Fairytale Gardens

I woke up this morning with a slightly clearer head having adjusted to the altitude. I checked out of the hotel and met the rest of the crew in the lobby. It was great to see some old friends as well as make some new ones. Just like the Ayahausca group these people were all professionals from all over the world. The western mind tends to think of this as just going to Peru to do drugs and see pretty colors. However, that is not what this is about at all. All of these people are on a journey, some self-exploration, some healing, but they were all beautiful people. We boarded a bus and headed off to Willka Tika where we would be staying for the week. The views were amazing as we worked our way through the valley.



I then saw a familiar site, the infamous "red" flag to indicate a home brew called Chicha Beer was available. Or what I call Spit Beer as they use their own saliva to start the fermentation process.

Yummy! For the first time I was glad I could not have a beer, having sampled this years ago with somewhat devastating results. But our driver was thirsty and enjoyed a cup before we proceeded on.

We got to the resort and I unpacked. My room was awesome.

Here is a fun fact for those of you who may not have traveled slightly off the main path in South America. You might be thinking that little bin under the toilet paper is a trash can, and I guess you would be kind of right. The septic systems around this part of the world can only handle human waste. So that bin is where you dispose your soiled toilet paper. Anther reason I was glad I could not have sampled that Chicha Beer.

I got a welcome glass of tea as they gave us a tour of the resort. I would be eating a strict vegetarian diet with everything grown locally on the property. We would only have one meal a day, dinner, as it would allow better interaction with the plant medicine.

It's impossible to capture the beauty of this property on camera and much of it comes from the dreams of fairytales.









After wandering through the maze I stumbled across the ceremony house.

I went inside and was pleased to see there were no buckets to vomit in. I was told San Pedro was much gentler then Ayahausca and that most people do not purge with it. I would later find out that I am not like most people.

The property has all kinds of little secluded areas you can spend some time and get lost in.









I then found the plant itself, San Pedro. I guess they scrape the top thin layer off and then dry it out in the sun for three days before boiling it to create a thick "tea".



The property sits in a valley between two large mountain ranges.







We were told that this is a thousand year old tree that inspired the creation of this resort.

There was also a fire pit where we would open the ceremony tonight.

And if you wanted a bath afterwards under the stars you could do that as well.

I passed on the bath as I've never been a fan of sitting in a tepid pool of my own filth and instead headed off to bed hoping my sinuses would clear before morning. I was no longer allowed any medications. I was reading the resort guide as I drifted off to sleep and found out that this resort is not actually open to the public. It can only be booked through a local approved vendor. I think this is good because it is a very special place and you only want people who care about keeping it a very special place.