Sat 9th July - Prepping the Journey

Get woken up early to speak with a man who owns a motor. Pay him 70 soles, since he needs to pay the mechanic 50 soles to get his motor back, and give him 20 soles as a deposit.

I also get introduced to an 'amigo' who will be joining us for the journey. Gayle.

After paying another 20 soles, we get a boat secured. We pay for gasoline (320 odd soles), buy supplies (70 odd soles), and by then it's already 2 or 3 in the afternoon, and Javier tells me we'll leave tomorrow, early in the morning. Happy to wait, I suggest we at least go and try out the boat and the motor, since I wanted to see what it looked like, and how big it was - and also to start getting prepared mentally. Riding to the place where the boat is docked, we get the motor onto the boat, and take it out for a spin.

The boat was tiny - with three seats, front middle and back, and as we're making our way back in, thinking of needing space for at least one more person, (my princess) I ask if we can't get a bigger boat? And as I say that the perfect sized boat floats in, and I question, can we get something like that?

Well we end up getting the very same boat that I'd spotted, and with news that we can have it from 10am the next morning, we call it a day.

Later that evening, I walk into town, and end up meeting a 'mechanic' called Chesman and his friend, who has seen me getting ready for the trip, and wants to be my 'guide' for the trip. After explaining the nature of my journey, I discover that the mechanic had seen me, and had wanted to 'connect' with me, talk with me, without quite understanding why. The more I talk, the more he understands the 'heart connection', and how there was just something about me that drew him to me.

Before leaving, he insists that I take a 'gringo' tent that he has, and Chesman promptly goes to his home, gets the tent, and then even shows me how easily it assembles, and disassembles! (doesn't take more than 5 minutes to put it up, and it only has two flexible poles that come apart), and slide into the fabric, to act as a support for the structure.

Impressed, I make my way back to the hotel clearer than ever that this is a journey that is completely guided, and everything is happening exactly as it needs to unfold!