MY DEPARTURE FOR PERU AND THE FURTHER ADVENTURES OF THE TELESCOPE
I had no second thoughts about this, I had made the decision and not those were the thoughts troubling me at that time. I was concerned about the telescope and what I was going to do with it. I knew my destination was the jungle, and I really didn’t want to bring it there. Siro and the manager of the guesthouse both offered to keep it safe for me and on my way back from Peru to make a stop and pick it up. That was a really generous offer but that involved more flights and additional expenses. I suggested to Siro that I spend a night in Caracas before my departure for Peru. That would allow me to find a place to leave the telescope, from where I could pick it up on my way back. He tried to make the reservation and negotiate about the telescope, but the staff at the hotel refused to cooperate. I still had to spend a night there, though, because my flight to Lima was on the following day.
And so after almost a month, came my last day on Margarita Island. A month filled with emotions, adventures, broken hopes, and the birth of new ones. From the bottom of my heart, I thanked Siro, Jose, the manager of the house, and all the staff for all they did for me. I thanked Life for giving me a chance to experience all that and I promised to fully trust and participate in everything He decides to throw at me in the future.
From the house, they organized my transit to the airport. The flight was flawless despite the amount of alcohol in the pilots’ blood. We landed in Caracas successfully. Seriously, both ways I experienced extreme flights and the plane flew sideways like a jet.
Siro had warned me to not leave the airport and that I was going to be picked up by the hotel staff. So it happened. The hotel turned out to be really close. I was picked up by a small van, and after a fifteen-minute ride, we drove through a metal gate, which I wasn’t allowed to cross without a warning. To my question why, they responded simply with – Caracas. Since I had all the suitcases on me, including the bag with the telescope, I decided to speak with the manager personally about storing the telescope. I headed for his office, accompanied by a staff member. The manager declined my request, and thoughts of my telescope in the jungle started racing through my head. As we walked towards the room my companion Javier, a mid-age piccolo with a mustache, stroke a conversation with me. He said he overheard my conversation with the hotel manager and offered to personally store my telescope if I paid him. This was his offer – I leave the suitcase with the telescope, worth more than 1000 dollars, to an absolute stranger in Caracas, and on top of that I had to pay for the service. I accepted! I gave him 20 dollars with the promise of 20 more when I pick it back up.
I know it sounds crazy, but when we ask Life for something, we are obligated to watch out for the answers. I really didn’t want to take the telescope to Peru with me and here – He sent me Javier, or at least that’s what he said his name was. It wasn’t exactly how I wanted it to happen, but so what? After all, if we constantly push away the presents we receive from Life simply because at the moment they aren’t wrapped as imagined by us, in the end we would remain empty-handed.
Along with the telescope in Caracas, I left some clothes and personal belongings I had brought with me from Bulgaria, because of my original plan to make Venezuela my forever home. I left for Peru with a big smile on my face, high spirits, and light on luggage. I only knew my destination, not more not less. Considering all the past month’s events and all unexpected situations I got involved in I realized that instead of torturing my mind with thoughts about the future, which wouldn’t come true anyways, I should just enjoy the flight and the view from the tiny window. Which was astonishing and very hard to fit into words by the way.