Amazing Race 12: We've Really Burned Bridges, For Sure
12/03/2007 at 8:50 AM
Tags: Amazing-Race-12, Amazing Race 12, Chasing Racers, Television Travel, TV Travel (all tags)
Chasing Racers is back, with a brand new Amazing Race 12 mashup. This map will update the morning after every new episode. Send along tips, rumors, gossip, locations and spoilers to our map editors, become a member and comment on the stories below and add to the Jaunted-Flickr photo pool to get in on the fray.
Remember to zoom in, out and around on the map--with so much happening in each episode, it's easy to miss a map point.
Well, race fans, only seven teams remain in this high-stakes race around the world--and we're down to six by the end of this week's episode. Last time, the Blondes used the U-Turn to their advantage, effectively bouncing Lorena and Jason from the race, but would that decision affect their friendship with each other and lead them on a crash course with a big old bus? Will Ron and Christina's partnership continue to be tested by Ron's stubborn ways and his painful hernia? Will brother and sister Azaria and Hendekea continue to win romantic trips for two?
AND WILL THE RACERS FINALLY LEAVE BURKINA FASO?
They do! The teams are off to Vilnius, Lithuania, where they have to find St. Anne's Church. Teams gather at an internet cafe to research the best available flights and connections while waiting for the Ougadougou Air France ticket office to open.
Jennifer feels guilty for using the U-Turn that eliminated Lorena and Jason. Shana snaps at her saying it was better that they were gone now--had they not, the Blondes would've gone home. While they're busy bitching at each other, TK remarks that teams need to stay calm and focused if they are going to make it to the end. Clearly, the competition is fierce and it's starting to take its toll.
Ron and Christina get to the Air France ticket office first, and using Ron's frustrating brand of fathering, the pair book tickets into Vilnius via Prague, arriving at 2:10 pm. Other teams manage to book an earlier connection with an arrival of 1:25 pm, but Ron prefers to stay slow and steady. Hey Smarty McSmarterson: It's a race!
As teams pile into the Air France ticket office, the employees, who speak almost no English, work on booking them through to Vilnius. Nick tries to be sneaky for two seconds and it totally backfires. Here's a tip: Next time, don't try to pull a fast one when all the other teams are standing two feet away and can hear your every word, genius! Grandpa Don meets his match when the agent helping them takes her good old time and manages to book them on flights that arrive later than everyone else, even though they arrived ahead of most of the other teams. Check your seatbelt now, Gramps, 'cause you have an express ticket to last place!
In Vilnius, it seems like everyone is temporarily lost driving through the streets looking for St. Anne's. Ron and Christina smartly hire a taxi to guide them through the confusing streets of the old city. Once at the church, teams hit the Road Block. One member of the team must become a messenger and deliver an item to a specific person in a specific location. Once there, they will receive another item and location to go to before receiving the next clue.
Nate and Jennifer are running through the streets screeching at each other like they have lost their minds. Ron tells Christina to put a cork in it--which is pretty amazing coming from Captain Yapper himself--and Nick is hopelessly wandering around looking for a salon which is his final location. Finally, someone helps him and he finishes the task. And, after so much hype and build-up from the teasers and promos, the Blondes do not get hit by that tour bus, disappointing viewers world-wide.
After completing the Road Block, racers must now head to an outdoor museum called Lietuvos Liaudies Buities Muziejus in nearby Rumšiškės. To the delight of Travelocity corporate bigwigs, Phil announces that Lithuania is the land of gnomes, and that teams must find the iconic Travelocity Roaming Gnome hidden among 100 others on the property. Once located, the teams must bring said gnome with them to the Pit Stop. Yeah, just what everyone wants, an extra 30 pounds of cement to lug around. Thanks, Travelocity!
Next, teams hit the Detour: Count Down or Step Up. In Count Down, teams must count every picket in a long picket fence before they're given the next clue. In Step Up, teams must walk on stilts along a marked course. If they fall off, they'll have to start over. The Detour is set amidst a Lithuanian festival that creates a lot of distraction for the racers who are struggling with basic tasks like counting and walking. Kynt and Vyxsin revel in the wild costumes and masks surrounding them, making them feel normal for the first time on the race.
Most teams struggle with the stilt walking and the counting with hilarious results. Nate and Jennifer are sniping and snapping at each other while trying to count, and Ron takes a tumble on the stilts that you know had to hurt. We were sure his guts were going to come flying out like a spring-loaded can of novelty snakes, but they didn't, and he managed to get himself back up and finish the task. Maybe there is something to be said for his tenacity.
THE PIT STOP
Racers make their way on foot to the Aukstaitija Windmill, the pit stop for this leg of the race. The windmill, built in 1884, is a nod to Lithuania's agricultural past. TK and Rachel arrive first with their gnome and win a ten day trip to Japan. We wonder, do they have to take it with them? Kynt and Vyxsin, who have been running an incredible race, arrive in second with Ron and Christina in third.
OUSTED
Nick and Don struggle the entire episode to stay out of last place. Just when it looks like they might be out, Shana and Jennifer come in last and are eliminated. They say goodbye with a rousing and heartwarming speech about manicures, pedicures and their comfortable lives back in LA.
NEXT WEEK
Azaria loses patience with Hendekea, while Nate and Jennifer reach their breaking point while paddling adorable little boats in Croatia. Be sure to join us next week for all the excitement!
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