The Amazing Race Canada – Homeland!

Finally! This week on The Amazing Race: Canada, the teams left Nunavut and traveled to my home province of Nova Scotia! I’ve feared all along that the race would highlight the most stereotypical aspects of Nova Scotia culture.

Fisherman and whatnot. It was a little like that, but the racers visited some of my favorite places – Halifax and the South Shore.

The teams connected through Ottawa, where the brothers are from. They decided to lighten their load by consolidating stuff into one backpack, and checking the other into a locker. Smart!

They flew into my home city of Halifax, where they had to drive a stick shift. The meatheads teased the sisters that they’d have a tough time, because we have a lot of hills here in Halifax. Kind of like a miniature San Francisco. The sisters really don’t know how to drive a stick, and just getting out of the airport parking lot was a challenge for them.

The teams had to get to Pier 21, a local immigration museum. It opens at 6:00 a.m., which meant everyone had to hang out overnight together. There was a very pretty sunrise – in fact, we looked pretty good! The task was pretty boring – just getting a passport stamped.

Roadblock: If I Only Had a Brain…

Next, everyone drove to Mahone Bay (which is pronounced Mah-hone, not “Mahoney”), a picturesque little town on the South Shore of Nova Scotia. They filmed this during the Spring, so naturally it was foggy and rainy. Visit during summer and fall only, guys. We’re prettier then.

The teams were visiting during the Scarecrow Festival, and the challenge was to build an identical twin of a scarecrow. Kind of lame – I mean, was this the best they could do for the area? Scarecrows?

Jody and Cory finished first, and drove to the Fisheries Museum in Lunenburg. Jet and Dave really struggled, but I don’t understand why. It didn’t seem like a hard task.

Detour: Surf or Turf

The Detour was a choice between two food themed challenges. In “Surf”, teams had to go out on a boat, haul up six lobster traps, band the lobster claws, and then deliver the lobsters to a local chef. In “Turf”, teams had to taste and identify sausages.

I would, hands down, do the lobster challenge. I’ve never been great at blind taste tests. (That said, I would not be good at banding the claws. I love to eat lobster, but the live ones freak me out.) Oh, also I get boat sick. Maybe I wouldn’t have been good at that challenge after all.

The brothers went for lobster, while Tim Squared went for sausage. Jet and Dave assumed they’d get U-turned, but went for lobster first. “I love lobster, so this is a dream come true,” said one. “I have other dreams,” said the other. “They don’t smell as fishy.” OK, sometimes these guys can be funny.

The brothers finished first again, and headed to a local church and the Double U-turn. Tim Squared nailed the sausage challenge based on sight alone, which I thought was a super smart strategy.

The brothers just beat Tim Squared to the U-turn, but they decided not to U-turn anyone. Interesting, given that Tim Squared did U-turn Team Bodybreak earlier in the race. I wouldn’t have had a problem putting their picture up. When the Tims arrived at the U-turn board, they waffled a little, knowing two teams were behind them. They also opted not to use the U-turn. U-turning Jet and Dave wouldn’t have done much – they would have just U-turned the sisters, and they’d be eliminated either way. No one ended up using the Double U-turn, which was rather interesting.

The “Pit Stop” was at the Bluenose II sailboat, and the brothers arrived in first place. The surprise was, they were still racing – with no rest, they were instructed to fly to St. John’s, Newfoundland. Tim Squared arrived second, Jet and Dave in third.

The sisters arrived last, but once I knew the race was still going on I figured it would be a non-elimination leg. The girls were safe. To be continued! I look forward to seeing everyone experience Newfoundland next week.

The challenges weren’t particularly exciting, but I liked seeing my hometown on the race!