Road Trip: Latin America

Road Trip: Latin America	Road Trip: Latin America
 	
Season 	14
Genre 	Reality competition
Winner 	
Runner-up 	
Episodes 	11
Countries Visited 	7
Cities Visited 	12
Starting Point 	Playa del Carmen, Mexico
Finishing Point 	San José, Costa Rica
Production 	Production
Season Aired 	September, 2023
Chronology 	Chronology
Previous Season 	Journey Japan
Next Season 	The Silk Road
Road Trip: Latin America is the fourteenth season of the travel reality competition show devised by SJ productions. The show follows a group of individuals travelling around in a select number of recreational vehicles (RVs) from a starting point to a finishing point across a predetermined route. At each city/town pit-stop, the group compete in either an individual or team-based immunity challenge to win the role of 'tour leader'. The worst performing individual in each challenge is put up for 'repatriation', along with another individual of the tour leader's choosing. Everyone other than the three stated cast a vote in the deliberation for who they wish to repatriate, with the individual receiving the most votes kicked-off the road trip. When only two road trippers remain, a jury consisting of the last seven eliminated players vote for who they wish to win the £100,000 prize. The series is hosted by Big Brother UK alumni Lincoln Mackenzie (Season 1 & All-Stars) and Sinead McGrath (Season 2 & All-Stars).
This season began in Playa del Carmen, Mexico and ended in San José, Costa Rica. The season exclusively travelled throughout the subcontinent of Central America, encompassing a total of twelve locations and seven countries. The season was named 'Latin America' despite not visiting the continent of South America; partially due to the fact that 'Central America' was too reminiscent of a previous season. The winner of the season was ???, defeating ??? in a 6-1 vote to become Champion of the Road Trip.
==Road Trippers==
			
				
			
Name 	Age	Hometown 	Result
Mayra Cocom 	26 	Santa Ana, El Salvador	Winner
Jacques Soule 	35 	Acadiana, USA 	Runner-up
Riley O'Sullivan 	23 	Boston, USA 	3rd place
Walter Rogers 	64 	Chattanooga, USA 	4th place
Richard "O'Brian" O'Brian	28 	Tipperary, Ireland 	5th place
Kleo Krause 	36 	Berlin, Germany 	6th place
Sarah Solomon 	22 	Newport, Wales 	7th place
Miguel Delgado 	31 	Cancún, Mexico 	8th place
Petra Ibrahima 	25 	Yonkers, USA 	9th place
Choovio Swiftwater 	32 	Navajo Nation, USA 	10th place
Ella Wightman-Delighty 	29 	London, England 	11th place
Drake Crawford 	31 	Minneapolis, USA 	12th place
Gizelle Zapata 	27 	Miami, USA 	13th place
==Voting History==
Ep # 	1 	2 	3 	4 	5 	6 	7 	8 	9 	10 	11 	11 	11 	11
Location 	Tokyo	Tokyo 	Kanazawa	Takayama	Hiroshima	Osaka	Kyoto	Kawaguchi	Mount Fuji	Sapporo	Asahikawa	Asahikawa	Asahikawa	Asahikawa
Eliminated	none 	Selina	Kosuke 	Frannie 	Kemi 	Luke 	Norma	Mika 	Jermaine 	Pedro 	Morgan 	Hiro 	Erin 	Addy
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Addy 	NOM 	NOM 	Kosuke 	NOM 	NOM 	Luke 	Norma	Mika 	Jermaine 	Pedro 	WIN 	Hiro 	Winner 	Winner
Erin 	SAFE 	Selina	Kosuke 	Frannie 	WIN 	NOM 	NOM 	Pedro 	Pedro 	Pedro 	NOM 	NOM 	Runner-up	Runner-up
Hiro 	SAFE 	Selina	Kosuke 	Frannie 	Kemi 	Luke 	Norma	Mika 	Jermaine 	NOM 	Morgan 	ELIM 	— 	Addy
Morgan 	SAFE 	Selina	NOM 	Frannie 	Kemi 	WIN 	Norma	Mika 	WIN 	Hiro 	ELIM 	 	— 	Addy
Pedro 	SAFE 	Addy 	WIN 	Addy 	Addy 	Luke 	Erin 	NOM 	NOM 	ELIM 	 	 	— 	Addy
Jermaine 	WIN 	SAFE 	Kosuke 	Frannie 	Kemi 	Luke 	Norma	Pedro 	ELIM 	 	 	 	Erin 	—
Mika 	SAFE 	WIN 	Morgan 	Addy 	Kemi 	Luke 	WIN 	ELIM 	 	 	 	 	Erin 	—
Norma 	SAFE 	Selina	Kosuke 	Addy 	Addy 	Erin 	ELIM 	 	 	 	 	 	— 	Addy
Luke 	SAFE 	Addy 	Morgan 	Frannie 	Addy 	ELIM 	 	 	 	 	 	 	Erin 	—
Kemi 	SAFE 	Addy 	Kosuke 	WIN 	ELIM 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Frannie 	SAFE 	Selina	Morgan 	ELIM 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Kosuke 	SAFE 	Addy 	ELIM 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Selina 	SAFE 	ELIM 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Key
: This person won the challenge and became the tour leader.
: This person was safe during the episode and cast a vote for who to eliminate.
: This person was safe during the episode but did not cast a vote for who to eliminate.
: This person originally nominated for repatriation, but was made immune with a lifesaver.
: This person finished last in the challenge and was therefore automatically nominated for repatriation and remained on the road trip.
: This person was nominated by the tour leader for repatriation and remained on the road trip.
: This person finished last in the daily challenge and ultimately eliminated in the repatriation vote.
: This person was nominated by the tour leader and ultimately eliminated in the repatriation vote.
: This person voluntarily quit the road trip.
==Game Summary==
# 	Episode title 	Destination 	Tour Leader	Last Place	Nominated	Eliminated	Vote
1 	"Don't Hate the Playa, Hate the Game"	Playa del Carmen, Mexico	Walter 	Sarah 	none 	none 	none
2 	"Fresh Out the Mental Asylum" 	 	Mika 	Selina 	none 	Selina 	5-3
3 	"At This Stage" 	Kanazawa, Japan 	Pedro 	Morgan 	Kosuke 	Kosuke 	6-3
4 	"Weeabye" 	Takayama, Japan 	Kemi 	Frannie 	Addy 	Frannie 	5-3
5 	"Dropping a Bombshell" 	Hiroshima, Japan 	Erin 	Addy 	Kemi 	Kemi 	4-3
6 	TBA 	Osaka, Japan 	Morgan 	Erin¹ 	Luke² 	Luke 	5-1
7 	TBA 	Kyoto, Japan 	Mika 	Erin 	Norma 	Norma 	4-1
8 	TBA 	Kawaguchi, Japan 	Addy 	Pedro 	Mika 	Mika 	3-2
9 	TBA 	Mount Fuji, Japan 	Morgan 	Pedro 	Jermaine 	Jermaine 	2-1
10	TBA 	Sapporo, Japan 	Addy 	Pedro 	Hiro 	Pedro 	2-1
11	TBA 	Asahikawa, Japan 	Addy 	Erin 	Morgan 	Morgan 	1-0
11	TBA 	Asahikawa, Japan 	Addy 	Erin,Hiro 	none 	Hiro 	1-0
11	TBA 	Asahikawa, Japan 	Jury Vote 	Jury Vote 	Jury Vote	Erin 	4-3
11	TBA 	Asahikawa, Japan 	Jury Vote 	Jury Vote 	Jury Vote	Addy 	4-3
^¹ Jermaine originally finished in last place and was nominated. However, he used his lifesaver, leaving next-lowest performer Erin as the re-nomination.
^² Tour Leader Morgan initially nominated Mika. However, Mika used his lifesaver, leaving Luke as the re-nomination.
==Episodes==
===Episode #1 - Don't Hate the Playa, Hate the Game===
For its fourteenth season; Road Trip begins with thirteen brand new players standing at the base of the main temple ruins of Tulum, situated on the cliff-edge of Playa del Carmen, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Lincoln and Sinead welcome the road trippers to the start of their adventure, informing them that they will be travelling throughout the subcontinent of Central America, promising ruins, jungles, and beaches galore amongst a plethora of betrayals and undoubtedly new lifelong friendships. In order to enable the contestants a proper ‘get to know you session’, the group walk a short distance by the ruins where they find a lavish barbecue and spread has been put on for them, with everybody quickly grabbing plates and helping themselves to refreshments as they begin to make their first impressions. Oldest player Walter is seen standing with Mayan descendent Mayra as the pair plate-up by the salad bar, bonding over their personal strain at leaving their family’s behind in joining the road trip. Mayra opens-up to Walter about her two young children, confirming that they are left with their father back in El Salvador, with her story particularly interesting Walter, who in turn tells Mayra about his recent retirement from years of specialising in Mayan studies, having taken part in countless archaeological digs across Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras. The interest in one another continues as the two reveal that they are hoping to win the money to better their families, with Walter the proud grandparent of “eight little ones” back in Tennessee. Down by the beachfront, some players have brought their plates and drinks to sit on the sand, not wasting the paradisaic backdrop they find themselves in for the time being. Worlds-apart players Ella and Petra talk one-on-one, clearly trying to find commonality despite being from very different walks of life. Ella shows a keen interest in Petra’s ‘upbringing’, telling her that she is “the first Muslim (she’s) met that wasn’t from the Middle East”. Petra laughs at the awkwardness of the interaction, telling Ella that whilst her father’s side are converts to Islam, that she herself isn’t practicing, although will “culturally identify” as a Muslim out of respect. Ella then questions Petra if she has ever visited her namesake, telling her that “Jordan is such a beautiful place” with “shockingly good hotels”, somewhat disappointed to hear that Petra hasn’t been able to afford travel outside the United States thus far in her life. Nearby, Choovio, Miguel, and Sarah also speak through their own introductions, with Choovio and Miguel bonding over their mutual participation in fighting for ‘the rights of their own people’; Choovio being from the Navajo Nation, and Miguel being active in the fight for transgender rights in his home country of Mexico. Sarah nervously admits to feeling “pretty lazy” compared to the two men, worried that her non-participation in political activity makes her less impressive. However, both men assure her that she’s “still young with a lot of fight left”, with Choovio hugging her as he half-jokingly states she can “fly over and join our cause”.
After two-hours of basking in the sun, the players are escorted to the nearby roadside where they find two luxury RVs waiting for their arrival, splitting the groups up as they all clamber inside, now being driven to their first dreaded daily challenge. In the first RV, multi-millionaire and semi-famous ‘playboy’ Drake speaks with German fashion director Kleo, seeking out her first impressions of the group thus far. Kleo admits that whilst fluent in English, she worries she’ll struggle to comprehend some of the early conversations, particularly with the vast array of accents on offer. Drake turns the conversation onto his own negative perceptions of Ella, asking Kleo if she had overheard the way she spoke to Petra and other players, somewhat mocking her voice as he puts on an impression of his fellow competitor. Kleo laughs at the remarks, calling Ella “very awkward”, claiming “it is a relief to see somebody like her” due to it raising her own chances of early survival. In a confessional, Drake claims to not care so much about winning, denouncing any need for the winnings, instead claiming he would donate them to a charitable cause. Instead, he voices his desire to play the game aggressively and successfully, believing that the chance to “play live action poker like this” as being a once in a lifetime opportunity. In the second RV, Walter and Mayra continue their positive interactions, seemingly growing close over the first few hours due to their shared values. The pair are joined by Riley, who as one of the youngest players admits to being “more shy” than some of the other personalities. Walter and Mayra promise Riley that she is not the only one feeling this way, stating that the nerves will make everybody overcompensate and overanalyse their own behaviours until they’re more comfortable. Seated nearby in the same RV, a discussion takes place between Choovio and Ella, with Ella again particularly interested in Choovio’s background, uncouthly saying “I have never met a red Indian before!” in excitement. Awkward silence ensues for a moment, with Mayra’s eyes widening as she looks over at the nearby cameras in horror, knowing that this comment has the potential to see the first fight kick-off. Albeit calmly, Choovio sternly tells Ella not to use this terminology, educating her on its offensiveness, leaving Ella dumbfounded as she scrambles in her response, telling Choovio that it is the term she is familiar with “because of films like ‘Pocahontas’”. Choovio again seems irritated by Ella’s remarks, choosing to speak to her directly no longer, instead loudly exclaiming to the rest of their RV that “it’s good to have these conversations aired out, because ignorance is still very much alive”. In a confessional, Ella appears insulted at the label off Choovio, equating her term as being harmlessly similar to “people thinking because I’m blonde that I’m some sort of ditz!”. In his own confessional, Choovio laughs-off Ella’s rude remarks, saying that he’ll “always take the high road” and not “show the aggression that people want (him) to”. Instead, he cautiously declares that “Ella just needs to learn something from this experience, because she clearly doesn’t know much. I just hope for her sake she can last long enough to learn anything”.
Both RVs eventually arrive at nearby cenotes situated within Playa del Carmen, with all thirteen players exiting to change into their swimming gear and meet Lincoln and Sinead. The pair welcome the players to their first daily challenge, confirming that this challenge will immediately decide on the first winner and recipient of a Golden Fob Lifesaver, as well as the first individual who will automatically be nominated and face the first repatriation vote of the season. In groups of four (and one five), each player will receive a snorkelling mask, entering the cenote as they retrieve six keys labelled numerically. However, the keys are not laid out in numerical order, leaving it down to the players to remember each location until that particular key is required to be found. The individual to find all their keys in the fastest time and return them to Lincoln and Sinead will be declared the winner, whilst the slowest time will be the dreaded first nominee. The keys are all colour coded, with no colour having matching orders or locations in order to prevent players working together successfully. First-up, Ella, Miguel, Sarah, and Walter randomly draw their assigned colours, each entering the water to begin their run. Shockingly, Walter proves to be much better than expected, with his age proving no issue when locating and retrieving his keys, being the first of the four to finish. In a confessional, Walter admits that his travels to Central America in the past have left him no stranger to snorkelling, confessing that he had spent two-weeks on an ‘underwater find’ where he spent “hours and hours each day swimming around just like this”. Miguel is the next player to finish, knowing that he has at least achieved safety at this point, with no hopes of winning the challenge. Both Ella and Sarah are seen struggling, regularly coming up for air as they fail to use their snorkels correctly. Ultimately, Sarah finishes behind Ella, leaving her knowing she is vulnerable unless one of the other group’s losers clock-in with a time slower than hers. The second group of Drake, Jacques, Mayra, and Petra appear stronger than the first, with Drake’s physicality propelling him to a quick finish, leaving Petra, Jacques, and Mayra to finish behind him but with still respectable times. The final group of Choovio, Gizelle, Kleo, O’Brian, and Riley then take to the water, with Choovio and Gizelle both battling it out for a first place finish. In the end, Gizelle narrowly gets to Lincoln and Sinead ahead of Choovio, certainly putting her in the running for the first win of the season. O’Brian comfortably takes third place, seemingly glad to remain under the radar for now. The group watch on as Kleo and Riley both struggle to find their final keys, giving Sarah hope that one of them will end with the worst time of the day. Riley is eventually able to beat Kleo, leaving the oldest woman of the tour now praying that she has done enough to survive this first potential loss. Lincoln and Sinead gather the players to reveal the results, reading out that Gizelle and Choovio have finished in third and fourth place respectively, with Drake’s athleticism not proving enough to beat Walter’s experience as the oldest member of the group claims victory and the lifesaver. The group applaud well-liked Walter, leaving them all to now hear who has fallen to the other end of the scale. Ella and Riley’s times whilst bad are knowingly announced to leave them safe, with Kleo also surviving by less than forty-seconds over Sarah, leaving the latter now nominated and at risk in the game.
By the end of the first day of the road trip, the thirteen players all head out for an evening around Playa del Carmen’s fifth avenue district; featuring an abundance of shops, restaurants, and bars for the players to enjoy. At one bar, daily challenge winner Walter shares beers alongside Drake and Miguel as the three men discuss their excitement for the journey ahead. Miguel admits that his paranoia will remain high until the second daily challenge has taken place, knowing that still everybody other than Walter is to some degree vulnerable of finding themselves nominated against Sarah. Drake arrogantly and somewhat jokingly asserts to have no fear of either losing, going further to admit that he ‘wouldn’t be scared to face Sarah’ in the vote, remarking that she “has the sort of energy that you’d expect of someone that would go home first”. Miguel softly defends Sarah against Drake’s jokes, referring to his earlier conversation with her at the ruins, brandishing her “a real sweetheart”. Walter compliments Miguel on his defence of Sarah, telling both men that he “love(s) those who can speak their mind whether it be good or bad”, particularly praising Miguel in a confessional as being “definitely a genuine soul of a good, kind, man. He’s going to go far in life and probably this game because I see the goodness that radiates from him”. Over at the town plaza, Choovio and Kleo sit together as they watch two locals performing a salsa routine, immersing themselves in the culture whilst the stresses of the game remain at a low-point. Kleo claims to Choovio that she isn’t going to partake in the drinking activities at the bars due to the knowledge that the tour will continue tomorrow, with Lincoln and Sinead having warned the players not to stay-up too late and to ‘conserve’ some of their energy. Choovio calls Kleo’s decision a wise one, leading the conversation onto his own teetotal lifestyle and complete abstinence from alcohol and drugs. In a moment of solitude where the pair are discussing the negative impact that addiction has had on their loved ones, the two are interrupted by shrill screams of their names from across the plaza, looking up and seeing pocket-sized Mayra frantically waving her arms as she calls over. Mayra instructs the pair to end their conversation and join the others for a group toast, with the final shots of the episode showing all thirteen players raising respective glasses to the promise of ‘the best road trip ever’, unaware that for some this adventure will quickly be turning into a living nightmare.