Here we are again, starting out this time in Vilnius, Lithuania. Karma really caught up to the blondes last week when they were eliminated after leading to the demise of Lorena and Jason. Will the same fate await Jen and Nate, the couple who can’t stop shrieking at one another? Only time will tell.

So, onto the recap. TK and Rachel came in first last time, so they were the first to leave — To Dubrovnik, Croatia! Dubrovnik has been on my list of must-see places so I am oh-so-jealous, but at least I get to experience it vicariously. When they arrived at the airport, TK and Rachel found Internet right away and waved Kynt and Vyxsin over. I thought this was a nice thing to do, and TK and Rachel talked about how their laid-back style isn’t a tactic — they are really like that. I believe it.

Once the rest of the teams arrived at the airport, it became a war of line-ups — TK and Rachel lined up in front of one ticket office, while Kynt and Vyxsin ended up at another. Other teams lined up behind TK and Rachel, but then most went over to join the goths — a move that they ended up regretting because TK and Rachel and Nick and Donald ended up on the first flight out. But in a stroke of bad luck, the first flight out ended up being delayed to the two teams ended up missing their connector flight in Prague. My heart totally sunk for them.

Another stroke of bad luck? Azaria and Hendekea ended up getting booked into business class on their flight out of Lithuania. According to the rules, they’re only allowed to take economy. They tried to change it at the last minute but since the flight was leaving in 10 minutes, they were out of luck. Bummer.

Here’s something that got me thinking: Christina and Ronald got ahead by calling and reserving tickets on the first flight before they left their hotel. Once they arrived at the airport, they gave the phone number to Azaria and Hendekea, saying that they were the only other team they trusted. If I was in this race, I don’t think they’d be the team I trusted — they seem like the type who would do anything to get ahead, hard feelings be darned. My trusted team would be TK and Rachel — they seem like the type who would play fair, regardless of whether it cost them the race. What do you think?

Once in Croatia, Ronald and Christina were in first. Their first task was to fit a rock into a damaged wall, then they headed to the Fort of St Lawrence, where they had to take a zipline-type thing across the harbour. Once again, I was so jealous — it looked like a blast. Hmph.

So once at the Fort of St. Lawrence, teams have a choice between doing a task that is low on physical exertion but takes some brains (navigating the city) (I would so have rocked this since I have a killer sense of direction); or a task that requires little thought but lots of physical exertion (rowing around the city in a traditional fishing boat, complete with skinny little oars.) Ronald and Christina, who were in first, chose the physical task, which I thought was odd because of the whole hernia thing. In any case, they still beat second-place team Nate and Jen, so I guess it worked for them.

Speaking of Nate and Jen, here’s a recap of their interaction this episode: fight fight fight fight shriek I hate you fight fight yell fight scream fight. You get the point. There was a funny little scene where Ronald and Christina were talking about how important the team relationship is to the game, and then it cut to Jen telling Nate that she hates him with a passion. Okayyyyy, then. For me, they’re the couple I love to hate — they provide some great drama to the show, but I always let out a squeal of delight when they experience some sort of setback.

The pit stop was the stone cross on the outskirts of the city. After the rowing adventures, Ronald and Christina and Jen and Nate were fighting for a taxi simultaneously. The taxi driver refused to take Jen and Nate because they were a bit wet from the boat, but he took Christina and Ronald. Which, of course, led to Jen having a breakdown — not just about the game but about her relationship with Nate. She even went on to say that she didn’t know if they would be together after the show. I can’t say I blame her though — I don’t know if I could be with a man who called it Dubrovneeeak either. When they arrived at the pit stop, even Phil couldn’t keep quiet — he remarked on their lack of affection when they shared a handshake rather than a hug. Yikes.

Ronald and Christina made it to the pit stop first and won a catamaran. Jen and Nate came in second and–get this– had to go back because they took an illegal form of transportation (I guess it wasn’t a real taxi?) So Kynt and Vyxsin got second place in their matching hot pink cowboy hats, while Jen and Nate ended up with third place. As Ronald and Christina were claiming first, TK and Rachel seemed to just be arriving in Croatia, followed by Donald and Nick and Azaria and Hendekea. TK and Rachel claimed fourth place after mastering all of the tasks.

The last five minutes were wrought with suspense — Azaria and Hendekea were right on the tail of Donald and Nick. Then the taxi encountered a traffic jam and I screamed at the TV. But after the traffic jam was fixed, it was apparent that Nick and Donald were going to make it in under the wire, and Phil had to break the news to our favourite over-achievers, Azaria and Hendekea, that they were being eliminated. To be honest, I wasn’t really sad to see them go, but I was surprised — they were certainly one of the strongest teams.

But it was Dubrovnik that was the real star of this show — every team commented that it was the most beautiful place they’d visited. I’ve heard this before and it’s only heightened my desire to go. Next summer? Anyone?

(All photos from the Amazing Race’s official website)