The long-running conflict between Colin and Mirna reached its climax at the Cairo International Airport as Teams searched for the fastest route to Nairobi, Kenya. Dating couple Colin & Christie formed an alliance with three other Teams with hopes of eliminating cousins Charla & Mirna, whose only allies were the bowling moms Linda & Karen. In Africa, Colin & Christie and married parents Chip & Kim led the way through the Detour, but Chip propelled his Team to a win at the Roadblock, where he ate an ostrich egg faster than Colin. In the end, because of a risky strategy resulting in a delayed flight, Charla & Mirna couldn't catch up and became the sixth Team eliminated from THE AMAZING RACE.
OUT OF EGYPT
Departing the Pit Stop at Crocodile Island in first place at 5:33am, dating couple Colin & Christie opened their clue to discover they must take any flight on Egypt Air to Cairo. The first flight departed at 7am, with the second departing three hours later. In Cairo, Teams needed to find the quickest flight to Nairobi, Kenya, where they must sign up for a charter flight to a mystery location. On their current standing, Christie remarked, "We are trying not to get too confident. You can come in first one leg, and you can be eliminated the very next leg."
Leaving almost 30 minutes later, Chip & Kim headed to Luxor Airport, with Kim commenting, "Chip and I feel that we can really win this Race now. We're working together. We're doing everything right now." Chip added, "It's more brain power than brawn. That's what it's going to take to win this Race."
Departing two minutes later, twins Kami & Karli noted, "I feel, now that we're in third place, we actually have a chance to come in first place. We just have to be in control of what we're doing."
As Colin & Christie arrived at Luxor Airport, dating Christians Brandon & Nicole left the Pit Stop. About how his religion played a role in the Race, Brandon said, "I put my confidence and trust in the Lord, not necessarily assuming that it's in His plan for Nicki and me to win. But you never know."
As Chip & Kim and Kami & Karli arrived at Luxor Airport, Charla & Mirna left Crocodile Island, remarking, "People don't underestimate us anymore. Maybe they even overestimate us. I think some of them are so scared that they think we're too capable. We're having a good time, and we're not going to let anyone take that away from us." Calling on a cell phone from their taxi, a disappointed Mirna discovered that the first Egypt Air flight departed at 7am, giving them only twenty minutes to get to the airport, a near impossibility.
Departing the Pit Stop minutes behind the cousins, Linda & Karen tried to dig their way out of last place once again. Commenting on their situation, Linda said, "I'm trying to keep an upbeat attitude the whole time, and I'm trying to cheer Karen up and keep me up. It's tough."
With Brandon & Nicole arriving at Luxor Airport and nabbing tickets on the 7am flight with Colin & Christie, Chip & Kim and Kami & Karli, only Charla & Mirna and Linda & Karen lagged behind. The two trailing Teams received a huge break when the Egypt Air flight was delaying 30 minutes, allowing enough time for them to get tickets with the other four Teams. Charla quipped, "Everything's always delayed in this country."
OUT OF THE WAY!
Landing in Cairo, all six Teams raced frantically in taxis to the New International Airport to determine the fastest way to Kenya. Arriving at the terminal first, Kami & Karli ran in first. While waiting for Colin to pay their cab driver, Christie stood in the doorway, blocking the path for Charla & Mirna. While Charla managed to sneak under Christie, Mirna asked Christie to move aside. When Christie didn't move, Mirna snapped, "Bitch, get out of the way!" While Christie joked to the twins about her behavior, Charla complained, "Christie was blocking the airport doors as if she has control over the whole airport." Mirna added to the bowling moms, "Even though they're the scum of the earth, they think they own the earth."
Colin & Christie, seeing a potential opportunity, asked the twins, Brandon & Nicole and Chip & Kim to join them in an alliance, agreeing not to share information with Charla & Mirna, with the hope of eliminating them. Christie threatened her short-term alliance partners, warning, "If you're in, we all share information. If you're not in, you get no information." On the opposing side, Linda & Karen opted to join with the cousins, commenting, "I know Colin & Christie are good. But, damn it, Charla & Mirna are better."
With battle lines drawn, Teams searched for the best flight to Kenya. At Swiss Air, Colin discovered a flight for his alliance departing for Nairobi late the following evening. Mirna led her troops to Gulf Air, where she found a considerably better flight to Nairobi, connecting through Abu Dhabi and arriving at 6:30 the next morning. The triumphant cousins and bowling moms tried their best to conceal their location and information, but eventually Colin and his alliance discovered them at Gulf Air, prompting Mirna to quip, "Followers, back again."
As Charla & Mirna and Linda & Karen boarded their flight, putting them in the lead, the twins fumed, "Colin is an idiot. That Swiss decision was the stupidest decision any of us have ever made." For their part, Colin & Christie tried their hardest to get themselves and the other Teams on the Gulf Air flight that was preparing for takeoff. Luckily for them, there was room for the remaining four Teams on the flight, much to the chagrin of Mirna, who said, "I felt genuinely terrible."
Landing in Bahrain for a short layover, Charla & Mirna attempted once again to propel themselves and the bowling moms ahead of the pack by taking an alternate flight through Dubai instead of Abu Dhabi, which would arrive in Nairobi thirty minutes ahead of the other Teams. Landing in Dubai, the plucky cousins and bowling moms received a nasty shock when they learned that their connecting flight was delayed, causing them to fall behind the other Teams connecting through Abu Dhabi.
Landing in the Nairobi Airport, Teams had to sign up for one of three charter flights to the mystery location: 8am, 8:45am or 9:30am. Getting a jump off the plane, Colin & Christie and Chip & Kim got onto the 8am charter, while Kami & Karli and Brandon & Nicole took the 8:45am flight. All four Teams cheered excitedly upon realizing that the cousins and bowling moms had not yet arrived in Nairobi. Finally, as the first charter plane took off, Linda & Karen and Charla & Mirna landed and signed up for the 9:30am charter.
AFRICAN SAFARI
"Unbelievable. We're really in Africa," marveled Chip, as the charter flight containing himself, Kim and Colin & Christie landed in Kilimanjaro, Tanzania. Opening their clue at the Route Marker just outside the airport, the two Teams discovered they needed to take a bus 70 miles to the town of Mto Wa Mbu to find their next clue. On the bus, Kim commented, "I've always wanted to come to Africa, ever since I was a little girl learning about my history, my heritage. Just to be here means so much."
While Kami & Karli and Brandon & Nicole faced more difficulties, as well as a higher fee, in hiring a bus, Colin & Christie and Chip & Kim swiftly arrived in Mto Wa Mbu to discover a Detour. In this Detour, Teams had to choose between "Buzzing" and "Busy." Teams choosing Buzzing had to ride a bicycle to a honey farm, put on beekeeper suits and work together to harvest 2 kilograms of honey from traditional African hives. Teams would be covered with hundreds of African bees, but if they overcame their fear, they could finish quickly. Teams opting for Busy must find a furniture store, load two chairs onto a traditional cart and deliver them to a specific address in town. While there was nothing scary about the task, finding the correct address in the rural town could take a long time.
Not wanting to mess with bees, both Teams opted for Busy. With different delivery addresses for the furniture, Chip and Colin asked locals which addresses were closest, and the Teams began to push the carts loaded with chairs. With help from locals, both Teams managed to deliver their cargo to the correct addresses and receive their next clue, directing them to the nearby village of Kibaoni to search for the Kavishe Hotel, the location of their next Route Marker.
On the bus ride to Mto Wa Mbu, trouble brewed for the twins and Brandon & Nicole when the bus ran out of gas. The unplanned stop alongside the road allowed Charla & Mirna and Linda & Karen to pass them in their bus. After having to pay for the fuel, the dating Christians and the twins hit the road again, now in last place. Because of an unplanned bathroom stop for the bus carrying the cousins and bowling moms, the twins and dating Christians passed back to regain their slim lead. Arriving in Mto Wa Mbu caused more difficulties for the dating Christians when the pair refused to pay their driver the full one hundred dollar fare because they had already pitched in for gas. While Brandon & Nicole began reading their Detour clue, the driver stood next to them, insisting on receiving full payment, tapping Nicole to get their attention again. Finally relenting, a furious Nicole threw down the additional ten dollars, shouting, "You know what? Here's your ten more! Get it!" With a potentially dangerous situation averted, the dating Christians chose to deliver the furniture, as did the twins.
EGG-CELLENT ADVENTURE
As Charla & Mirna and Linda & Karen disembarked their bus and chose the Busy Detour, Colin & Christie arrived at the Kavishe Hotel to discover a Roadblock. In this Roadblock, one Team member had to open an ostrich egg, cook a portion of it equal to two dozen chicken eggs and eat it all to receive their next clue. Since Christie ate caviar in Russia, Colin volunteered to eat for his Team. After a few mistakes in transferring his egg from the bowl to the frying pan, a frustrated Colin began cooking his egg, just as Chip & Kim arrived. As Chip cooked his egg, Kim noted, "That's your specialty: scrambled eggs
As the remaining four Teams completed the Detour and closed in on the hotel, Chip and Colin sat down to the bountiful feast of eggs. While Chip made caviar look like ice cream, he had a more difficult time with the eggs, explaining that they can't just be swallowed, but must be chewed as well. Colin, unhappy with the consistency of his eggs, heated them again on the skillet in hopes that they would be more palatable. Chip continued to power through his plate of eggs and finished while Colin's plate still remained full. Chip & Kim opened their clue, which instructed them to walk to the valley's edge and take a zipline, known as a flying fox, over a gorge 230 feet deep. Once they reached the other side, they had to run to the Lake Manyara lookout, a watering hole for Africa's wildlife and the Pit Stop for this leg of the Race.
With the arrival of the other four Teams at the Roadblock, Christie became worried as she watched her Team's lead slowly slip away as Colin struggled to choke down the eggs. Karen dug into her pile of scrambled eggs in hopes of catching Colin, while Brandon and Kami got off to a slow start. Lagging behind, Charla began cooking her egg while her partner Mirna suggested how healthy the egg will be for her.
Taking the zipline across the gorge, Chip & Kim arrived at the Pit Stop in first place. Host Phil Keoghan informed Chip & Kim that, as winners of the seventh leg of the Race, they had won a vacation to Latin America, compliments of American Airlines website, AA.com.
ELIMINATION
Choking down the last bites of his egg, Colin ran out of the hotel with Christie, leading the pair to a second place finish. Now fueled by a chance to finally get ahead, Karen beat the remaining Teams at the Roadblock as the bowling moms celebrated a third-place finish, followed by Brandon & Nicole in fourth place.
It came down to an eating race between Kami and Charla. Twin Karli commanded, "Don't look at it, Kami! Just shovel it in your face!" To a weary Charla, Mirna cheered, "You're doing a really good job. You're almost finished." In the end, Kami, using as much water as possible to choke down the eggs, ate her entire plate while Charla still had several bites left. For Kami's effort, the twins earned a fifth-place victory, once again narrowly avoiding a last-place finish.
After enjoying the gorgeous view on the zipline, Charla & Mirna stepped onto the mat in last place, where Phil informed them they were eliminated from THE AMAZING RACE. On her experience, Charla remarked, "I just wanted to prove to the world how much I can do, and it's not easy when there's…always people thinking you can't do it and you have to work extra hard to do it…[but] you have to do it. You have to accomplish your dreams." A teary Phil told Charla, "You have an amazing spirit." On her one-of-a-kind cousin Mirna, Charla added, "She's just an amazing person to be around and to have as a cousin. I just love her."
:':') :':')