Of course it rained! How could it not? The first day HAD to be the most challenging; and as we rode to the Pacific Ocean to dip our wheels in the water i was reminded of a service i had attended a few Sundays ago at Agape; where the Reverend spoke of abundance and the law of attraction; and how things always have to get worst before they can get better. I remembered an example used by the Rev. about a person that prayed for abundance everyday, and instead of becoming instantly wealthy, the opposite occurred, that person received even more bills and sunk deeper into debt. And this, the Rev. explained, happens because the Universe wants to show you how bad things can get, so that you are grateful for what you have and can move into a much better place. So you take gratefulness and appreciation with you as you progress into a place of wealth and abundance.

So waking up to a drizzling saturday morning, as if God or the Universe were sneezing over us, i realized that this was a test of strength, of will. TODAY WOULD BE A ROUGH DAY. WE WOULD BE CHALLENGED. It’s as if the Universe (or God) were saying “Now, are you sure you want to put yourself through this?” And you think to yourself “YES!” And then before you know it, it begins to drizzle and the Universe (or God) asks again “Now, are you sure you want to put yourslef through this?” and again you respond “YES! I WANT TO DO THIS, AND I CAN DO THIS” And then it begins to rain really hard and the wind begins blowing against you making you struggle twice as hard to proceed towards your destination and then the Universe (or God) asks again “Now, are you sure you want to go through with this?” and again you respond “YES! I WANT TO DO THIS, AND I CAN DO THIS” and then, after you see how bad it can be, and your strength is tested, and you are challenged and you persevere and make it through; then, as if a hard lesson had been learnt, the Universe (or God) offers you a rainbow and some rays of light, offers you a safe place to rest your head, and helps you along your way everyday after that.

So of course it rained! And the wind blew through my windbreaker. Ofcourse the campsite was closed when we pedalled past it, and ofcourse there was a dead snake on the road (one of the things i fear in life). Ofcourse we hit unexpected elevation, steep hills and almost run out of water...and ofcourse...regardless of this, we were alright. And everything after today would be smooth, and beautiful and in support of us, we would be caressed by the sun and carried by the wind.

I told Cesar that tomorrow and everyday after that would be sunny and he laughed and said that there was no way i could predict that and that he was going to hold me up to my word. And sure enough May 11th we awoke with rays of sun through our tent, yes, it had rained at night, but the rain had cleansed the sky and cleared the clouds; and today all would be alright…