Salvation (Day 31)

The air was thick with probably ill-placed anticipation. Per second-hand information received from the untrustworthy Repeater, our saviors Tom and Mariela are supposed to be arriving today via canoe from The Outside. Not wanted to risk the mental toll a no-show would inflict on me, I unsucessfully tried not to think about their possible arrival that day. Joe and I kept ourselves busy stripping bark off the bamboo flooring and frequently experiencing something like an audio mirage. With the perception of salvation so close we can almost taste it, several times during the day we would abruptly cease working at the sound of a distant motor. And everytime the noise ended up being some nearby buzzing insect or just some mental conjuring.
We take a break from work later that day to head up to the main compound to investigate the arrival of 3 Dutch travelers. They have stopped with their guide to meet Omallave and his family. We try chicha, a traditional Huao drink fermented with the saliva of the women. It is made with river water so we didn't drink much, although the process of production sounds savory.
By late afternoon it was getting dark and by this time Joe and I's disappointment at the non-arrival was pretty heavy. The only conversation that was uttered was that if they didn't show within the next week, we were going to try to get out without them.
At sunset, I walked down to the beach area near the river entrance to our camp. I needed them to show as I felt I was close to some sort of tipping point in my trip, where it was best to have some certainty in our exit strategy. Right there on the beach I made a deal with the devil and for all you naysayers who have said that the devil and I are in cohoots--you must be right because practically at the moment of sundown, I started to hear a distant motor. This was initially took as another mental trick but it became louder and Joe eventually came down to the beach and we smiled wide as if we had just escaped a grim fate.
Tom and Mariela arrived and I swear there was a white light surrounding their canoe. We have much to discuss but that will have to wait until the morning.