4217 currency code of HRK.
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