BWW Recap: THE AMAZING RACE Glides into Africa

Remember last week, when I was talking about how THE AMAZING RACE typically involves gritty, more...shall we say "Earthy" challenges than those that took place amidst the glitz and glam of Monaco? Those classic "get your hands dirty" challenges are back tonight - with a vengenace.

Teams leave the glow of Monaco behind them and travel to the deserts of Namibia for the this week's leg of the Race.

Sorry, did I say "leg," as in, "one leg?" I meant to say "legs." That's right, people, this week's episode is a two-hour special, featuring two glorious legs of the Race! Guess they decided to make up for time that they lost when they took those few weeks off!

Whatever the reason, it's sure to be an eventful night for Race fans.

Join me here for tonight's two hour episode of THE AMAZING RACE! I'll be live recapping the West Coast premiere, and I'll also be on Twitter @CourtHenley if you want to hang there! Let's watch teams struggle in foreign lands together!

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8:06 : I've never wanted a team to mess up a leg more than I want Hayley and Blair to mess up this leg. Seriously. I can't stand her.

In other news, Namibia looks GORGEOUS. I'm not gonna lie, I never knew it was so pretty.

8:08 : Oh. Shocking. Hayley encounters one minor setback and she's already yelling at Blair. Give it a break, Hayley. It's getting old and nobody likes you.

8:10 : If I had to fly on a bush plane, I'd probably throw up. Sure, I'd try to appreciate the scenery, but once you have a fear of flying, you really don't ever get over it. Especially when you're in a tiny, tiny plane.

Aly and Steve make it off their plane first, and they head to the bushman village to pick up their salt lick, whatever that is.

Now THIS is what The Amazing Race is all about. When else in your life are you going to get the opportunity to fly on a bush plane to a bushman village in the middle of Namibia and help a tribe of African bushmen build a shelter? Never, that's when.

8:15 : Mike and Rochelle, come on. I'm a fan of yours, but seriously, if you're going to be on The Amazing Race, you need - I repeat, need - to learn how to drive stick.

8:22 : Seriously, there are teams that didn't get a salt lick...even though the clue specifically said to get a salt lick? Next to learning how to drive stick, reading the clue is another basic Race necessity. Come on, guys. Get your heads in the game!

8:27 : All right, Laura and Tyler, I'll give you that: you made up for lost time and finished that challenge first. You're forgiven. But don't do it again!

And now, the detour: Track vs. Pack. Track requires teams to track elephants, and Pack requires teams to basically feed wild dogs. When in Namibia, I say track the elephants. You can feed dogs meat any ol' time, but when are you going to get another chance to track wild elephants in the African desert?

8:35 : Poor Rochelle. She's trying so hard to finish that hut. You got this, Rochelle!

Also, Hayley, don't yell at Blair for "having an attitude." People in glass houses shouldn't throw stones...

8:40 : Nothing makes me happier than when teams take a minute and really appreciate the environment they're in. Kudos, Aly and Steve.

8:45 : Looks like all the teams that chose Pack over Track are ahead of the game and are already on their way to the pit stop. Maybe I was wrong with my would-be decision.

8:49 : ...Uh oh, a flat.

8:56 : After a fair amount of struggling and a ton of directionally-challenged team mistakes, the first pair climbs (literally) to the Pit Stop: Matt and Ashley. They're followed immediately by Tyler and Laura, who have won yet another date card.

Hayley and Blair are (sadly) the third team to arrive, followed by Jelani and Jenny (who I kind of forget are even still on this show).

Mike and Rochelle are next, which means that Aly and Steve, who left in first place, have come in last. Fortunately, it's a non-elimination leg! They will have to complete a Speed Bump in the next leg, though. Can't wait to see what that entails!

And now on to hour two...

9:06 : Wait - they get to sleep in tents in the African desert and watch the sunset over the mountains?! Consider me jealous.

It's like they're in The Lion King.

9:10 : Keeping in line with the apparent German theme this season (seriously, they've spent a lot of time in Germany), teams are now traveling out of the back country to an area of Africa previously colonized by Germany that still retains many of its traditions.

Oooh, a U-Turn! What a fun twist!

On another note, I know I mentioned that I forget about Jelani and Jenny being on the show, but I (naturally) also forget about the Express Pass. That could come in handy this leg with a U-Turn risk.

But back to scouring the newspaper to find the clue. It's a skydiving place. I was wondering when they were going to throw these guys out of a plane! Skydiving is probably the only thing I'd be truly nervous about doing on the Race. That being said, I'd still do it. A million dollars are at stake, people!

Oh, wiat, what's that? They don't actually have to skydive? Right. Nevermind, then.

Also, allow me to state that I love the fact that the Roaming Gnome is in the plane too. Look at his little scarf flutter in the wind!

9:20 : Looks like I jinxed Jelani and Jenny by saying I forgot about them. They got a flat tire (what is it this week with flat tires?). Whoops?

Back at the challenge, it looks like teams are finishing up this skydiving searching challenge pretty quickly. One thing I don't understand: if Jelani and Jenny are confident the other teams were already finished, and that they are in a fight for last place, wouldn't that give you all the more incentive to use your Express Pass? To guarantee you won't be in last place? Maybe I'm weird, but that seems like the obvious move to me.

9:26 : What a cool Speed Bump! They have to make a toy airplane out of repurposed soda cans!

Detour time! Work (hooking up giant tires) vs. Play (sand skiing). This is another easy choice for me: I'd sand ski in a heartbeat. I've gone sand tobogganing before, and it was basically the coolest thing ever, so I'm all for the sand challenges.

9:38 : Hayley. Be. Quiet.

Kudos to Matt and Ashley for getting to the top. And OH LOOK - sand tobogganing! If you ever in life get a chance to do that, do it. Then do it again.

Laura and Tyler have now finished Play, and, with Matt and Ashley, head to the U-Turn mat.

But wait - Jelani and Jenny are skipping this next bit and using their Express Pass! Something tells me the plan to U-Turn them won't go quite as expected.

9:45 : Unless it goes exactly as planned, and Matt and Ashley U-Turn Jelani and Jenny. Surprisingly, Laura and Tyler U-Turn Aly and Steve. I guess it's so far into the Race that anything goes. I don't know that the U-Turns will matter too much, since Mike and Rochelle are only just getting to the Detour now anyway. Although, if there were ever a challenge built for the Truck Stop gang, this is it.

In other news, teams get to bring an exotic animal to the Pit Stop "just for fun" and that's probably the best thing that's happend on the Race so far this season.

9:50 : Laura and Tyler make it to the Pit Stop first (despite animal complications), followed immediately by Matt and Ashley.

Hayley and Blair brought their camel Dave with them to their third place finish. Can we replace Hayley with Dave please? Great, thanks.

Poor Aly and Steve. They just got to the first Detour, and they don't even know they're U-Turned yet.

9:53 : Did I say poor Aly and Steve? I'd like to add "poor Mike" to that sentence. It's not every day that you get kicked in a not-so-great-spot by a zebra. Regardless, Jelani and Jenny (and Dave again) make it in 4th place, and Mike and Rochelle (who traded in their zebra for a more tame animal) follow in 5th.

I am really sad, though, about Aly and Steve. They were great competitors, and they kept their heads held high the entire time. They also got to stroll to the Pit Stop with Dave! (I'm guessing it was Dave. Is it wrong to assume that every camel is Dave?)

What did you think of tonight's double feature? Are you happy with the team who was eliminated, or would you rather have seen a different team go home? Would you have taken Dave to the Pit Stop, or would you have strolled with a different animal? Let us know in the comments below or on Twitter @CourtHenley!