And the Winner Is...

Photo curitous of CBS

Ok we've been really bad with updating this blog lately that I had to at least post who the winners was.

Congratulations go out to Eric and Danielle. After having been yeild twice through out the game, they more than deserve to win.


Top 3 were:


1 - Eric and Danielle
2 - Dustin and Kandice
3 - Charla and Mirna


I do have to say this last leg was very exciting and they had some hard physical challenges.


I was disappointed when they were in San Francisco and after 10 minutes trying to get the 4 digit code to open the safe, they were automatically given the clue. I thought that was really unfair and should have made the other teams work alittle harder.


I know my update isn't what everyone is used to, but you get what you get :)


For more updates you can visit the offical site.

Update: Just found out that Eric and Danielle are no longer dating and were seen at the finale party with other dates.

Episode 7 - Live Blog (Leg 7 AND 8)

Sorry folks, no time to blog Episode 6, for a full recap and all the airport woes that left several teams DAYS behind, check out the official site.

To make up for it, heres's a LIVE BLOG - SPOILER ALERT! (Updated every commercial break)

Eric & Danielle = ED
Uchenna & Joyce = UJ
Dustin & Kandice = BQs
Oswald & Danny = OD
Charla & Mirna = CM
Joe & Bill = JB

Teams take off from Zanzibar to head to Warsaw, Poland. Everyone jumps out of the gates and heads to a travel agent. UJ try to connect by phone but teams that are present in the Travel Agency, urge the attendant to hang up on them. Trying to book the best flight out proves to be a bit of a struggle, everyone trying to get to Poland before a 12:00pm arrival.

The BQs get the first booking (arriving at 9:10am), and the flights fill up. UJ have the same luck, meanwhile CM, OD and ED are all still waiting at the Travel Agent. CM and OD are on their way while ED are sitting out on a curb, pouting and questioning their relationship.

Due to the LATE LATE arrival times (almost 12 hours apart) from the last Episode, JB are just leaving while other teams are already on flights. They get booked on the same plane as ED. Unfortunately their connecting flight was late and their plane is on the runway, with no turning back.

(Commercial)

Eric, "We're going to be about 3 days behind the other teams now." JB and ED check into a hotel while UJ and BQs are connecting in Frankfurt. UJ have to pick up their connecting tickets in Frankfurt but they get yanked off the flight for some reason.

On the ground in Poland the BQs (the only ones in the country right now) have to make their way to a palace to find "Chopin" playing the piano to pick up their clue. OD and CM arrive in Warsaw ahead of UJ who are still in Frankfurt. ED and JB are finally leaving Africa for Europe.

DETOUR: Chose between

Perfect Pitch: Go to the palace, chose a grand piano and tune it - then a pianist must play Chopin and determine it in tune to get their clue.

Perfect Angle - Pick up a mannequin and carry it to a lab, use an x-ray to locate a clue inside their mannequin.

BQs - Perfect Pitch - one of them determined which key was out of tune (she's been playing piano since she was 6) and they get to work right away.

Teams must now figure out the name on their clue is to a monument, where they will find their next clue.

CM are running around Warsaw, trying to find someone "friendly looking enough" to help them. They are getting frustrated trying to find the palace. OD pass them in a cab and they chose Perfect Pitch.

BQs reach their clue at the monument, they need to search the grounds to find the mat and check in. They're team #1 and they win a prize - but is the race over....?

CM finally get to the clue and chose Perfect Pitch as well.

UJ finally get to Warsaw and instead of searching for "Chopin" playing the piano on the grounds of the palace, they start wandering around the school of music. They get back on track and head to Perfect Pitch. OD have troubles tuning the piano, and actually break 2 strings. CM has also been there an hour and both teams give up and consider heading to the other challenge.

(Commercial)

OD don't give up and get the job done, praising their pianist, "If I were in town, I'd ask for your number!" CM stay a while longer but after OD leave, they head for the other task with the mannequins. UJ arrive to tune pianos as CM head for Escada and grab mannequin to transport to the lab. Walking down the street they don't have any more luck getting instructions from locals. Meanwhile, OD check in as team #2.

CM find someone to help them, and while walking their mannequin down the street body parts start falling off. They arrive at the lab to get xrays and hopefully find their clue. UJ finish up at Perfect Pitch and head to the mat, finishing #3.

JB and ED are getting on their final flight to Poland while CM head to the mat in the dark, #4. It will now be a head to head battle to the pit stop between JB and ED, who have all been traveling for 30 hours.

With teams spread so far apart, BQs are starting Leg 8 while two teams are just arriving in Poland, not even at the Detour yet.

They need to head to Auschwitz, first locating a monument which will feature a box containing tickets. Teams must pick some up for one of two charter buses. Departure times are 4 hours apart.

(Commercial)

JB chose the mannequin task while ED head to Perfect Pitch. JB are having troubles locating the clue in the mannequin, CM had to turn it in its side to get the right reading of the clue. ED break a string and get frustrated.

OD depart for Leg 8.

JB can't get a proper reading and start guessing words. ED tune their piano and head to the statue - where they will find the clue that points them to the mat. Both teams are en route via taxi, ED run over to Phil and finish #5.

UJ rip open their clue and as per usual, are wide eyed and excited about their destination. They always truly appreciate the places they visit - the history, significance, the natural beauty etc. With Auschwitz you can only imagine how somber teams must feel, I wonder how it will affect them.

Joe and Bill come in #6 - but it's NOT an elimination leg. They are now MARKER FOR ELIMINATION and must make up 12 hours in Leg 8.

LEG 8

Teams on bus 1 are UJ, OD, BQ. Eric and Danielle (ED) have a lovers' spat over spending money on coffee while they wait for charter bus #2. Joe and Bill (JB) depart on Leg 8 and head to get on a bus. They are on the 5:00pm bus along with ED and CM. The first bus arrives, in the fog a candle lit path leads them to a note about the history of Auschwitz. Teams get choked up as they read about the genocide and tour the grounds, which remain standing as a reminder - not to forget.

Teams then head to taxis, driving 40 miles to find a theatre in which they will find their next clue.

INTERSECTION - teams must join forces with another team until the next task is completed, then they can split again.

There is also FAST FORWARD in the box: The joined team must climb two towers, calculating the amount of steps in each tower. The sum must be right when they tell a nearby guard, in order to get their new clue. Since there are only THREE teams at the intersection, the BQs are out of luck and have to wait for team #4 to arrive so they can join up (this means waiting about 4 hours - sucky!). OD and UJ are on their way to the Fast Forward task while the BQs have to wait for another team, then go on and complete a DETOUR.

(Commercial)

The combined team of UJ and OD climb the first tower and count 111 steps together, on the second they come up with different numbers. Uchenna and Oswald go with their gut, 348 steps total as they ALL head to the pit stop directly - no more tasks!

JB, CM and ED arrive at Auschwitz and read their history letter. All teams observe a moment of silence and light a candle before heading to their taxis.

There is a thick fog covering the land, the next team to get to the clue will team up with the BQs.

UJ and OD all arrive at the mat, all linking arms like the Wizard of Oz group - all joyful and ALL deemed team #1. There is only on "first place" prize and OD give it up to UJ "our pleasure, we just won't be giving away the million dollars."

BQs sitting at the clue box for hours contemplate which team they would want to pair up with the most, chosing Joe and Bill. CM are the first to arrive so they really have no choice, coming out from their hiding place the girls all team up.

DETOUR: Eat it up or roll it out.

Eat it up: Use traditional methods to make 1 three inch link of kielbasa sausage. Then each person must has eat 2 feet of sausage.

Roll it out: Find a bakery, roll out 20 bagels, make their way on foot to deliver the fresh bagels.

CM and BQ experience "female bonding over sausages" in the Eat it up task. JB and ED head to the roll it out task.

(Commercial)

The girls team gear up for their 2 feet of sausage each. ED and JB couldn't find the roll it out task so they head over to eat it up. The all girl team of CM and BQ try to down their meat while the other conjoined team finished their kielbasa making and chows down.

Meanwhile, JB are at the mercy of their now team mates, ED, since they have the 30 minute penalty. Just as Dustin and Kandice finish their plates, one of them leans over and spews chewed up sausage all over the floor, Eric comments "Ladies and gentlemen, Miss California!"

Charla makes herself vomit into a bucket, inducing stinky, smelly, noisy gagging noises - making the other team lose their appetite. They all finish at once.

Newly separated teams must find a marked car and drive to a castle where they will find their next clue. It's everyone for themselves now. BQs find their car first and snag a taxi to follow in order to reach the next clue the quickest.

It seems like no one's ever driven before, they're all amazed they have to "drive themselves" to the next clue. *Screetch!* "That must be Mirna trying to start a car"... "which one is the brake?!"

JB stop at a gas station to get directions. CM follow apparently TWO taxis down the road, and try to ditch one - would suck to pay for both, although I'm sure what they're screaming isn't coming across in the translation. The two cab drivers are bartering for fares, wasting CM's time - then they slam the door in their face and take off. The girls start crying "please show us where to go, I'm begging you!"

(Commercial)

BQs arrive at the ROAD BLOCK first. One person must don a full suit of authentic medieval armor and lead a horse to a castle, handing it off to a stable boy. From there they get a clue and head to the pit stop.

CM reach the clue box and Charla dressed up like a knight and having a lot of trouble leading the horse. Dustin is in gear for the BQs. ED and JB reach the clue box at the same time. BQs get to the mat as team #3 - which I believe they rightfully deserve, after having to wait at the intersection for so long.

CM are having a lot of trouble as Charla keeps doing face plants, but they still manage to arrive team #4. JB arrive #5 and have to serve their 30 minute penalty, with ED right on their heels, who arrive #5 instead. Joe and Bill check in and have been eliminated.

Episodes 6 and 7 - Juno Edition

Sorry! I haven't got around to posting about Episode 6 but I will before Sunday. On April 1st Canada's version of the Grammys - the Junos will take over the airwaves so anyone not able to catch the broadcast on an American station will be SOL. Luckily, I'll probably live blog it - so stay tuned :-)

Episode 5 - LIVE BLOG! Kinda

I'm live-blogging the recording of last Sunday's episode - so this isn't a spoiler unless you totally missed it, haven't seen the results online and can't get your own recording of the show.

I'll start in just a couple minutes....

When we last left off - Rob & Amber were eliminated from the race, with Charla & Mirna finishing just ahead of them at the mat.

Starting out of Argentina, teams are pretty shocked that Rob and Amber are no longer in the competition.

Oswald and Danny are the first to read their clue - Travel by taxi to Marshall Glacier when they arrive at the glacier, they need to ride a chair lift and hike half a mile to start their task of using an avalanche beacon to search the area another beacon (along with their clue) that is buried. Despite the order in which teams arrive from the mat, the chair lift doesn't open til 8am so teams start the day at an even pace.

Team Guido (Joe & Bill) find their clue first and get the next clue - fly to Maputo, Mozambique. Since international flights are limited teams are being supplied tickets for a later flight, and the last connection into the country. If they manage to find something sooner - it's fair game.

Back at the glacier, the BQs run on ahead without picking up their gear/beacon. This sets them back alongside Oswald and Danny who have lost ground. Eric and Danielle (Frat and Pinky) find their clue - Danielle "Mozambique? What city is that?" and "if you're ever caught in an avalanche, don't count on Oswald and Danny to get you out," (their words, not mine :-P)

Teams race to a travel agent to gamble and get a better flight than they were supplied with, which leaves at 3:00pm. Os & Danny and Teri & Ian, who are at the same agent, get a 9:40am flight. The rest of the teams have the same success.

Once on the ground they must find and chose a marked car with a driver. Make their way more than 45 miles to the Apopo training field, which doesn't open until a specific time - so again, teams have time to catch up.

ROAD BLOCK - Who smells a rat?

One person must get up close and personal with a rat. Trained rats locate left over land mines as team members guide them to find a route marker buried along with a deactivated mine. Once the rat locates the mine/clue - a trainer will go retrieve their clue. Rats were harnessed along a rope line, they could give signals but needed to stay on course - team members control the rope line and help guide the rat to find what they're both looking for. Joe and Bill's rat locates a mine first by scratching at the ground. Joe then called over the trainer who confirmed the findings with a metal detector. Charla and Mirna are the last to leave the Road Block.

Teams then have to drive back into Maputo and find a building, where they will get their next clue.

DETOUR

Pamper - teams go a half mile to the market and find a stall. Chose a nail polish kit and convince people to get their nails painted by them. They need to make roughly 30 bucks to proceed.

Porter - teams travel a longer distance and will then use their hands to fill 10 large 40 lb bags with coal and sew them shut. Then carry one of the bags to an address where they will get their next clue.

Charla and Mirna go with Pamper while the other teams head to Porter and gave a really hard time - not only painful on the hands but tedious and dirty. BQs also join them in the nail painting fun, but they're the only others to take this detour.

From the Detour teams head to Fortaleza, the pit stop for this race. Charla and Mirna breezed through the Detour and came in FIRST (for their first time).

The BQs had a riot doing nails and are finished their task - they come across the mat 2nd. No one from Porter (the coal bag filling task) has finished yet.

In a turn of events, Teri and Ian end up painting nails - they ended up at the market by mistake. Ian is convinced no one will let him give them a manicure but they end up only getting TWO customers who pay them their entire quota. They seriously lucked out there.

"Do I look like Rambo?" "You look like a saggy raccoon." Oswald and Danny are the first to finish the coal task. Uchenna and Joyce are following other teams to addresses, forgetting that their delivery address is unique.

Teri and Ian check in 3rd. It's pretty obvious that the least frustrating, least dirty and grueling was the nail painting task - all 3 teams that headed that way are now sitting pretty at the pit stop.

Oswald and Danny finish 4th and chase Phil around "I'm hugging you!" they're totally filthy with coal, and he's surprised they even went for that task, "we came to win, not to sissy fight."

Joe and Bill race Eric and Danielle to the mat - Team Guido gets in as team number 5, meanwhile Eric screams at Danielle "she got beat by a bunch of queens" and they cross 6th.

Uchenna and Joyce are marked for elimination and must arrive 1st at the next pit stop. If they are not first, they have to wait 30 minutes before they can check in. This is the same system they had last season. I'm glad they're not out yet - and I'm even MORE glad the race is finally out of South America. Things have been shaken up and I have to say, I'm liking the Oswald and Danny - they always have the best attitude and are still competitive. No one is seriously annoying me, except maybe Eric's bright lime green track pants and "Colege" t-shirt.

Episode 4 - LIVE BLOG!!

LIVE BLOG!
To make up for not posting anything for Episode 3 I've decided to live-blog the West coast feed of tonight's episode. Teams will take off from Playa Petrohue, Chile.

Everyone will need to get to the airport and fly to another part of Chile, once on the ground they will have to drive to their destination: Lord Lonsdale's Shipwreck.

After checking in at the airport Rob & Amber hop on the internet and investigate their clue, searching around and finding out that they will probably be looking for a painting when they land, and not an actual shipwreck.

Other teams begin to arrive at the airport and book similar flights out at 9:40am. Terri and Ian are too late and do not get this flight, which means Joe & Bill and Charla & Mirna who are just on their way from the pit stop, won't be able to make it either.

Terri and Ian luck out as the airline finds them two seats. Joe & Bill are SOL and as Charla & Mirna arrive they all get on the same flight at 11:15am.

COMMERCIAL

As teams land they ride to get their clue, it is at the sight of a shipwreck.

DETOUR - based on Magellan's voyages.

1) Navigate it
Use a map to get to the plaza where they get a compass, heading straight South to find the nautilus building where they will get their next clue.

2) Sign it
Choose a pole and building supplies, use a map as reference to figure out where Magellan's voyage began, building a sign post with all visited cities' names nailed to it - spelled correctly.

Eric & Dani and Oswald & Danny finish Navigate it first, meanwhile Rob & Amber struggle with Sign it as their city names are spelled wrong. Terri & Ian also finish Navigate it with ease and advance to the airport.

Teams must then travel 165 miles by charter plain to get to Argentina.

Joe & Bill and Mirna & Charla JUST arrive at the FIRST airport location and head toward the shipwreck where they will get their DETOUR clue.

Uchenna & Joyce are the first to finish Sign it and head to the airport where they are on the second flight out. Amber urges Rob to quit and head to Navigate it but he won't give up. FYI Rob, it's not spelled "Philipeans". The Beauty Queens convince Rob & Amber to quit and head to Navigate, they team up and head to the OTHER detour. Charla & Mirna head to Sign it, foolishly. Joe & Bill head to Navigate it around the same time at Rob & Amber and the BQs.

I seriously think the BQs have a very sensible and straightforward approach to their game this season. Working reasonably with other teams and leaving the drama for Charla & Mirna.

COMMERCIAL

Charla & Mirna give up on Sign it, meanwhile Joe & Bill complete Navigate it - Rob & Amber and the BQs finish their detour while Joe & Bill are arriving at the airport, they all get signed up on charter #2.

Charter #1 lands and teams race to the next clue. Terri & Ian and Os & Danny search for the clue box. Teams must tarvel by taxi to a bay where they will take a boat which will only take 2 teams at a time. It will bring them to an island where they will need to get their next clue from the post office. The name of the island means "end of the world" as it's the southern-most tip of South America.

The boat leaves every 20 minutes - Eric & Dani and Os & Danny get on the first boat and get to their clue - a ROAD BLOCK

Choose a full mail bag, search through 1600 letters to find a letter addressed to their team. What they don't know is that the letters are written by some of their competitors from the first season. Once they find their letter they will have to read it out loud and get their next clue.

Once their Road Block is complete teams must follow a path from the post office to Mastil de Belgrano to find the pit stop.

Terri & Ian make it on boat #3, Uchenna & Joyce, Joe & Bill and the BQs are all behind, lining up for a boat.

Oswald & Danny hit the mat first, followed by Eric & Danielle.

While looking for the clue Rob & Amber pretend to find it and tell Charla & Mirna in passing, that they found the clue way off track. This leaves them to search in a false location. It was actually pretty funny but C & M are right pissed.

Terri & Ian find their letter at the post office and head on foot to the path toward the pit stop.

Joe & Bill and the BQs get on boat 6, Uchenna & Joyce and Rob & Amber are on boat 7 with Charla & Mirna on boat 8.

Rob & Amber are confronted by C & M who say they lied to them about getting the clue. Well of COURSE they lied, they're playing the game. But Amber perpetuated it and when confronted said, she wasn't telling THEM she found the clue already, she was just talking to Rob about something. Rob IS rubbing off on her.

COMMERCIAL

BQ and Joe & Bill arrive at the post office to sort their mail. Rob & Amber and Uchenna & Joyce are on the boat. Joe & Bill find their letter first and take off. The BQs find their letter, which is actually from Bama! But only one of the ladies signed it - BQ makes their way to the path up to the pit stop and comes in 5th.

Rob & Amber, Uchenna & Joyce are still sorting mail as Charla and Mirna arrive. Uchenna & Joyce find their letter first and take off finishing 6th. Rob & Amber take off in a foot race vs Rob & Amber with Charla yelling "LEVEL 5 on the treadmill!" They make it to the mat first, in 7th place. Rob and Amber arrive LAST at the mat and are ELIMINATED! They're in really great spirits but it was interesting that they went from 1st to last - all because of the Sign it detour.

Episode 3 - We're a little behind

Sorry folks! We've been MIA for episode 3 but here's a very basic rundown:

The teams white water rafted, carried fish and raced across South America. Charla and Mirna continued to be aggressive and the Beauty Queens ended up doing the Detour task BEFORE even finding the clue. They weren't penalized at the mat, instead they had to go back and find the clue. It took them no time at all and still came in 4th. Rob and Amber were first to the mat - so far dominating the race.

For a general, generic episode recap, try the official site. Yes, I know, that's really crappy of us to do but maybe we'll get a proper recap for episode 3 up soon enough, in honour of David and Mary who were eliminated.

I'm going to be live-blogging the west coast feed of Episode 4 in about 5 minutes so stay tuned!

Episode 2 - Ecuador to Chile

During the pit stop Drew experienced altitude sickness, which would seem to impede him for the rest of the race. The teams take off 12 hours later in the order in which they checked in. Rob comments on how he wants people to be preoccupied with him and Amber, because they'll just end up being distracted from the goal.

When the clue is ripped open it instructs teams to drive to the airport and catch a flight to Santiago, Chile. The drive TO the airport proves to be a rather tricky one, with uneven ground and giant mud puddles. Kentucky (Dave & Mary) even stop at one point to tow Charla & Mirna's car out of the muck. Sheesh, aren't they nice.

Once at the airport there are a couple flights to choose from. One will go through Guayaquil and Lima, Peru and arrive at 1:05am and the other will take a different connection to Lima, then arrive in Santiago at 2:30am. The ONLY teams on the 1:05 flight (and who even knew about it) are Rob & Amber, and Oswald & Danny. Unfortunately for them, their first connection is delayed so their big head start is nullified when they arrive at the second connection and even up with everyone else.

I just realized when they were getting on the plane that David is wearing a Cho brothers shirt. Too cute.

Once all the teams' planes touch down they must take a taxi to the head office of a mining company, where they come across a Road Block. One member (who has great detail) must walk around a boardroom and spot letters placed on various items e.g. the tie of an executive, a note pad, a pen, etc. What teams didn't know was that on the wall of the boardroom there were pictures of mines, with their names underneath. So instead of just making note of a the letters and unscrambling them, team members could actually observe the writing on the wall.

The first team to clue into this was the Beauty Queens. They passed all those that were there trying to decipher the letters long before them. Eric (frat boy) and Joyce took a very long time, while teams came, clued in and left ahead of them. Once again Mary helps out Charla and Mirna - telling them exactly what the word is and pointing at the photo on the wall. Kevin eavesdrops and follows. Eric saw the mine name on the wall and had ALL the letters except an "H". He ruled it out because he couldn't find an "H" around the table. I mean in that case, wouldn't you just go for it anyway? About 6 teams passed him in the meantime.

They then had to hop on a plane and fly to the next destination, where the mine (with the name they deciphered) was located. At the airport, Eric skips ahead of the line when a new counter opens up. Rob vocalizes his discontent and Amber defends Eric saying, it's just something Rob would do anyway, as well.

Once they land, teams drive to the mine where there was a DETOUR: By hand or by Machine.

By hand: align bolts on a gigantic 2 tonne mining truck tire and tighten them all up. By Machine: drive a front loader and dump rock/dirt up to a certain height. Both team members must take turns.

The only teams that did "by machine" were Joe & Bill and Rob & Amber - they were all done very quickly as "by hand" proved to be a lot more painstaking and tedious.

Once complete, teams had to drive to the pit stop. During a certain portion through a sensitive ecosystem, they could only drive max 40km/h but after that, they could go the regular speed limit. Teams raced on the road, got turned around and Drew & Kevin thought it was 40km/h EVERYWHERE. Kentucky got annoyed with their "friends" Charla & Mirna because they kept passing them on the road. Mary's blood gets boiling.

Charla and Mirna pay a taxi driver to lead them where they need to go. The Beauty Queens pull up behind them and wanted info from the driver as well. Essentially, BQs were saying - why do you need to pay him all your money? Just have him draw us all a map. But Charla and Mirna were hellbent on sending the BQs away with no information and disgusted at the fact that they would want to share the driver THEY were giving ALL their money too. This is where is gets a little weird. The BQs give up and just take off meanwhile Charla and Mirna are freaking out at the cab driver saying "TAKE ALL MY MONEY!" and literally begging him to continue to help them. Seriously, it made me uncomfortable to watch this. They get in their car and rant about the nerve of the Beauty Queens. Uh huh... yeah....

At the mat in the Valley of the Dead, Chile, Rob & Amber cross first. Oswald & Danny come in 2nd with Joe and Bill following up in 3rd.

4th, Eric & Danielle, 5th Uchenna and Joyce, 6th the Beauty Queens and 7th, Terri and Ian.

8th, Charla and Mirna with Kentucky close behind. Mary is seriously pissed off, which is odd to see since she's such a sweetheart. She holds her tongue and doesn't say what's pissing her off but later in the interview she says basically, no more being nice and helping people out.

The final team to arrive is Kevin & Drew, who get eliminated.

(Photos are property of CBS)

Episode 1 - LIVE BLOG *Spoiler*

*** SPOILER ***

The start of the show was time-delayed about 15 minutes so we unfortunately caught the tail end of 60 Minutes. What was Anderson Cooper doing on there?

The racers have been introduced and take off from Miami, Florida. I had no idea one of the teams consists of one of the guys from the Frat Boy team last season and one of the girls from the Pinkies that same season.

Team List: Oswald & Danny, Kevin & Drew, John Vito & Jill, Uchenna & Joyce, David & Mary, Charla & Mirna, Rob & Amber, Teri & Ian, Eric & Danielle, Joe & Bill, Dustin & Kandice

Uchenna and Joyce won their season. If you think back, when they won the million they said they were going to use it to get pregnant, in vitro. Since that hasn't happened they're doing this to rekindle their passion for each other that's waned over the last few stressful years. Rob and Amber (Mr. and Mrs. reality show) are back with a vengeance after coming in 2nd during their season. I have totally missed Oswald and Danny - they are SO fun.

The rest of the intros were pretty basic, and the nicknames for the teams are coming out already. Kentucky, the Barbies aka the Beauty Queens, Mirna & Shmirna, and the Frat boy n' Pinkie. Teams race to grab their first clue, hop into an SUV and head for the airport where they will fly to Ecuador.

When teams get to the airport they realize there are TWO flights to Ecuador. This is something we lacked last season - teams always evened up at the airport, no one was left behind and everyone was always on the same plane. Of course this lead to a lack of excitement and urgency.

(commercial break)

There's a first flight and second - while teams wait and browse the airport bookstore for an atlas Kentucky introduces themselves to Rob and Amber. David gets all tongue-tied because he's a big fan of theirs. Come to think of it, they've been reality TV "stars" for several years so I suppose their level of celebrity is pretty high. But as other teams point out they've "had enough of Rob and Amber" in this way.

On the American Airlines flight that arrived first there is: John Vito & Jill, Rob & Amber, Oswals a& Danny, Charla & Mirna, Terry & Ian. The others all on another flight arrive 2 hours later. I forgot how Charla and Mirna know about 8 languages between the two of them.

The teams on the first flight land and race to their first clue in Ecuador. They need to proceed to a restaurant where they pick up one of 3 departure times for the morning: 7, 715, and 730am.

While the first teams to the clue are sitting down to dinner, those on the second flight race to the clue box to grab a departure time. This early in the game teams are getting frustrated with their cab drivers and as we cut to commercial, Drew falls down in the street, reeling in pain.

(commercial break)

Kevin and Drew hop into a cab, while Drew is still feeling pain in his shoulder from a fall and bandaging up a bloody knee.

Eric and Danielle are the last to arrive and to grab a departure time, Mr Frat boy notes that he isn't comfortable being in last place.

In the morning teams (in proper departure sequence) must drive their cars 65 miles to an ecological reserve to find their next clue. They are advised to enter from the NORTH entrance to the park.

Two teams talk to taxi drivers and persuade them to drive ahead to the park while they follow (Oswald & Danny and Rob & Amber).

Mirna and Charla pick up a man who accompanies them in the car, giving driving directions.

John Vito and Jill are giving instructions from a local saying it will take them an hour to get to the park. Meanwhile, Rob & Amber and Oswald & Danny find the park entrance. Charla and Mirna enter at the South entrance and debate turning back to head in North.

DETOUR
Wrangle it or Recover it

In wrangle it, teams must help local cowboys lasso a horse and clip its hair and hooves.

In recover it, teams must wear a soliders' uniform and search a field for missing items: an epaulette, sword and button.

Rob and Amber choose recover it, get frustrated "it'll take 3 hours to walk around this field" and decide to run over to the other detour option - before any other teams are even there - they have a little time to play with.

Oswald & Danny choose wrangle it right away and joke about pursuing careers in beauty. Practicing cutting a horse's nails and hair is a far cry.

Teri & Ian arrive third and think they're in first since they see no one else. Meanwhile Rob & Amber cross the mat first. They of course win a trip for two from Travelocity. Oddly enough - it's to Whistler, BC!

Oswald & Danny finish 2nd.

"If you ain't got me holdin your hands you can't do nothin!" David and Mary aren't too far behind but they think they're almost out of it as they run into trouble with directions. Little do they know several teams are still far behind - getting directed all over the map.

(commercial break)

Teri & Ian finish doing 'wrangle it' and head to the pit stop 3rd. Eric and Danielle catch up and finish 4th. Joe and Bill complete 'wrangle it' as well and finish 5th commenting that the horse's nails were much easier to clip than their puppy's. 6th place is the Beauty Queens followed by Uchenna & Joyce in 7th.

John Vito and Jill end up at the South entrance. David & Mary run into David & Mary - both teams think they're lost but they're actually on the right track. Kevin and Drew blow a tire and keep going - riding on the axle.

Charla and Mirna come in 8th while David and Mary race through their task (all teams chose wrangle it) and finish 9th. They have a bonding moment with the other team talking about how they've admired all the all stars and now they're getting their butts kicked by them. Kevin and Drew come in 10th while John Vito and Jill finally make it to the end. The formerly dating couple that just got too mixed around with their directions to the park.

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The first episode was pretty good - the teams all look pretty interesting. It should be fun to watch it all pan out. I'm waiting to hear Laura's thoughts on the matter, especially the return of the Beauty Queens :-P

It All Starts Tonight

Season 11 kicks off tonight at 8:00pm on CBS. Check back here for a full recap after the show!

Re-Run The Races

If you're like Laura then the last season was not your favourite, so I have some great news for you. CBS is releasing all previous 10 seasons of The Amazing Race on DVD this March.

Coming in March: Catch up with your favourite teams as you re-run 10 seasons of THE AMAZING RACE as seen on CBS. Looks for specially marked packages of ThermaCare Heatwraps that include the free Amazing Race mini-DVD. [CBS]

No special features, just the plain ol' TV versions but hey, if you have a sore back and want to sit around watching re-runs of your favourite TV show, this deal works out perfectly for you.

The Amazing Hunt

Next Saturday, Feb. 10, my sister and I will be participating in The Amazing Hunt. It's Vancouver's own adventure race complete with Detours, Yields, Intersection and various other twists and turns [Miss604].

This one is a foot race downtown but several local races take place throughout the year in other cities in the Vancouver area. If you live in the area sign on up - the winners from each local race participate in the "Championship" to win cash prizes. The official website has YouTube videos and more detailed information for any Amazing Race wannabe that wants to take part in this event throughout the year.

Amazing Race All Stars Feb. 18, 2007!

The teams have been selected and there's now an official date for the premiere of The Amazing Race All Stars [CBS.com]

We'll see Rob & Amber, who have already saturated reality TV, the Beauty Queens from the recent season 10, and Kentucky. Also, my favourite international shoppers, Oswald & Danny.