The Amazing Race

- Season 5

(2004)

Eleven teams leave Santa Monica Pier and make their way to Montevideo, Uruguay, where they must locate a statue known as the "hand in the sand." In Uruguay, teams must carry a side of beef one-half mile, and then face the detour of "zips or chips" (zip lining from a hotel roof or playing roulette) before arriving at the pit stop.

The teams head to Montevideo in Uruguay, where they visit a foam discoteque and pop rubber balls to find clues. They all end up in the same ferry and feel the pressure of being bunched together after having been in various positions. They travel to Buenos Aires, where they take part in a Detour, Perro or Tango, in which you have to choose between walking eight dogs for about a mile, or instead first travel about a mile and a half for the Tango. In the Tango, the teams receive a photo and then try to identify one man from a group of people dancing the tango. The Tango ...

The teams travel from the La Portena pit stop to San Carlos de Bariloche by plane. There, after finding the mayor, they participate in a Roadblock that involves finding one of twenty chocolates with white filling from a group of 11,000. Marshall and Lance struggle with the challenge, while Jim and Marsha fall behind after catching a late flight. After completing the Roadblock, the teams head to a scenic mountain for the Detour. Though given a choice between Smooth Sailing (paragliding) and Rough Riding (mountain biking six miles), all teams choose the much faster ...

The eight teams receive a clue telling them to get from the Pit Stop to the Battleship Aurora--its guns signaled the start of the Russian Revolution. The trip is long, with a 20-hour bus ride followed by an 8,000 mile flight to Russia. The jockeying and bickering immediately begin at the bus station, but some patient planning pays off for a few teams who take a later bus that makes less stops and then visit a travel agent. Some unfortunate airport luck leaves Bob and Joyce catching a later flight and striving to remain in the race. In St. Petersburg, Russia, the teams...

The teams start at the Pit Stop, Catherine's Palace, where they're then directed to head to St. Petersburg and find a painting in an art museum: Rembrandt's The Return of the Prodigal Son. The teams are then instructed to fly 2,000 miles to Cairo, Egypt. The teams consider their flight options and Colin and Christie score big by doing their research. They score a flight that arrives many hours before the others and Fast Forward into the lead with a task that involves transporting a sarcophagus. They check in to a nice lead at the Great Sphinx. The other teams arrive ...

The teams continue racing in Egypt, logging more flight time as they head to the Karnak Temple. Colin and Christie find that opening times cause their large lead to evaporate, but they manage to get in some much-needed extra sleep. The teams participate in a Detour Herd It or Haul it. The herding involves traveling five miles and then herding sheep and goats, while the hauling is a three mile trip and then hauling water on a slow donkey. Although only two teams choose the hauling option, it seems to be the faster. The teams then participate in a Roadblock in which one...

The teams travel from Crocodile Island to Nairobi, Kenya, where anticipation builds at the idea of traveling to a Mystery Location. After high tension at an airport, two teams book what they hope will be a faster flight, but find that a delay places them in the back of the pack. Once in Kenya, the teams take buses to a Detour: Buzzing or Busy. The Buzzing option is potentially faster and involves collecting honey from a hive of bees, while the Busy option involves furniture delivery. All teams opt to stay away from the bees and deliver the furniture. They then make ...

The teams get in a cab race for charter flights, and Colin becomes upset when his driver takes him to the airport on a spare tire that ends up going flat. He tries to pay only half of a hundred dollar fare, but ends up paying the entire thing when the driver threatens legal action. Linda and Karen end up on a very late flight, but all teams find that the flight order didn't matter so much when they get to their destination and learn that there's a large break until the opening time of 8 A.M. The teams all travel to the port of Dubai, where they find themselves with a ...

In this leg of the race, the teams travel from Dubai to Calcutta, India. Linda and Karen find themselves facing the law this time over a cab dispute, but with a far different reason and resolution than that of the Colin and Christie situation in the previous episode. Once in Calcutta, all teams initially take part in a brick-making Roadblock. When it proves an especially rough challenge for one team, they try opting for the Fast Forward, only to balk when they find it invovles shaving their heads. Therefore, all teams participate in the Heavy but Short / Light But ...

The teams receive a clue telling them to travel over 6,000 miles from Calcutta, India to Auckland, New Zealand. Then, they must drive an additional 220 miles to Rotorua, New Zealand. Flight struggles initially put one team behind, but then confusion over directions moves them into a surprise lead. The teams take part in a Detour: Clean or Dirty. The Clean option involves a scary water rafting trip, while the Dirty option involves searching for a clue in hot mud. Colin and Christie, Linda and Karen, and Chip and Kim choose the Clean option, while Brandon and Nicole and...

The teams take off from the Pit Stop in New Zealand to the Westhaven Marina, where they face a Roadblock that involves scaling heights and then doing a controlled leap into a boat. Afterwards, the teams receive a clue telling them to travel over 5,000 miles to Manila, Philippines. One team lands seats on a flight that they hope will put them far ahead, but finds that flight delays and a missed connection place them together with the rest of the teams. Once in the Philippines, the teams take a part in a task to decorate jeepnees, a remnant of the American World War II ...

The mistake of one team costs them dearly, but in the end, a Roadblock that involves rapelling up a high cliff proves the undoing of another. The remaining teams head into the final leg, which finds them all on a flight to Calgary, Alberta, Canada. There, they all struggle to hike up a long hill and then receive a clue telling them to head to Olympic Park. There, they face a detour: Slide or Ride, in which they must either complete a luge course in 34 seconds, or complete a challenging biking course in three minutes. One team attempts and fails the bike course, but ...