Amazing Race Canada S10 — Leg 2 Recap! The Sunshine Coast
THIS ONE WAS AN EMOTIONAL THRILLER for us! If you’d like to read a long, in depth race recap from our perspective, have a read below!
We started off leg 2 in Niagara Falls, where we ended leg 1. We were still pretty stunned from the exhilaration of the first leg. We were buzzing off our 4th place finish and wondering if we could climb up a few places and improve on it.
There is nothing quite like the first leg, with all the anticipation, excitement and curiosity of what to expect. Once you’re IN IT and you get that first taste, you really need to mentally prepare yourself to encounter anything. The challenges are so random and you can be required to do absolutely anything.
We tried to prepare ourselves the best we could leading up the race based on the previous Amazing Race Canada seasons, which definitely helped but still isn’t enough. I bet you can ask any team in history and they’ll tell you it’s impossible to be fully prepared for everything the race throws your way. There’s always going to be a task or challenge that you have absolutely no experience or skill doing, but that’s the whole fun of it! How quick can you learn something, how quick can you pick-up a new skill, how do you perform under stress and pressure, and how do you communicate or support each other as teammates? There’s nothing we’ve ever seen in a previous season and said “we can’t do that” or “we’d never do that.” BUT there are DEFINITELY challenges we know would be extremely tough or we’d have some trouble doing. Boy did we encounter those in leg 2! Even so, we’ve always been excited at the thought of testing ourselves in these types of challenges, and overcoming obstacles, and it makes it sweeter knowing we get to work together and accomplish it as a team.
We’ve always felt like we are one of the strongest teams. Not only on the Amazing Race Canada but also in our every day life as a couple. You can’t break us, and together we feel unstoppable. We were excited going into leg 2 with another opportunity to prove that we could be the best in this race. This leg ended up proving something much different, and something so incredibly valuable: resilience and trust in one another.
Being from Ontario, we were really excited to get out of the province and we were hoping we’d get to go somewhere new in leg 2. Another big reason we wanted to be on the Amazing Race Canada was to explore and travel across our incredible country! Canada is so beautiful and there are so many amazing places to see and go. In leg 2, we got to see a few of these places!
ROUTE INFO
Rip the clue… where are we going !?!? FLY TO VANCOUVER BRITISH COLUMBIA and make your way to the SUNSHINE COAST! Note: there are 3 express passes up for grabs in Vancouver.
When we saw that we were going to B.C we were so EXCITED! We’ve never been to the Sunshine Coast specifically, but B.C is one of our favourite places in the world and it’s our dream to eventually move there. We went to B.C for our 6 year anniversary on an epic trip where we climbed to mountain peaks, camped above the clouds, swam in glacier lakes and got ENGAGED to be married!!!! We have been dying to go back, so to be able to go there together on the Amazing Race Canada was so special for us.
Check out some photos below of our incredible adventure:
EXPRESS PASSES:
We also saw that there would be 3 express passes up for grabs in Vancouver. Teams would have to make a critical decision when landing in the Vancouver airport…
Choice A) Go directly to the Seair Seaplanes at the Vancouver Harbour and sign up for 1 of 5 flights to the Sunshine Coast. There would be only room for 2 teams on each flight. First come, first serve. Teams who arrived first and got on one of the top flights would have a compounding time advantage over each of the previous flights.
Choice B) Veer 2km off course and go to Second Beach, where 3 express passes were up for grabs. There would be two buoys to pull in at the beach, one had 1 express pass, and the other had 2 express passes.
We have always talked about this and it has always been our number 1 decision and number 1 priority to GO FOR THE EXPRESS PASS! We talked about this before the race, and we talked about it during the race, and we knew we wanted to go for it. Having an express pass is so important because it gives you the opportunity to skip any challenge. If a challenge is taking too long or it’s too difficult, you can use the express pass and save yourself critical time to avoid elimination OR skip ahead for the shot at a leg win!
We first had to make our way to the Toronto airport. I saw a taxi on the street in Niagara and I think I was so traumatized from running the entire first leg on foot and not seeing ANY taxis in Niagara, that I immediately took off running trying to hail down the taxi LOL. I thought I was getting an advantage over the other teams, meanwhile the clue said to make our way to the BUS TERMINAL!
That’s when Olivia was shouting at me to READ THE CLUE! READ! THE! CLUE! This was honestly a hilarious bit of banter and I couldn’t help but laugh. If you listen you can hear me laughing in the background. Close call but another lesson learned. There are additional details in your clue that you always have to read because it has important information regarding rules, travel, and more. Getting in taxi could have been disastrous and could have resulted in a penalty.
At the bus stop we finally got to officially meet and talk to a bunch of teams and make some early “alliances.” I won’t go into any details because it’s not shown in the episode. This was the first time we got a little waiting time to actually talk to everyone before the bus came. In the first leg it was all GO-GO-GO and there were no opportunities to chit-chat.
We landed in Vancouver and it was MAYHEM! Teams sprinted through the airport to be able to get into a taxi first, and it was a fiasco! We are all so competitive and we all knew the importance of getting to the express pass location or to the sea plane sign up board first.
Our taxi woes from the first leg continued… despite yelling and calling for countless cabs, we couldn’t get one.
Here is where luck and things out that are out of our control came into play. It all depended on the individual taxi driver — if they wanted to stop for you or pass you by and go to the proper taxi line. As shown, some teams just ran directly into the street and got lucky with a cab who took them in. We tried multiple times, various tactics and got rejected.
Michael and Tyson got into a cab immediately first before everyone else. Followed by Michael and Amari and a few other teams.
We were one of the last teams remaining at the airport and teams left WAY ahead of us. Unfortunately, we knew we had to adapt and change our game plan. Our shot at the express pass was long gone — heartbreaking but we couldn’t do anything about it. Time to move on and focus on the next objective. We were so behind, and if we tried to risk it, not only would we end up with no express pass, but we would also end up on one of the last sea plane flights. This is what ended up happening to Kevin and Gurleen. In the end, Michael and Tyson ended up getting 2 express passes, and Michael and Amari got 1. Of course, we didn’t know any of this at the time.
Our taxi driver was OUTSTANDING. Even though we were one of the last teams to leave, we ended up getting to the sign up board third! This meant we would be on the 2nd sea plane flight and this was so incredibly important for us. Nicole and Lauren, Katie and Taylor were on the first flight. Dorothy and Olus were on the 2nd flight with us and behind us were the rest of the teams. We’re glad we didn’t end up going for the express pass because getting on one of the last flights would have cost us valuable time that we needed at the marimba detour, and we might have been eliminated if we didn’t have that extra time. Being on the 2nd flight was HUGE. It was such an important, correct decision on our end that saved us and paid off. This just shows you that EVERY MINUTE MATTERS! You have to fight for every minute because you never know when you will need it.
Being in the sea plane was so cool! Me and Olivia have never been in one before, so it was another memorable experience we got to have on the Amazing Race Canada. WE LOVED IT! Despite Olivia always suffering from extreme motion sickness (she gets sick on boats, planes, after roller coasters, EVERYTHING) she took it like a champ and enjoyed the ride. Olivia had her barf bag ready in hand (just in case lol). Her motion sickness is a big fear we had coming into the race because when she gets nauseous or throws up from motion sickness, it severely impacts her for hours afterward. So its definitely something that could hinder us.
When we landed in Sechelt on the Sunshine Coast, we had to get into a Chevrolet Silverado Bison ZR2 for our next clue! These trucks are honestly incredible — I was jealous Olivia got to drive it.
ROUTE INFO
SAVE YOUR BREATH
We had to drive ourselves to “Half Moon Sea Kayaks” and paddle into the frigid waters of the Sechelt inlet to perform a self-rescue — a critical kayaking safety skill. When we read this clue we were so excited because we love to kayak, its one of our favourite things to do. In the summers we always kayaked around in various lakes, and when we’re open water swimming for our triathlon training, one of us will kayak beside the other who is swimming and watch them for safety. Although — we’ve never learned a self rescue routine from capsizing so this would actually be a very useful skill to learn lol.
We had get into the wetsuits which also takes time. We’re used to getting into wetsuits for triathlon but this one was TIGHT! It was hilarious when we were trying to squeeze into it and put it on but we had to go as fast as we could because again, every minute counts and this is part of the racing. Amazing Race Canada is known for racers having to change into various outfits or safety gear. In this case, the wetsuits would be critical to keep us warm in the cold waters. It was pretty cold outside so we were a little worried about dunking ourselves into the water. But also — there’s really not a lot of time to think, you just have to do it.
As we arrived, Taylor and Katie and Lauren and Nicole were just finishing up. With this, I figured the challenge should take about 10–15 minutes because thats the lead they had on us being on the 1st sea plane. We knew we had to get it on the first try to stay right behind them. We had to watch a lengthy step-by-step routine, memorize it, and then perform it perfectly and in order — to receive our next clue. The routine required us to:
Capsize our kayak, Olivia had to pass her paddle to me to secure it under my arm, I had to stabilize the kayak while she got in (this was very tough and was one of the main things other teams had some trouble with), then I had to pass her back her paddle, I had to secure my own paddle, do this crazy kick flip thing and roll over my stomach to get into the kayak (very fun), then we had to pump out all the excess water, put back the pump properly, kayak back to shore and hope we did it perfectly to receive our next clue. If not, we’d have to go back out nd do it again.
BOOM! FIRST SHOT! We got it correct on the first try and got our clue!! This was such a fun challenge and was easier for us with our experience in the water and kayaking. We passed Dorothy and Olus who arrived at the same time as us, so we took over third position. As we were leaving, the next teams were arriving so we knew we had a little lead over them.
DETOUR
Mallet Fest or Palate Test
Drenched from the kayak and still on the shore of the inlet, we were presented with a detour choice. We thought about it for a second, and we ALMOST chose palate test. Olivia even made a joke to me about our backgrounds being Italian and we had to do the olive oil tasting… but then we remembered previous seasons of the Amazing Race Canada and any challenges involving distinguishing between flavours, taste or smell have always been extremely difficult. Teams have taken penalties, switched detours or it has taken them a very long time. This is why we ultimately decided to choose Mallet Fest. We were also thrilled about the opportunity to learn a new instrument, the marimba. Even though me and Olivia are not “musically inclined” and we’ve never played an instrument before, we were really looking forward to it.
WHAT A MISTAKE! Of course we couldn’t have known this at the time, but this is all part of the race and what makes it so crazy! You can be near the front of the pack and one decision can change everything. This happened to Katie and Taylor in leg 1 (at the show time detour) and it happened to us in leg 2. Your decisions can save you or they can cost you, but you don’t know what it’s like or how hard or easy its going to be until you actually get there. Talking with other teams afterward, the tasting challenge seemed to be relatively easy, and completed quickly compared to previous similar challenges on the Amazing Race Canada. ALL THE TEAMS except for us and Dorothy and Olus chose Palate Test…and it paid off for them.
At Mallet Fest, we had to learn a musical segment on the marimba. To get to the challenge we had to drive from Half Moon Sea Kayaks in Shechelt, along the Sunshine Coast to Gibsons and go to the Gibsons Public Market. We had no idea where this is so we asked a nearby local for directions. I wrote the step by step driving directions in my notebook and we were on our way... it was a 23.5km, approximately 25 minute drive on Hwy/BC-101 North.
Since Olivia is the driver, I am the navigator. I always felt a HUGE amount of pressure as the navigator because I was responsible for writing the directions and dictating them to her step by step as we were driving. One missed turn or one wrong direction and it would cause us to become completely disorientated. Remember, we don’t have GPS or phones to simply re-route us so its absolutely crucial to be sure of where you’re going during driving legs. Getting lost take up alot of valuable time and can get teams eliminated.
Driving and directions was another thing we were concerned about coming onto the race. It was probably the thing we were most worried about. Driving is a big part of the Amazing Race Canada, and many legs, including this one are completely self driving legs where you have to navigate yourselves from destination to destination. No taxis allowed. In our everyday life, we don’t go anywhere without our phones and you better believe we GPS ourselves everywhere we go LOL! We had pretty much zero experience navigating with maps. But when you have a weakness, you have to PRACTICE. To prepare for the race, we bought an Ontario atlas and went on multiple road trips that were hours long using only the maps in the atlas to direct us. If we got lost…we didn’t allow ourselves to use our phones, and instead had to stop and ask someone for directions. We learned a lot and actually got pretty good and familiarizing ourselves with direction and reading maps. We felt good and prepared coming into the race, but when you’re actually racing and have all that pressure on you it’s a whole different experience. It’s also a huge difference when you don’t have a map at all, and all you have is step by step instructions written on a note pad. During this leg whenever we were in the car I was always so stressed and uneasy, constantly keeping my eye on the road looking for the next turn, or the next street sign making sure we were going the right way.
We arrived at Gibsons Public Market and drove the route perfectly. THANK YOU to the local who gave us amazing directions. It was a great sigh of relief getting to the destination without any errors.
The marimba is a musical instrument in the percussion family that originated in Africa, and consists of wooden bars that are struck by mallets. When we walked in and we first heard the instructor play what we had to learn — there was a moment of panic. I quickly realized that its 2 segments, one slower with both mallets, and one much faster with single mallets, repeated over and over. Even though I was slightly concerned, my teammate mentality kicked in and I tell Olivia, “It’s easy it’s easy! It’s fine Liv! It’s the same thing over and over again.” I could sense her panic and tried to ease her right away. She brushed it off to the side and immediately said to the instructor:“LET’S BREAK IT DOWN GIRL, ARE YOU FEELING LOOSE TODAY?”
That’s why I love her so much! She says the funniest things and is so outgoing even in intense situations. She always connects with everyone around her and is so sociable, whereas I am much more reserved. We were able to get it down in practice very quickly. Olivia starting using the “BAM BAM, BAM BAM, BAM BAM, BAM BAM BAM” technique and it helped us a lot. It was also causing us and all the instructors to laugh so we were having a good time which is important.
When we went upstairs to perform, it was a whole different story. They were performing much faster, and we had to play the instrument in perfect sync with the Knotty Dotters band. If we missed a note or if we played too fast or too slow, it was a failed attempt. We EACH had to perform the whole routine perfectly in order to complete the challenge. After a few failed attempts we realized we had to go back downstairs and practice some more. Again, we were getting it perfectly in practice and felt confident to make more attempts. Fail after fail after fail. Sometimes we would get all the way to end the end and then screw up, fail! We were becoming frustrated but there was never a doubt we wouldn’t get it. WE KNEW we were SO SO CLOSE! We were also the only team there so we didn’t have to wait for other teams while they made their own attempts.
Time was passing by quickly — but a mistake we made is that we didn’t time our duration at the challenge. We didn’t know exactly what time we got there or how long we had been there at that point, but we knew it was a good chunk. We lost all sense of our time and placement in the race because no other teams came to the challenge. We had no idea if teams were having trouble at the kayak and were still coming to mallet fest, or if they were at palate test and taking the same amount of time, or if they were all flying through palate test quickly. WE HAD NO IDEA what the other teams were doing or what place we were in! This is the crazy part about the race. On TV when you’re watching you know exactly where all the other teams are and what they are doing, but when you’re actually racing yourself, you have no idea if you can’t see them. All you know is what your own team is doing and that’s all you can control. The only other team that showed up to the marima challenge was Dorothy and Olus, and they got there shortly before we left. With this we knew we were ahead of at least one other team.
Finally on our 11th attempt, we GOT IT!!!!!!! LET’S GO!!!!! We freaked out with joy because we really worked so hard for this one and overcame our first tough test!! LOOK AT OLIVIA FLYING IN THE AIR WITH EXCITEMENT WHEN WE GOT THE CLUE!
After watching the episode, we now know we dropped from 3rd place down to 7th place! Even though it cost us a lot of time — we don’t regret it. We had so much fun and it was so awesome to learn an instrument. To the KNOTTY DOTTERS, YOU ARE ALL AMAZING and we had SO MUCH fun with you! Thank you so much for being so patient with us and teaching us the marimba from SCRATCH! We will always remember you. BAM BAM is one of the highlights of the episodes and the highlights of our own race — and it has created a funny memory for us we’ll remember forever. It shows how lighthearted we are, taking in the moment and remembering to have fun even through the difficulties of the race. It’s another reason we wanted to join the race, to CHALLENGE ourselves, to LEARN NEW things and to complete them together! It’s a beautiful instrument, Olivia & I want one for our house now hahaha! If you’re our guest in our home we would love to greet you with some marimba music…
ROUTE INFO
Make your way to Mise En Place Equestrian and search for your next clue.
We also had no idea where this was so we needed to ask for directions. We didn’t have a map, so we had to write it out step by step and trust in the directions that were given to us. I was so nervous navigating again. I knew it took us a long time at the marimba so we were in a big rush to get going and we couldn’t afford to get lost and waste any more time. From Gibsons Public Market to Mise En Place Equestrian was approximately a 12 minute drive, 8.7km. I still have my notebook from the race… this is what I was working with. No map. Looking back this makes absolutely zero sense but somehow in the moment it I understand it perfectly. We made it there without any errors and I was so relieved when we arrived at the location.
ROAD BLOCK
WHO CAN HOLD THEIR HORSES?
When it’s a roadblock it means only one of us can do the challenge. Once that racer starts, you cannot switch. If they can’t complete the challenge for any reason, they have to take a penalty. The other racer also cannot help their teammate at ALL. They cannot give them tips or tricks or anything like that — they can only cheer them on and encourage them!
We knew that since it was Equestrian that it would be related to horses. It’s always been Olivia’s dream to ride a horse so I was so excited for her, and thought she’d be literally experiencing a dream come true. She also has this running joke that she wants me to buy her a horse when we’re older…she says she’s not so sure she still wants a horse after this lol.
She had to change into another outfit (time is of the essence) so she changed as quick as possible. We run down to the challenge area and to our surprise its a HOBBY HORSE CHALLENGE! WHAT? I was bummed out for Liv. Then it get’s much worse — I think this was the hardest challenge in the race thus far. She had to pick a hobby horse, give it a name, and memorize and perform a complicated course consisting of prancing, pivots and jumping the gates in a specific order.
After learning what she had to do, we both immediately knew this was going to be difficult. Out of the 2 of us I have the stronger memory, and we both discussed before the race that I should be the one to do memory type challenges. Although we practiced memory techniques and routines before the race so I believed in her and I just knew she could do it. When she first looked at the course map, she said her “eyes were going cross-eyed” because of all the crossing paths and loops” and she became completely overwhelmed.
Olivia picked a white hobby horse and named her Daisy — after our little doggy. Daisy was Olivia’s best friend and meant the absolute world to her. Unfortunately Daisy passed away of old age a few months before we left for the race and it was so heartbreaking… this one was dedicated to Daisy.
Olivia said she immediately went into her own zone and went off to the side — completely ignoring what the other teams were doing. She said it was very chaotic and distracting with all the other teams, trying to figure out what to do and practicing their jumps prances and turns. She knew that teams were there for a long time, so this was going to be a challenging task and she didn’t have a large margin of error.
I was happy she did this because if she got caught up watching racers make attempts at the course, she could get screwed up when they got it wrong. She realized the colours on the course map and on the gates corresponded to the direction she had to run and prance in (forward, left, right, backward.) She was practicing the whole course in just a small area and she was so focused. I was so proud watching her do her thing. I was also pacing back and forth with anticipation because there’s absolutely nothing I could do to help her and she had to do it all on her own. It’s a crazy feeling knowing the fate of our entire race is in your partners hands but in that moment there is no one else I would rather have laying it out all on the line for us. I wish I could do something to help her but I couldn’t and its so hard just sitting back, especially for someone who is as extremely competitive as me.
Olivia made her first attempt, and on the first attempt she already nailed down half the course. In that moment my confidence was even higher. In my interview I said my confidence in her is 150% and I meant it. I always believed she could do it — I just hoped she was believing in herself as well. Even though I was reassured from her first attempt, she said she wasn’t because she still had half the course to go and her head was spinning because of the turns.
I saw her complete more of the course then some of the teams that were there before us so I knew she was making good time. Even though she was doing really well, the other teams having a time advantage was so important. A few teams got it before we got there/as we were getting there. Then, teams who were there for a longer time than us slowly starting getting it 1 by 1. Matt and Collin also got the assist by Dejardins, so they had an easier modified course map and were out of there quickly (they arrived in 8th and left in 4th — huge!) A few teams did really well and got it quickly with only a few attempts, and before we knew it we were 1 of the last 2 teams with Dorothy and Olus. Wait, how did that just happen? How are we the last 2 teams? It all happened so quickly. Thoughts start creeping into your head like are we going to be eliminated? But you can’t think like that. You can’t ever think negative — it’s not over until its over. I kept telling myself there’s absolutely no way in hell we were going to be eliminated in leg 2 — it just can’t happen. This has been a dream of ours for too long and it means too much to us.
There was SO MUCH PRESSURE on Olivia. She said the pressure felt unbearable. And one point she broke out of her focus and came up to me and said “I don’t think I can do this.” But I told her she absolutely could. This is one of the best parts of the race. Being there for your teammate and believing in them even when they are doubting themselves. What a special unique experience. I know she was so afraid of letting me down and disappointing me, but she could never.
When she went up for her final attempt it was flawless. Deep down I knew it was the one but we needed to see that clue to make it official. She says she had no idea if she got it right or not. SHE HAD TO GET IT RIGHT when she did and she DELIVERED BIG TIME. The young girl pulled out the clue from behind her back. “Congratulations.” AHHHHHH!!!! Words cannot express how proud I was in that moment and how proud I still am today. Looking back I cannot help but smile. You could see in the episode how out of breath and relieved Olivia was. She said she was completely exhausted. It was also huge mental hurdle for her to get through. I am SO HAPPY she was the one to do that roadblock and I didn’t have to do it. Thinking of the pressure of the moment still gets to me now.
WE WERE PUMPED THE HELL UP BUT WE HAD TO GOOOOOOOO! We had NO TIME to waste because it was so close, and I mean so close. After we got it, Olus got it right after! They were literally right behind us and we knew it was going to be a race to the pitstop. Since we had to drive there, getting there quickly without any mistakes was going to be crucial.
PIT STOP
Location: UNKNOWN
JUST A PICTURE!? WHAT IS THIS? I heard teams before us open their clue and utter things with complete confusion. I tried to stay focused on the hobby horse challenge but I knew some kind of twist was coming ahead.
When we ripped our final clue it was just a picture of… we have no idea. Great. As if the hobby horse wasn’t stressful enough lol!! On the back it said to search for Jon at the next pit stop.
It looked like some kind of artwork, and we could tell from the angle it looked like an aerial shot. We thought since its an aerial shot this had to be big, and it had to be in a large open space, perhaps a farm or a field. But we literally had no idea and our only hope was to ask a local and pray they knew what it was. Dorothy and Olus left the parking lot of Mise en Place Equestrian at the same time as us and the nervous tension in our car was crazy — we knew it would all come down to us.
The Sunshine Coast is not largely populated and there are not a lot of people around on the streets. Mise en Place Equestrian is also a little remote so those few minutes when we were aimlessly driving down the road looking for someone to ask, not knowing if we were going in the right direction or farther away was excruciating. We really didn’t know what to do, and then we saw a sign for a garden centre. “Should we turn in here!?” Olivia asked. We went for it — parking and running full force into the garden centre where we ambushed this poor woman with the picture. “EXCUSE ME! DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS IS?” She knew exactly what it was. “The mandala.”
The Roberts Creek mandala is a community art project that originated as a vibrant response to an act vandalism. Over 600 volunteer painters have contributed to the circular artwork on the pavement near the mouth of Roberts Creek. Every year perennial mastermind, Robert Marion, drafts a new mosaic design outlining different sections in white paint, and community members gather over multiple "painting days" to complete the mosaic with their own unique images.
Look how incredible this is! Amazing Race Canada is so awesome because it takes you to beautiful places like this in Canada, and highlights them for our whole country to see.
The mandala is at Roberts Creek Beach, in Roberts Creek. She didn’t need to take out her phone, she knew EXACTLY where it was. Even though she didn’t even give us real directions with street names, we didn’t question her or bother to get further directions. She just told us step by step with route markers. We believed her and had full faith in her. She was a local and she knew what she was talking about and we trusted her with our race on the line. It’s like it was meant to be that we ended up going to her for directions. We were also in such a rush and knew it was so close so once she gave us those general directions we needed to take off. Every minute matters. Below was my notes…
Right onto highway, left at the lights. Pass the firehall, pass the school, see a general store. At the stop sign, go straight to Roberts Creek Beach. One by one we hit the markers she told us about and with every step I was getting more and more excited. I knew we were getting there — and we were getting there so quick I had a really good feeling we were not last. We were not going home today. No way.
We pulled up to the beach parking lot, got out of the car and started sprinting down the long stretch at the beach towards the pit stop. It’s so awesome catching that first glimpse of Jon and knowing you’re seconds away from the end of the leg.
‘WE DID IT!” I yelled. I felt electric as all my worry started to fade away and the happiness started to kick in. I just knew in my heart that we made it and we were going to be safe. From Mise en Place Equestrian, we got directions to Roberts Creek Beach pretty quickly, and it was going to be tough to beat us to the mat. Olivia was still unsure, she didn’t know if we were last and going to be eliminated. “Maybe” she responded. I quickly replied, “YEAH, HELL YEAH!”.
We arrived to the mat and Jon stared at us with suspense, it felt like forever. “Julia, Olivia, you’re team number 8!” YES!!!!!! Not only were we safe, but we even PASSED another team (Connor and John) who left way before us! UNREAL! We are so proud of this one, for our resilience and how we pushed through. We had complete trust in one another and that’s what you need to have.
Roberts Creek is located in the traditional territories of both the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation) and shíshálh (Sechelt) Nation, and we were greeted by Indigenous peoples along with Jon, which is incredibly special. We were honoured to be personally welcomed on their beautiful land. It’s so important to acknowledge the land that we’re on — and Amazing Race Canada always ensures to do this. This moment was significant for Olivia as she is part Indigenous from the Chippewas of Georgina Island in Ontario, and it’s been important to her to connect with her Indeginous roots and culture.
When Jon told us we were team number 8, Olivia immediately started crying! Finally — she could release all that stress and pressure and let out all her emotions. When you’re in the race you barely have any time to really think or to feel. You just have to DO. You have to perform and concentrate on completing the challenge despite anything else that’s going on. Olivia says this was the first time she could actually feel and take in everything that just happened. “That was a hard little horse ride, oh my gosh!” I couldn’t help but laugh because she’s so funny even when she doesn’t mean to be. It was so awesome to see her be able to take in what just happened, release that weight on her shoulders and know that she saved us. It was all on her and she delivered for us. What a whirlwind — it felt like a rollercoaster.
WE’RE TEAM NUMBER 8 AND WE’RE DAMN PROUD OF IT! We worked so hard in this leg and fought to survive through adversity and tough challenges. We now had this incredibly valuable experience of battling it out at the back — dealing with pressure on the brink of elimination and making it out alive. We knew having this experience could be extremely useful for us if we were found in a similar position again in the race. It also gave us a wake-up call, proving to us that even though we believed we were a strong team, ANYTHING can happen and you’re never safe! Physical fitness doesn’t necessarily mean you will do well. The race is SO much more than that. This race is so unpredictable and you can go from the top of the pack to the bottom, or from the bottom of the pack to the top in a blink of an eye.
Even though leg 1 was amazing, leg 2 was so much more meaningful for us. When something is harder, it’s so much more sweet when you overcome it.
“The greater the obstacle, the more glory in overcoming it.” — Molière
The people and the locals on the Sunshine Coast were absolutely LOVELY. We really felt the Canadian love and the sense of community. From the half moon sea kayaks, to Gibsons Public Market, the Knotty Dotters and Mise en Place Equestrian, everyone was so wonderful and kind. From Shechelt to Gibsons, to Roberts Creek, we’re so happy to have met you all and thank you to each one of you for the part you played in our race. WE WILL DEFINITELY go back to the Sunshine Coast and explore more of it’s natural beauty and vibrant communities without being in a rush, and we can’t wait. For anyone who wants to learn more about the Sunshine Coast — check out their tourism site here: https://www.sunshinecoastcanada.com/
If you have any questions about Leg 2, leave a comment below!
WHAT DO WE GET UP TO IN LEG 3? Don’t miss it, IT’S A DOOZY. Leg 3 is filled with drama and a U-TURN vote!
The Amazing Race Canada airs Tuesdays at 9 pm ET/PT/MT/AT and 8 pm CT on CTV, CTV.ca and the CTV app.
If you missed it, check out the Leg 1 Race Recap: https://medium.com/@juliaviola/amazing-race-canada-s10-leg-1-recap-e32e324d1d3b
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