Journey to Inahuaya

Numero uno, things in Peru never go as planned. We were supposed to leave for our last campaign up the river to Inahuaya on Sunday. I think we left on Wednesday. All the days just blended together. Well, we actually left Km 38 on Tuesday, got a flat tire, waited on the side of the highway for hours. Counting cabs. And then it started raining. Not hard though, it was a refreshing sprinkle that fell just as the sun was about to go down. I remember feeling - free. I was laying on the cement without a care in the world. I made sure to stay extra still because I wanted the rain to make an outline of the spot I was laying in. I stood up and there I was, laying on the ground, or at least a blobby outline of me was.
Jader was sitting next to me in his white wifebeater and sunglasses. He's such a cool cat. He was really happy that he was winning our game of counting colored cars. He chose white and pretty much every cab is white. So whenever one would pass he would just start laughing hysterically. Jenessa was on the other side of me and we were laughing about this and that. I didn´t have a care in the world. And even though we were stranded, I wasn't worried. Just taking life as it came.
Anthony and Rebecca and Lucho finally showed up with the convi and after the radiator thoroughly exploded and got the inside of the car drenched and steamy, we were off to the port. Upon our arrival we were notified that the lancha wouldn't be leaving until the next day. So we hung out some more at the port watching a drunk guy with a whistle around his neck. He would walk up to every passerby and honk the whistle as hard as he could. I was sitting on top of the truck with Lucho. He started telling me how much he was going to miss all of us when we left. For two reasons, he told me. One, because you guys have become like my family. And two, he continued, for el refresco that we bring to them when they're working. They are serious about getting their refresco.
We piled into the truck and settled down at Km 8 for the night. The next morning we embarked - but not until 7 o´clock that evening. We strung up our hammocks and then came the people. And chickens. And cabbage. And other animals. And then more people. There was also one bathroom on the whole boat. I chose to be constipated for the 2 days that we were on the boat. The one time I went to the bathroom I had to literally crawl on my hands and knees in whatever nasty wet mess was on the floor and over whatever people happened to be sleeping. I feel really bad because I actually stepped on a man. He was right under my hammock though!
So a few short hours after we set off - BOOM! - we crashed. Into a sand bank. And we were stuck there for 10 hours. All night I heard the engine of the boat running and turning off. Chugging and pulling and trying and failing. When we finally got unstuck, applause went off. We ported in Contamana for the night. Went and played on the playground and ate juanais and chicha morada off the street. Next morning boarded another boat for Inahuaya. When we arrived the Doctor was there to meet us, tell us we had 15 minutes to shower, eat lunch, and set up for clinic.

Typical.