Recap: 11/01/09 Winners: Brothers Sam and Dan finally won their first leg of the Race, and were awarded a sand buggy as a prize. (They seemed to be asking the same question we were -- what exactly is a sand buggy and what the heck will they do with it?)
Eliminated: Poker players Maria and Tiffany, shivering in a fierce wind and seemingly incapable of completing either Detour option, essentially gave up on the Race in the middle of a field in Holland. Phil left the Pit Stop and came to them in order to eliminate them (otherwise we bet he'd still be waiting for them to arrive).
Detour: This week featured two multifaceted options: Farmer's Game (swim across a creek and play three holes of "farmer's golf") and Farmer's Dance (ring a bell on top of a high striker, learn and perform a Dutch folk dance, and then eat a serving of salted herring with onions). Sam and Dan steamrolled easily through the golf, while Harlem Globetrotters Flight Time and Big Easy showed off their twinkletoes at the dancing challenge. Maria and Tiffany, however, were defeated by both the bell striking and golf swinging (each of which they tried twice).
Roadblock: One member of each team had to climb up into a bell tower, count the number of bells and present the correct total (62) to the carillon player. Although the task appeared challenging to both the thighs and the eardrums (once the huge bells started ringing, the Racers could barely hear themselves think), most Racers completed it quickly. The exception was Ericka, who on her first go-round somehow managed to miss 19 bells. Guess her many beauty pageant skills don't include counting.
Biggest Blunder: Brian and Ericka get this week's "Comedy of Errors" award for an incredibly sloppy leg that included not only Ericka's counting crisis at the Roadblock but also Brian's inability to put their car into drive in the beginning of the leg, as well as their failure to use the provided bikes to get around at the Detour. They were punished for the latter, both by Phil (who dinged them with a 30-minute penalty for not following Race directions) and by themselves -- walking long distances in the heavy, poorly fitting Dutch clogs they had to wear was pretty painful if Ericka's shrill complaining was any indication.
Savviest Travel Move: Sometimes it's worth a little extra money to get where you're going without getting lost -- which is why we liked Meghan, Cheynne, Sam and Dan's decision to hire a cab to lead them out of Groningen.
Funniest Moment: Both Detour options required the Racers to don traditional Dutch duds, with a male and a female costume for each team (regardless of whether the team actually had a male and a female). Sam, Gary and Flight Time looked awfully sweet in their dresses.
Must-See Sight: It would be fun to climb up the carillon in Groningen and get a sweeping view over the town -- but we'll bring earplugs, just in case.
Copyright 1995 - 2009, The Independent Traveler, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This file may be downloaded for personal use only. Other copying or reproduction is expressly prohibited.
Winners: Brothers Sam and Dan finally won their first leg of the Race, and were awarded a sand buggy as a prize. (They seemed to be asking the same question we were -- what exactly is a sand buggy and what the heck will they do with it?)
