Amazing Race Canada 3 Episode 4 "We Know Where They Live" OR That Damn Global Warming!!!

This was another one of those episodes that make you want to want to reach into the TV, grab these teams and shake some sense into them, yelling...

Read the frigging clue!!!

For crap sakes, this is THE #1 mistake made by teams in every franchise of this show! And these guys aren't improving that record this season. They may even be making it worse. And then there were those other mistakes in this episode. Bad mistakes.

So much time wasted!!!

The teams set out from Torre Monumental in Buenos Aires...look at these start times...they're so close! Only 1 hour and 16 minutes separate first from last. Five minutes between the first 3 teams. AND you can see how close Nic and Sabrina were to being eliminated by giving up on the soccer challenge and taking that ridiculous penalty. Wow! Do you think they learned their lesson? Meh.

Neil and Kristen   8:41 A.M.
Gino and Jesse   8:45
Nick and Matt   8:46
Dujean and Leilani   9:05
Simi and Ope   9:10
Sean and Brent   9:33
Hamilton and Michaelia   9:33
Nic and Sabrina   9:55
Brian and Cynthia   9:57

They must make their way to Halifax, Nova Scotia - via Santiago and Toronto, and are given $350 on their BMO card. While at the stopover in Toronto, Hamilton and Michaelia are inundated by teams making a play for that Express Pass. Gino and Jesse offer them 50 bucks. But it's Sean and Brent who score it. Hamilton tells the brothers he is transgender male and there are lots of hugs all around.

So that's what 5,000 paintings on one wall looks like.

First stop is at the BMO kiosk at Halifax airport, where they are given the next clue. Which brings up another sore spot about this episode. Product placement. But we'll get to that later. Teams must make their way to the brand spanking new Halifax Central Library. And what a beauty it is! Here they must scan the 5,000 library card-sized pieces of art in a wall installation. They must count the number of smart phone paintings...there are 134 of them, then take the elevator to the 5th floor to hand over their result to the librarian. It's enough to make your eyes go buggy, and just the thought of it gave me a headache. Of course, the way to do this is to divide and conquer, but that's probably easier said than done. Most of the teams get the task done relatively easy. The last four teams (Simi & Ope, Neil & Kristen, Nick and Matt and Sean & Brent) decide to team up and just take pot shots at it until one of them gets it. Hey if it works, who cares?

From here it's on to the Angus L. Macdonald Bridge and a Roadblock called, "Who's got an eagle eye? Oh, oh. I'm thinking BRIDGE + "eagle eye" just can't be a good thing. Not at all. Nope.

Brian. Scoutin' like a champ.

Sure enough, one person from each team must climb up the interior of the bridge's support tower and when they reach the top, climb out, use a pair of binoculars and locate the marker for their next clue. Brian is the first there, and when he finds the flag says, "Fort. On high ground. Two masts. Canadian flag on left." Sure. Even if you didn't read his bio, you sure can tell this dude served in the Armed Forces! For some reason, Nic spots a red and yellow boat in the harbour and thinks it's the marker. Oh, man. On the way back to the bridge, they see the marker at Fort George. Lucky.

While Michaelia is on the bridge, Hamilton suddenly comes to the realization his passport is missing. He searches his bag, then Michaelia's. It's not there and he thinks he left it on the plane. So. Not. Good. All they can do is phone the airport and finish the leg, hoping Air Canada can find it in time. This is sooo bad. All your documentation must be handed over to production at the end of the leg, and passports are absolutely necessary to continue with the race. If it's not found, it means an instant disqualification.

Jesse is still on the bridge looking for the marker when Kristen gets there. She spots it right away. Jesse sees the rough area its in and that there are two "crosses" in a park and rushes back down the ladder. He doesn't notice the imposing fortifications of Fort George on Citadel Hill. Ugh. He tells the cabbie to go to a park with crosses, and of course they end up at the wrong place. Can't blame the cabbie for this one, guys! Like Nic and Sabrina, the brothers see the correct marker on the way back to the bridge.

The next task is in the Halifax Public Gardens. And this is the one I have a problem with.

The teams must correctly identify five of ten Orange Julius smoothie flavours. Problem #1: is this really a Race-worthy task? I mean come on. Problem #2: product placement. Okay, I get that we are reminded Air Canada provides all the flights and prize packages. I get that Chevrolet provides cars on self-driving legs and the Grand prize. I even get the BMO card used to pay for flights. Even a Mentos challenge is acceptable. This show wouldn't survive without these major sponsors, so we have learned to accept it. But this Orange Julius thing? So out-of-place. Surely Halifax has some other attractions that could have been highlighted! Or are Orange Julius smoothies a huge thing in Halifax? Oh...maybe I misunderstood. Do mangoes, bananas, pineapple, oranges and coconuts grow in Nova Scotia now? Must be that damn global warming.

The Detour is called, "Bubbles OR Suds". In "Bubbles", teams had to go to Dalhousie University and the Aquatron Laboratories. Here they had to dive into a large tank (and by large tank, I mean 14 feet deep), catch 2 lobsters each, then band the claws and attach tracking transmitters. Pretty cool. But you definitely needed to know how to swim. In "Suds", teams had to go to Garrison Brewery. Here they had to deliver cases of beer to 3 local bars AND PICK UP 2 EMPTY KEGS TO RETURN TO THE BREWERY. Yep, you guessed it. This is where many teams FAILED TO READ THE FRIGGIN CLUE!

Dad. Get a lobster.

Brian and Cynthia decide to do Bubbles. Brian gets his two lobsters, but Cynthia can't. She knows how to swim and snorkel, but just can't dive. Still, I have to wonder why she didn't use the fins. They cut their losses and switch to Suds. Hamilton & Michaelia and Nic & Sabrina also pick Bubbles originally then switch. The best line of the night goes to Kristen. They only need to get one more lobster so she calmly and eloquently says, "Dad. Get a lobster." And he does. I love the interaction between these two. Gino and Jesse show up late but catch their lobsters quickly...two at a time.

Meanwhile over at Suds...

Leilani...carrying kegs like a champ.

Brian & Cynthia, Nick & Matt and Simi & Ope trudge through just fine. They can obviously remain calm and keep focused. Dujean & Leilani, Hamilton & Michaelia, and Nic and Sabrina all make their deliveries BUT didn't notice the rest of the clue that told them they must also pick up 2 kegs from each bar. WHAT ARE YOU GUYS DOING? Of course they all eventually realize their mistakes and go back to get the kegs. But in Hamilton and Michaelia's case, this was just another compounded error.

Hamilton and Michaelia head back out to the airport to retrieve the passport. It is found but not after a long wait.

Dujean and Leilani are the first to the Pitstop, where they are greeted by Jon and an "Oh yay, oh yay, oh yay!" from the Town Crier. Apparently this is the anniversary of Leilani's mother's death and she has not been back to Halifax since her father died just a few months after her mother. That has to be tough. The Exes win two round trip tickets to anywhere in the Caribbean that Air Canada flies, as well as six months of gas free from PetroCanada.

OH YAY, OH, YAY, OH YAY.

Hamilton and Michaelia were unable to recover from the lost passport mishap. Sadly, they come in last and are eliminated from the race. Oh, I know what you're thinking. If they had only kept their Express Pass to use it on this leg, it would have saved them. Nope. It's highly doubtful it would have bought them enough time, even if they did cash it in back at the bridge. The trek back out to the airport, waiting for the passport and then getting back to the Pitstop would have taken a couple of hours. (we can get a rough estimate when we look at the departure times on the next leg)

But Jon said it best when he told Hamilton "Thank you for being brave enough for being yourself."

To see how the other teams placed, you can check out my Team Leg-by-Leg Results HERE

And I just have one more thing to add. When I go to Halifax, I MUST find THIS bar. Because with a name like "Economy Shoe Shop", how can I possibly resist?