Amazing Race 10 update – Swim, stall, salt, sea, sail, and snipe

Teams started out in the middle of the night in Kuwait City and needed to make their way to Mauritius, which almost everybody mispronounces as they talk to the travel agents. (More-it-tie-us?) Team Blonde tries to book plane tickets for Tyler & James, jumping ahead of the Alabama moms; words are exchanged. Hard to believe, it appears that everybody must take a circuitous flight to London first before they can continue on to Mauritius off the coast of Africa.

Once in Mauritius, teams take a marked car and they need to find a boat in Grand Baie that matches a model in the car. Everybody needs to swim to the boat, which looks about a hundred yards out, but the Amazing Race helpers provide life vests so nobody drowns. The Southern teams are not very hydrophilic and they struggle in the water. Meanwhile, Team Rehab is driving in circles. At the boat, the next clue directs the teams to the post office in Case Noyale.

Eventually everybody’s on the road again but the automobile gremlins are being puckish. Team Bicker starts up again as Rob cannot get his car in gear and he petulantly storms away from Kimberly. Dustin from Team Blonde smashes her car into the back of a bus but they still arrive at the next clue first to find the Detour. Rob & Kimberly get a replacement car but, as we’re reminded, they get no time credit for their bad clutch.

Detour: Salt or Sea. Teams may either dig through massive piles of salt for a salt shaker, or sail to a small island and use a treasure map to find a sailboat mast and sail back to shore. Everybody chooses the Salt (except Team Blonde) but then once they get a feel for how much digging is required, everybody (except Team 16 Tons) gives up and heads to the Sea Detour. In typical form, Mary decides the best way to help is to nag and gripe to victory; she sits on a pile of salt as David shovels away.

Dustin & Kandace complete the Detour first and take their little sailboat back to the Pit Stop at the Chateau Bel Ombre. Back at the Salt pile, Mary wears down David down to a nub and he agrees to switch to the Sea detour even though they know they’ll be in last place. What exactly is the logic behind this move? And why can’t David stand up for himself just once? They deserve to lose and I’m hoping this is not a non-elimination leg tonight.

Teams Ergo, Alabama and 16 Tons are all traveling in a row as the final three teams heading for the Pit Stop. Two teams turn left and one turns right. Once Team 16 Tons realizes they’ve headed in the wrong direction, Mary helpfully tells David to “back up then go straight.” They arrive in last place (again) and (again) this is a non-elimination leg for them; if they don’t arrive first in the next leg, they’ll incur a 30-minute penalty. Since all my Peter hatred now needs to find a new outlet, I’m praying that Mary will go next week and take David with her.

Final standings:

#1 – Team Blonde – Dustin & Kandace – Prize: motorscooters
#2 – Team Rehab – Tyler & James
#3 – Team Bicker – Rob & Kimberly
#4 – Team Ergo – Erwin & Godwin
#5 – Team Alabama – Lyn & Karlyn
#6 – Team 16 Tons – David & Mary – Non-elimination leg

Next week – Another new twist to the Race: the “Intersection” where teams who hate each other must work together. Watch for Phil’s evil arching eyebrow to make an appearance.

Extra – This space reserved for updates from Pat and Kris.