The teams receive a clue taking them from their Pit Stop at the La Moset Church to Arequipa, also known as the white city, where they must find a shoe union. After some jockeying for position, all teams end up taking the same ten hour bus ride and one racer pays the driver to open only the front doors when they arrive. Once at the shoe union, the teams do a Roadblock that requires them to shine five pairs of shoes and earn five Peruvian sols. Some teams use charm to complete the task quickly, while others find it hard to convince the locals to stop. The next clue sends the teams on two different flights to Santiago, Chile, leaving and arriving 45 minutes apart. Once in Chile, the teams do a Detour: Shop or Schlep. Several teams choose Schlep, which involves hauling 180 books eight blocks, while the remaining teams choose to Shop for five different ingredients at local markets. Strategy comes into play as the teams figure out the best way to complete the tasks and one team has a run-in with locals over apparent dishonesty. In the end, it's another close finish, with only seconds separating the ninth place team and the one that's eliminated.
A new group of teams takes off from Long Beach, California on two flights to Lima, Peru. The new teams include "Survivor couple" Rob and Amber, son and mother Susan and Patrick and pals Ryan and Chuck, among others. Once in Peru, the teams follow clues taking them many miles to various destinations and exploring the country and its mountains. Tasks include riding ziplines and traveling by several forms of local transportation. Several teams fall behind after carelessly not searching carefully before locking in times on a task that put them behind the rest of the pack. Many teams express a desire to outfox, outwit and outrace Rob and Amber. A Detour, Rope a Llama or Rope a Basket, gives teams a choice of either leading llamas into pins or carrying heavy baskets two-thirds of a mile. Some teams struggle with the llamas, while other teams breeze through their chosen task. A true photo finish of mere seconds sends one team home.
The four remaining teams take off from the previous Pit Stop in Shanghai and receive a clue telling them to travel by train 800 miles to Xi'an where they must then find the Drum Tower. They then take part in a Detour which involves either choosing the Spray task (traveling 34 miles and then spray-painting a car) or the Scroll task (traveling 31 miles and searching for Chinese characters in bolts of fabric.) All teams choose to spray the cars and then travel 40 miles to the Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses Museum. One team misdirects another but in the end, all travel to a Roadblock at the North Peak where one team member must be very methodical to find a key to a lock. Some team members allow themselves to become extremely frustrated, leading to a surprise for this leg. One team is penalized for not attempting to complete the Roadblock and are eliminated leaving
the final three.
The four remaining teams take off from Lion's Rock in Sri Lanka and learn that they must fly to Shanghai, China. The teams catch the same flights via Hong Kong and then through to Shanghai which arrives later that night. The teams face communication difficulties while trying to grab taxis to get to Yu Yuan Gardens. The teams eventually arrive and discover that they must wait until the next morning for it to open. The teams are then instructed to make their way by taxi to Huaneng Union Tower where one team decides to use the third and final Yield on another. Next, a Roadblock has team members lowering down a building while making sure to locate a hidden message printed half way down and then teams must use this to reveal to a man at the bottom to get their next clue. Next, the teams travel by taxis to the Monument of the People's Heroes on Shanghai's most popular mile, the Bund. There, teams must search through a group of Tai Chi performers for the one with their next clue. Teams then make their way to the docks of Shanghai where they encounter a Detour. One involves "Bricks," a more physical task, while other as "Ice" which requires transporting ice and then breaking it into small parts. No one chose to do "Ice." The teams then rush to get to the next Pit Stop, the Peace Hotel South. In the end, one team is only just late by a few minutes and arrives last. Although fearing the worst, they are not eliminated, as this is the last of three pre-determined non-elimination legs. However, Phil tell us someone will fall victim to the final elimination on the next leg.
The five remaining teams receive a clue in Ethiopia telling them to travel by a charter flight to Addis Ababa and then make their way to the Ethiopian stadium. Once there, all teams take part in a four-person relay race, teaming up with pairs of Ethiopian runners. Next, the teams make their way to Colombo in Sri Lanka, 3,600 miles away. There, the teams make their way by tuk tuk to their next clue where they encounter a Detour - "Tree Trunks" or "Elephant Trunks." Most teams complete "Tree Trunks" which involves climbing and careful balancing. The "Elephant Trunks" task requires patience while playing croquet and riding on an elephant. Once completed, the teams make their way to Kandi and from there, a clue tells them to make their way to Lion Rock. In this Roadblock, one person must climb a thousand steps to the top of a mountain and then use binoculars to search for the location of the next Pit Stop. After another very unfortunate mistake, one team is eliminated from the race, leaving only four remaining.
The teams continue from their Pit Stop on the island of Corsica, France to the town of Nice by ferry, where they then receive a clue telling them to get to Addis Ababa in Africa by plane.
The teams tussle for flights at the airport, but chartered planes place them all no more than within a half-hour's distance of each other.
Once in Addis Ababa, they receive a clue telling them that they must direct their taxi drivers to Lewz Village. Once they accomplish this, they find a Detour that involves two Ethiopian activities: Raise the Roof or Mud the Flat. In Raise the Roof, teams must carry a thatched roof two-thirds of a mile with the help of locals. In Mud the hut, teams had to successfully mud a hut until it was completely covered with mud. The first option seems to be the faster choice as one team member injures herself by cutting her fingers while Mudding the hut. Another person suffers from a mild asthma attack.
The six remaining teams continue from their Pit Stop in Budapest, Hungary, where they receive a clue telling them to find the area's largest wine cast. Once they find that, they must travel to the city of Ajaccio on the island of Corsica. some teams experience flight difficulties, but all teams manage to make the same flight in the end. Once in Corsica the teams had to find the room where Napoleon was born. When they arrive teams discovered that it didn't open until the next morning so they slept on the beach. After it opens, teams discover the second of only two Fast Forwards on the race. In order to retrieve the Fast Forward award, both team members must walk the ocean floor wearing special diving suits to find the clue hidden in a trap underneath the water. Two teams try the Fast Forward, with one eventually claiming it and scoring a special plane ride.
The teams receive a clue over the Internet at the Net Klub Cafe and opening times allow Lori and Bolo to catch up.
The race continues at the Heritage Rail Museum where one racer is sent into a fury after being hit in the head by a gate. Once teams were signed in by order of departure, they had to ride a train down an old track to receive their next clue. Teams discover a Fast Forward clue, this is is the first of only two on this season and teams were could only use it once during the race. In this Fast Forward teams had to take part in the Legend of the Vampire, drink a glass of pig's blood in order to retrieve the Fast Forward award. One team successfully completed it allowing them to go directly to the next Pit Stop.
A holiday clip show reviews the season so far and gives viewers a look at never before seen footage, including material that builds on previous scenes and completely new material, such as:
- A team loses a clue within the first few minutes of the race
- A team puts on make-up in preparation for meeting Phil at the Pit Stop, as they consider him a act
- A starving team member uses her looks to gain free food
- Struggling with the "notoriously unreliable local cars," many teams have trouble filling up the gas tanks
The remaining seven teams continue racing in Germany where a Roadblock has them bungee-jumping. One team-member nearly passes out from exhaustion but is okay and continues on with the race. The teams fly next 450 miles to Budapest, Hungary. Once there, hijinks ensue when the teams are forced to travel in local cars that are notorious for their unreliability. Many teams have breakdowns and are forced to get new cars, or have mechanical work done. Once they've navigated their way, they arrive at a Detour: Catapault Crash or Cannonball Run. Immediately, the second Detour proves to be much easier than the first. After the teams complete the Detour, they receive a clue telling them to catch a train into Budapest, then travel by taxi to the Net Klub Internet Cafe where they'll receive an online clue. By the end of the episode, one team couldn't catch a train into Budapest until the next day so they were far behind. The other six teams had arrived at the cafe, which hadn't yet opened.
