Are You Good at Puzzles? is the fifth episode of The Amazing Race 5.
Synopsis[]
Seven teams make their way from the cold of Russia to one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, The Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt.
At the mercy of a foreign cab driver, one team has trouble communicating where they need to go and miss a very critical flight. Meanwhile, while all the teams are waiting for a flight, one team makes a stealthy move in the middle of the night to abandon the pack of teams in order to advance. Once in Egypt, as one team attempts to complete a task, they find themselves lost on the Giza Plateau among the great pyramids. There they run into one of their rival teams, who they hope will bury the hatchet and actually help the lost duo. The Roadblock has teams forced to face their fears of dark and claustrophobic spaces, as they must descend an ancient shaft to a watery tomb.[2]
Story[]
Route Markers[]
The order of departure from Catherine's Palace are as follows:
- Chip & Kim (9:11 am)
- Colin & Christie (9:42 am)
- Marshall & Lance (10:09 am)
- Charla & Mirna (10:13 am)
- Brandon & Nicole (11:50 am)
- Linda & Karen (12:14 pm)
- Kami & Karli (12:50 pm)
Teams take a train back to Saint Petersburg and find the Hermitage Museum. At the museum, teams must find the The Return of the Prodigal Son by Rembrandt. Once they have found the painting, the curator would hand them their next clue.
Teams must fly to Cairo, Egypt and find the Tower of Cairo once they land. At the tower, teams must go to the top to find their next clue.
The Fast Forward instructions were given to teams after finding their clue at the Tower of Cairo. Teams must make their way to Pharaonic Village and find a marked sarcophagus, which they would have to transport through the village, board a ferry to cross the Nile river, and to a temple on Qorsaya Island. Once they handed it over to the priest, they would receive the Fast Forward award. Colin & Christie won the Fast Forward.
Teams must make their way to the Giza pyramid complex in Giza Plateau and follow the path marked by yellow rocks to the Osiris Shaft, where they would find their next clue.
At the Osiris Shaft, teams would have the option to Yield a team. None of the teams opted to use the Yield, and was left unaired.
"Who's up for going down?"
The team member assigned to perform this Roadblock must climb a long ladder down into the depths of the Osiris Shaft, 140 ft below sea level. They must search the pools of water down there for a satchel full of puzzle pieces, which they had to carry back up the ladder to the surface.
The Roadblock performers per team are underlined:
Teams must use the puzzle pieces in the satchel from the Roadblock to build a puzzle on top of a marked area on a provided map. The puzzle had a missing piece, which represented where on the map teams had to go next, at the base of the Pyramid of Khafre.
Choice A: Rock & Roll
Teams must use an ancient Egyptian technique of using round logs to transport a sled carrying two blocks of stone weighing approximately 600 lbs across a marked area the size of a football field to receive their next clue.
Brandon & Nicole, Chip & Kim, Kami & Karli, Linda & Karen, and Marshall & Lance chose this task.
Choice B: Hump & Ride
Teams must travel a short distance and then choose horses and two camels. They had to load carpets onto the camels, and then rode the horses as they guided the camels to a carpet merchant who would hand them their next clue.
Teams must make their way to the Sphinx to check in. For coming last place, Linda & Karen would have to surrender all of their money, and they would not receive any money at the start of the next leg.
Leaderboard[]
First Place • Eliminated • Last placer on a Non-Elimination Leg or continue racing on a No-Rest Leg • Season winner • Season 2nd place • Season 3rd place • ► Used the Fast Forward• > Used the Yield • < Recipient of the Yield
Colin & Christie
Dating |
Charla & Mirna
Cousins |
Brandon & Nicole
Dating Models |
Chip & Kim
Married Parents |
Marshall & Lance
Brothers |
Kami & Karli
Twins |
Linda & Karen
Bowling Moms |
Trivia[]
- This leg marks the first time that The Amazing Race visits the country of Egypt.
- This episode marks the first time that a team is given a penalty for finishing last on a Non-Elimination Leg.
- The episode title is said by Brandon Davidson to Nicole O'Brian while they were figuring out the next clue with the puzzle and the map after Brandon completed the Roadblock.
- This is the first time a team arrived at the Pit Stop first before any other team has arrived at the Pit Stop's country.
- This was the first visit in Africa since "I'm a Much Better Liar Than You Are" in The Amazing Race 3.
Reception[]
- Al Rios at TARflies (08/04/2004): "Clown Al Reports!"
- Korey Karnes at Chicago Tribune (08/06/2004): "Race is amazing"
References[]
| The Amazing Race 5 Episodes |
|---|
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"Clearly, I'm More Intelligent than You" · "It Turned Ugly Just Now" · "I Got Electrocuted" · "Who Says Pageant Girls Don't Eat?" · "Are You Good at Puzzles?" · "Why Can't We Get a Camel?" · "Are You Sure This Is Safe?" · "I'm Going to Jail" · "If You're Gonna Whine, Just Shut Up!" · "If They're Screwing the Helmet to My Head, It Can't Be Good" · "It's Okay, Run Them Over!" · "You've Just Made Me a Millionaire" |