Going Head-to-Head

After 6 days of being on our own and occasionally running into other teams, Day 7 was the four-country, all-inclusive team challenge. We didn’t need to record any videos; instead, we were pitted against all the other teams in several objective challenges.

When Steve, our “tour dude,” asked if we knew what four countries we were going to, only Sheila and I had the correct answer. It’s just a shame we didn’t get any points for getting it right.

The answer is a bit deceptive considering the fourth country no longer exists. Belgium, The Netherlands and Germany meet at what is called Dreilandpunt. Back in the late 1800s to early 1900s, Moresnet was a small country that had a little slice of this four-corners region.

Now the spot is a tourist destination and it’s home to the biggest labyrinth in the world. We were set loose in side but I quickly realized I would not find my way so easily. And sure enough, the way to go was hidden; looking down the path, it looked like there was a dead-end at the end, but the path took a sharp U-turn and then wound it’s way to the finish point at a raised platform at the center of the maze. It was disheartening to lose the first challenge, but it was still a lot of fun.

Next we did skeet shooting. We were in the first group to go and when the guy said “pull,” I fired away, nailing the first two points. At that point, people were impressed, but I only got one more shot after 10 pulls. Sheila on the other hand, got 6 points, which landed us in third place. Team Absolutely Fabulous killed this challenge with 16 and Weathehekawi followed in second with 13.

Next was the crossbow competition, which we did not win, followed by giant darts. I scored the highest number of points (86), but they averaged team scores. Our average was lower than “As Seen on TV” when the dust settled.

We took a break for lunch before heading on to our last challenge of the day which involved feeling our way in the dark for more than an hour.

Underground bunkers that were once used for defense, can be explored by flashlight. A local tour company started a game in which particpants are given clues on how to get through the dark tunnels, performing tasks along the way. It was fun and frustrating at the same time. We didn’t find some of the answers, and the clues were in Dutch or French most of the time.

Nonetheless, we got 5th place, earning the maximum number of points possible in that challenge.

It was a long and tiring day, and to make matters worse, we slipped to second place by only 10 points. The second place team are worthy adversaries, but we are going to give them a run for their money on the last day of the trip. We still have a chance to win this thing and we’ll do what it takes to be the victors–within reason of course.