Ayahuasca pt. 2

The deed is done.

Last night me and my adopted little brother, Jan from the Netherlands (pronounced Yaun), went to Pisaq, Peru with a Shaman to take Ayahuasca. It's very important to mention though that Jan has very atheistic views about life and the existence of a supreme being or God.

Before we left to Pisaq, we were given guides on how to meditate using breathing to make the most use of the Ayahuasca. We were told that any information or enlightenment gained under the Ayahuasca can be obtained solely through meditation as well. Ayahuasca just helps speed up the process of meditation and allows you to focus and understand your subconscious better.

It takes about 30 minutes to feel the effects of the medicine. While waiting for the medicine to work we were told to mentally say everything that we were thankful for in our lives.  Next, starting with our mother, we were supposed to say everything that we were thankful for from her and then apologize in detail for any wrongdoings we had done - followed by our father, siblings, extended family, enemies, and then ourselves. Finally, when finished that, we were told to ask or state our purpose for taking the Ayahuasca and what you hoped to achieve (all in our mind, by the way). As this blog is about me and this ceremony is very personal, I won't go into great detail as to what Jan experienced and had asked for, but I do think his experience was very interesting.

Next, we left to Pisaq.

The rules.

First the Shaman took us to a small room with a fireplace and blankets everywhere. He gave us, what I think was, rose water to sprinkle on our hands and head. The ceremony was held primarily in Quechua (the language of the indigenous people before the Spanish conquest to the Andean region) and very little Spanish.

Then, the Shaman told us the rules. He told us that he would be singing and playing instruments to help guide us. We were to keep our eyes closed during the entire ceremony. This part was crucial and he kept repeating it. Someone else had told me before this experience that opening your eyes would allow bad spirits to enter you. Our Shaman never told us that though. The Shaman then showed us a cigarette. When there was a bad spirit near us he would blow the smoke on us to make the spirit go away. Smoke was only blown on me once.

When he gave us the drink, we were to place one hand over the top to cover it, and then say in our minds, but with our hearts, what we hoped to accomplish through the ceremony.

The effects would last for 2 hours.

Lights out.

With the lights off, the shaman lit one candle.

I was first. He gave me the small glass of dark brown gritty liquid. I put my hand over it and asked for wisdom and more internal force in accomplishing my dreams. With that, I took my hand off of the glass and took it like a shot. I can only describe the liquid as tasting how I would perceive "shit" to taste like, with added soy sauce. Jan then did the same.

The Shaman blew out the candle. With our eyes closed, we silently gave thanks while the Shaman began to sing and drum. I cried a little bit as thoughts of people came to my mind and I apologized, and puked a tiny bit. With the music and sounds of corn husk and drums I saw birds, bats, and butterflies, but nothing more. Jan, however, was violently puking for a good portion of the first hour.

After about two hours. the Shaman turned on a tiny flashlight and asked us what we saw. I was confused. I didn't realize how much time had passed and really had not seen anything. I have to admit, thinking that the ceremony was over and not having puked much from this "cleansing" medicine, I thought, "I most not have needed much cleansing after all. Yay me! :D" Jan told us that he had seen and spoken to his parents, seen a few bad images, and finally, Pachamama* and someone else who he could only describe as God or the Universe. <--hahaha the atheist sees God and Pachamama! He said that when seeing Pachamama he was overfilled with happiness and that, in reference to his question, she had told him to just enjoy life.

*Side note: I don't know if I had mentioned Pachamama in another post but, Pachamama, or Madre Tierra in Spanish, is the Quechuan word for Mother Earth. The Incans venerated Mother Earth because without her, obviously, none of us would exist or have the food and items we need to sustain ourselves. There are depictions of Mother Earth all throughout Cusco. An old tradition that many people here still practice is giving Mother Earth a portion of your food or alcoholic beverage (by just pouring some on the ground) before consumption. It's a symbol of respect and thanks for the items in which you're about to partake.

Take 2.

After telling the Shaman that I had not seen anything, he gave me half of another glass of the Ayahuasca. This time he played shamanic singing from the radio. Again, in the pitch darkness, I said my thanks and apologies. Again, I cried. This time I cried harder as a childhood face came to mind that I apologized to. Next, I puked. A lot! With every apology and sorrow, I puked. I must have had a lot of toxins in me after all :/.

Again, time flew by and before I knew it, the Shaman turned on his small flashlight. My head was spinning and my stomach was queasy. Jan and I were ready to sleep. Standing up, I felt like the room was shaking and I would collapse. I still felt heavily under the influence and so I rushed to bed to lay down. I was a little disappointed that I had not seen much of anything though.

Everything is going to be alright.

As I laid in bed, it was somewhere between sleep and consciousness that I first saw her.  I knew it wasn't a dream, because I was fully aware of where I was, the time of day, and what was happening. It even felt different from anything I had ever seen in a dream before.

I will never forget what I saw because it was probably the happiest I have ever felt in my life to see someone. I saw Pachamama. She was radiant and beautiful; covered in a long marvelous, and if I remember clearly, golden robe with various vibrant ornaments. She was looking down with a glowing smile, at her many children; us. I then showed her what I wanted in life and what I wanted to do. I told her I was a little frustrated with myself because I feel like it's taking so long to get me to where I want to be. She then told me that everything is alright and that everything will continue to be ok as well. I am going down the right path. I felt as though she was proud of me for just trying and that I should keep going and not give up. I had only seen Pachamama for a short time but I remember, as I looked at her beautiful shining face, I felt there was another powerful presence there as well. Smiling, I went to sleep, hoping to catch another glimpse of Pachamama. I didn't.

Would I do it again?

Yes! It's actually recommended that you take the Ayahuasca retreat for 3 consecutive days. The first day for ridding yourself of toxins and cleansing your body and mind. The second day for purifying your heart and mind; and the third day for enlightenment.

Would I recommend it?

Definitely! I think it's a great way to amplify meditation and understand what your subconscious mind is trying to convey; especially if you have anxiety, depression, troubles with sleep, bouts of extreme emotions, or other mental ailments.

Here's a picture of where we were. :) The red circles are the instruments that the Shaman played. Everything else is pretty self-explanatory. 

Ayahuasca pt.1

I've never tried any hard drugs before, but I have to admit, trying the Ayahuasca was on my list of things to do when I got to Peru.

What is Ayahuasca?

Ayahuasca is a cleansing medicinal drink that consists usually of two particular plants (Banisteriosis Caapi with either Chacruna or Chagropunga) found in the Amazon. When consumed the beverage induces hallucinogenic effects and altered states of consciousness, and is supposed to be taken as part of a ceremony with shamans who help guide your mental journey and keep bad spirits away during the process.

No one knows when Ayahuasca was first created, but it has been used for thousands of years by the indigenous people of the Amazon to cleanse the entire body of all of its toxins: spiritually and physically. It is known for treating, if not curing completely: stress, depression, parasites and worms in the body, the digestive tract, and substance addiction, among many other ailments. Even more known is the Ayahuasca's common effect of giving people spiritual revelation and awakening. Many people report finding their purpose in life upon drinking the substance.

Drinking Ayahuasca usually causes people to vomit, cry, have diarrhea, yell, or heavy breathing which is all part of the body's way of expelling toxins. Before consuming the Ayahuasca it is recommended that you do not consume alcohol, meat, or sugar at least 3 days before.

I'm never usually scared to try new things. Some of the other people at my residence who have already tried Ayahuasca have told me that the hallucinations can be very scary, as you're supposedly viewing your inner demons. Many people have also seen the spirits of loved ones and were able to solve any disputes or negativity they had had with them. When the medicine starts to wear off though, everyone has said how everything looks beautiful and you feel very happy with life. I'm not nervous. I'm not scared - at least not yet. I am just very excited and curious. 

I'm pretty content with my life right now, although I am also curious as to what the Ayahuasca will show me. 

Tonight I will be trying the Ayahuasca in Pisaq, Peru. 

Wish me luck!

*Sorry, no pictures today. I already have something in store though that will make up for it. :)

Trek to Machu Picchu: Days 3 and 4

Because not too much happened during day 3 of our trek, I decided to combine the last 2 days into one blog post.

Day 3
Day 3 of our trek to Machu Picchu consisted of zip lining (which seems more interesting when watching it from a video compared to actually doing it) and hiking...along train tracks. The scenery was great, but I have to admit seeing the mountain we were to climb the next day to the city of Machu Picchu was a little intimidating. Even still: drinks were had, billiards were played, and night exploration around Aguascalientes was done. :) The next day we were to wake up at 4am to begin our climb up the 1600 steps to the city of Machu Picchu (fun fact: "Machu Picchu" is actually the name of the mountain next to the abandoned city and not the city itself. No one knows the name of the actual city).

Day 4
Stairs. Stairs. Stairs. Stairs. Stairs. Stairs. Stairs. Yay! You made it the top of the stairs! Now wait in a long line and climb a few more, you guessed it, STAIRS!

It took us a full hour to climb the many stairs to the top of the mountain. If you were wondering, yes there is bus that can take you to the top of the mountain, but guess who opted out to save money and to "feel accomplished" - this girl! While I am a glad that I decided to hike up those many stairs to the mountain top, I wish I had factored in the many stairs within the abandoned city that I would have to climb as well. To top that off, I didn't even consider that I would have to make my way down those same stairs that I had climbed at 5am. While the trek up had my heart pounding out of my chest, the trek down really took a toll on my knees. The monotony of my legs making the same motion over and over was hypnotizing and what I would consider cruel and unusual punishment. In the end, we made it down the stairs...only to be greeted by the 20 minute walk to Aguascalientes.

While on this trek, I don't remember who it was, but someone summed up the whole trip quite nicely: "the most fun I never want to do again."

Lessons learned and experiences gained:

1. You think stairs suck? Try climbing 1600 stairs at 5am in the morning in utter darkness. And then making another 30 minute climb to the Sun Gate. At least I can say I did it, I guess.

2. Conde Travel booked our train tickets for Cusco. Our train left Aguascalientes at 9:50pm (why so late Conde?!). We were finished with Machu Picchu around 1-2pm. Although there was so much to see, we were up at 4am and were very tired and straining to waste time until our train departure. The trek down the stairs took about 30-40 minutes. Also, being Peru and all, the trip wouldn't be complete without someone being late right? The train left the station at about 11pm.

3. Bathrooms are interesting here. It seems to be a reoccurring theme that whenever there's a bathroom, there's an open window or the wall doesn't go to the ceiling. In addition, many of the bathrooms are near living areas where people are usually situated. This means, while you're going to the bathroom, everyone can hear, and smell, everything that you're doing. I guess it's the cheap way to bathroom ventilation and would be considered a "First world problem" on my part. I'm surprised that this was never an issue in Morocco.

4. Always carry a book. I brought a s@#* ton of books with me during this trip. I, however, did not bring any books with me on the trek to Machu Picchu. That was a very bad call. Waiting for 6-7 hours for a train with very spotty wifi wasn't fun.

Review of Conde Travel
In conclusion, the trip with Conde Travel was alright. Not the best and not the worst I've experienced.  I wouldn't necessarily recommend them to others just because I think that certain aspects of the trip could have been better organized; for instance, the guide showing up late on the first day; the girls having to share beds at the hostel; the tour guides lack of English communication skills. I would definitely recommend checking the reviews of other travel agencies before settling with this one. I have to admit though, the guides were personable and fun - especially Everforever (that's what he told us to call him).   Many of my complaints have nothing to do with the guides, who had our best interest at heart, and more to do with the organization of the agency as a whole.


PICTURES

 Me and some friends. :)

The Sun Gate.

Taking a little snooze at the Sun Gate.

Trek to Machu Picchu/Conde Travel Review: Day 2

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY PERU!

It’s trekking time! From the hostel in the middle of nowhere, we continued our trek up a steep mountain. The views were spectacular. The Conde Travel guides are, for the most part, knowledgeable about certain aspects of the trek; although, they don’t speak English too well. I understand what they’re saying when they speak Spanish but they consistently break the group up by those who speak Spanish (which are a small group of Chilean guys and two Peruvian girls) and those who do not (which are the English, Australians, and Americans).

During these recaps of my 4 day/3 night trip to Machu Picchu with Conde Travel I wasn’t planning to include the list the things I’ve learned and experienced; however, after some thought I think it’s easier to just list things that happened rather than just write everything out in paragraphs. It’s easier to read too.

So, without further ado, here are some of the things I learned and experienced:

1  1. Small portion sizes seem to be a recurring theme around Peru. I know the U.S. has huge portion sizes but here the portion sizes are way smaller than any other portion size I have experienced in another country. Meals usually start with a small portion of soup or salad, and then a small plate of rice with some soupy concoction like: pumpkin sauce with potatoes, peas and/or a tiny bit of shredded chicken in the center to be mixed with the rest of the food or something similar. I understand that coca has a way of deterring hunger, but I fear I may be losing weight again – especially with all of this hiking. :/ The food is pretty good though!

2  2. There’s an English group of about 6-7 guys traveling within my group that are total sports jocks. They’re hilariously rowdy and bring a soccer ball with them everywhere to play with. They almost lost “Wilson” a few times during the trek, but somehow Wilson keeps coming back. In our small hostel, knowing that we had to get up tomorrow at 5am, one of them apparently got super drunk, puked in the hostel common area, went to his room and puked on the floor, tried to get on his top bunk but failed miserably and fell into his puke. =_= I felt so sorry for the people sharing the room with him.

This is Wilson trying to escape. Unfortunately he failed and was caught.

3  3.  We went to hot springs after our looonnngggg hike up and down mountains and through the jungle. It was AWESOME! It reminded me a bit of Iceland’s Blue Lagoon, although the water was the same temperature all through out the spring. The warm water made me a little nervous because there were sooo many people in the spring. The spring did not have any current that I could detect and, without chlorine or any other cleaning agent, the water was the perfect temperature for harboring bacteria. L Some of the water did get in my mouth after having a chicken fight with one of the girls (I won, by the wayJ). My throat feels a little weird.

4  4.  After a long day of trekking, we got to our hostel in Santa Teresa. Apparently, the hostel had not planned accordingly to our group’s size. In the end, many of the girls had to SHARE BEDS with someone else (the guys weren’t having it)!! I have to admit, after finding out about the sharing bed situation I kind of gave the guide a hard time, when it wasn’t his fault, about the hostel’s poor planning. In the end I slept in my own bed but shared a room with two other girls. ;)

5  5. Had dinner at a small restaurant in the Santa Teresa town. Again, everyone went to bed hungry because the portion size was super small. By the way, meals are, for the most part, included in the Conde Travel package.

6  6. After a fun ice-breaker exercise with the group, my nickname is officially “Panda.” Apparently my interpretations of pandas are weird and not accurate. I stand by my interpretations though! >:/

7  7. Hung out with people from my residence that went on the trek with me and some Chileans and saw 3 shooting stars and the milky way. :D Funny how you can still see so many stars in the city. 

PICTURE TIME!!

This is just about everyone from my residence who went on the trek with me.

Hiking throughout the jungle,

This bridge was uber scary. Although in this pic there's a fence on the sides, the first half of the bridge did not have it. 

There were huge holes in the bridge.