The teams were introduced and ran to get their assignments, where they found out they were headed from their starting point at the Joint Forces Training Base in Los Alamitos to Switzerland. To get to their first destination, teams had to fly to either Zurich by Lufthansa or to Milan on Air France — and then take a train to Locarno, Switzerland.

Which flight to take?

Lawyer siblings Tammy & Victor, former NFL cheerleaders Jamie & Cara, flight attendants Jodi & Christie, stuntmen Mark & Michael, married couple Brad & Victoria, and mother and son Margie & Luke (who is deaf) all took the Lufthansa flight.

Sisters Kisha & Jennifer, gay father and son Mel & Mike, dating San Diego couple Amanda & Kris, dating South Carolina couple Preston & Jennifer and self-proclaimed hillbillies Steve & Linda all took the Air France flight that departed second. These teams had to find their way to the train station in Milan. During this process, Preston & Jennifer missed their train.

On the scenic train to Locarno

On the train we got to see a little bit of the team’s personalities come through. Tammy & Victor gave props to Margie & Luke’s communication skills. Luke is on ”Amazing Race” because he wants to show that deaf people can do it too. Preston & Jennifer admitted that their relationship is a constant battle for control. On the train they had already started bickering.

“He’s frustrated and I can’t be around a frustrated Preston — it’s annoying,” said Jennifer.

“You say stuff that just irritates me because you don’t think. Maybe you need to control your mouth,” said Preston.

At the beginning of the show, flight attendants Jodie & Christie said they were going to use insider travel tips to win. One example they gave was the observation that blond women in foreign countries can really get away with murder, and the two blonds said they were going to use that to their advantage. They didn’t have to try too hard at that just yet; the team found a woman on the train who said they could follow her to Locarno.

The teams were headed to the Church of San Antonio to get a message from the priest. As each team rolled in, they got maps to their campsite and morning slots for when they’d head out the next day. The later the team got to the church, the later in the morning they’d be leaving. Christi & Jodi were there first. Preston & Jennifer were last.

End-of-day meltdown

At the campfire, the hillbilly team Steve & Linda reviewed their slow day. Linda was in tears.

“You’re just slow and there ain’t a damn thing you could do about it. You couldn’t keep up,” said Steve.

“I’m sorry about that… I can’t run, I feel really bad about it,” said Linda. “I’m tired”

“Everyone else is too,” interrupted Steve.

“But they don’t have their husbands yelling at them about it either,” said Linda. “I just don’t know what to do… I want to stay in this race really bad.”

Race to the Verzasca Dam, Switzerland

Teams interpreted a “Wish you were here” postcard and raced to the Verzasca Dam to get their next clue. The flight attendants lost some time waiting for a cab, while the former cheerleaders went to restaurant to catch a cab and the father and son team found a taxi by a church.

Once they got to the dam they found out that one member of each team had to bungee jump 70 stories to get their next clue. This reportedly is the second-highest bungee jump in the world. Victor was the first to take the leap. Luke signed “I’m scared now that I look down,” but after the jump he signed,  “That was so cool, I loved it.”

After the jump, teams found out the next clue directed them to take a train to Interlaken.

The cheese challenge

Once in Interlaken, the race led the teams to a “cheese challenge” at Kleine Rugen Wiese. They were told to take an antique cheese rack and climb to the top of the hill, then transport cheese from the aging shed to the bottom of the hill. When teams had stacked 200 pounds of cheese, they’d get their next clue. There was a lot of mud on the hill, making it a slippery slope. Margie’s cheese fell off her rack and got away from her, and Luke’s eventually did too. Racks were breaking all over the place with cheese rolling down the steep hill right and left. Mel got his cheese down the hill by sliding down on his butt.

Meanwhile, some teams hopped in taxis and headed toward the Pit Stop, while the other half of the teams headed up the hill to move the cheese. Many were falling down. The country bumpkin husband and wife team smartly loaded the rack and pushed it down the hill, while others tried to carry theirs. Preston’s cheese got the most speed of any of the runaway cheese wheels.

Yodelers lead contestants to the Pit Stop

Mother and son team Margie & Luke made it to the yodelers first and won a Puerto Vallarta vacation package. Here’s how the rest of the teams lined up.

1. Margie & Luke
2. Tammy & Victor
3. Mark & Michael
4. Mel & Mike
5. Amanda & Kris
6. Brad & Victoria
7. Jaime & Cara
8. Kisha & Jen
9. Steve & Linda
10. Christie & Jodi
11. Preston & Jennifer (eliminated)
— Jen Leo, Los Angeles Times Travel & Deal blogger
[Photos: cbs.com]

source: Los Angeles times