91Èȱ¬

With three teams at the checkpoint at Cafayate in Argentina, one team is yet to arrive. Dom and Lizzie are over 24 hours behind their competitors and after a disastrous last leg must rely on all their ingenuity to claw their way back into the race.

Leaders Emon and Jamiul are the first to leave and discover that the next checkpoint is the island of Ihla Grande, Brazil, positioned halfway between Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paolo. Teams must travel 3,600km east across the continent, making it the longest leg of the race so far, all while dealing with an ever-dwindling budget and a brand new language to contend with.

Emon and Jamiul decide to travel through Paraguay in order to reach Brazil, stopping off to work at a retirement home in the capital, Asuncion, where Emon has a chance to dust off the set of cards he brought from home and impress some of the elderly residents with a few magic tricks. Once in Brazil, they head for Sao Paolo, where they get the opportunity to attend Friday prayers. The duo is going from strength to strength, balancing the race with experience and getting on better than ever. But a chance encounter in Sao Paolo causes them to pause and reflect on the reality of life for some of the people in the countries they are travelling through.

Following their disagreement in Bolivia, Jen and Rob want to try and enjoy the experience more so agree to make time to see things they have always wanted to see. First up – a stop at the world-famous, jaw-dropping Iguazu Falls. Buoyed by their time at Iguazu, they head to Blumenau, a town founded by German immigrants, which Rob is especially keen to visit due to his German heritage. Arriving in the midst of its annual beer festival, Jen and Rob enter into the party spirit, leading Jen to question how they might continue having fun together as a couple when the trip is over.

With less money than any other team, the priority for mother and son Jo and Sam is to preserve their diminishing budget. Spotting a job on the Atlantic coast of Brazil with free bed and board, they decide to skip Paraguay and head straight there. While Sam gets a free surf lesson in exchange for his work in the garden, Jo takes a moment to reflect on the struggles she has had over the last few years and reveals a heartfelt and emotional reason for wanting to embark on this journey with Sam.

Last to leave the checkpoint, Dom and Lizzie are determined to catch up almost 30 hours on the leaders, but things don’t get off to a good start when Lizzie realises that she has lost their map. Forced to think tactically, Dom starts chatting to locals in order to get ahead, whilst Lizzie comes up with a risky but expensive strategy that prioritises speed over cost. In Florianopolis, Dom opens up to Lizzie about his own vulnerabilities, leading them to realise they are not as different as they might think.

With Brazil proving to be the most expensive country so far, budgets are stretched to the limit for all the teams. But with the finish line in Ushuaia fast approaching, the need to balance speed with cost is greater than ever.