Race Around The World is back, and so are the dubious judgements.
The BBC competition challenges teams to race between global destinations without flying or having access to cellphones on a low budget.
Thus, when one couple paid $500 (£297) on a cab on day two, it’s safe to say viewers were taken aback.
Claudia and Kevin, a father and daughter team, and their opponents began the race at the 1,000-acre Stanley Park in Vancouver, Canada.
Their first goal was to get to Vancouver Island, which most of the participants did via ferry.
They needed a way off it to go to Prince Rupert, the starting point for the first checkpoint, Haida Gwaii.
Yet the boat they required (for a stress-free, low-cost trip north) only ran once a week… Claudia and Kevin both managed to miss it.
Their dreams of boarding a bus were shortly crushed when they discovered there were no local connections.
When staff workers informed them that a cab would cost $500-510, Claudia and Kevin were at a loss for words.
The two then attempted to car share, but because hitchhiking on the side of the road is banned in Canada, they had to approach others away from highways, which proved futile.
So it had to be $500.
‘I think we’re just running out of time,’ Kevin told his daughter after failing to secure a ride from a generous stranger.
Despite originally stating that the thought of paying for a cab ‘terrified’ him, the father simply had to pull his wallet out.
‘Look at the clouds come down over the mountainside, just unbelievable,’ Kevin said while kicking back in the taxi.
‘Worth the $500, dad?’, Claudia joked. ‘Is that a $500 view?’
The two then volunteered to clean a yacht in order to afford a vacation to Claudia’s favourite site, The Great Bear Rainforest.
But, their taxi splurge also resurfaced to cause a row.
While stopping for a pint of beer (which they made sure to factor into their budget!), the duo reflected on their actions.
‘We’ve gone over the budget, we’ve done what we shouldn’t have done. It’s made me panic a little, trying to get up here,’ Kevin said.
Claudia stated that she didn’t want to change their approach since they wanted to have experiences along the road.
‘The strategy, for me, just went out the window after yesterday,’ Kevin confessed, referencing the spending.
‘We should’ve done our research while we were at the garage.’
‘I was running around that gas station and you were just stood there!’, Claudia argued.
‘I was asking people for information!’, Kevin defended, telling his daughter to get off her ‘high horse’.
‘We’re working as a team, not as individuals,’ he scolded, leaving Claudia emotional as she realised they need to work on their communication skills.
Happily, they were able to put aside their issues as they took the ferry from Vancouver Island to the checkpoint.
Fans at home were left astonished by the pair’s decision making, meanwhile, as Twitter users queried whether they had ‘lost their mind’.
‘Not sure the tactic of getting $500 taxis everywhere is going to work out too well’, one viewer wrote.
‘Claudia and Kevin spent $500 on a taxi, bought some beer and are now on a kayak through a rainforest, more of a jolly than a race’, another joked.
One added: ‘$500 spent and they have money for beer ? Lool they’ll be broke by the end of the week’.
Another echoed: ‘feel like the $500 was a BAD move they’re gonna be skint by the time they get to the checkpoint at this rate’.
The teams made it to the first checkpoint on time, using diverse methods, which meant they landed in Haida Gwaii after 1,200 kilometres and six days.
Claudia and Kevin’s total remaining budget was by far the smallest, at £3,900, but dad Kevin was certain they could make it up – but could they?
Race Across The World continues next Wednesday at 9pm on BBC One.
Source My Celebrity Life.
