Peruvian adventures begin - Eco Truly village leading to a new direction

30 hours later, my flight from from Bangkok ended when I arrived in Brazil.  However, the journey didn't end there because I decided Peru was actually where I wanted to be.  Having no Portuguese was a deal breaker for Brazil.  Knowing some basic spanish from when I lived in Central America back in 2008 was a pull factor to Peru.  The airline ticket office wasn't open when I landed so I waited in the airport until 4am, to make a flight booking straight to Peru.  During the wait I finished reading the book I had started before I left Chiang Mai, The Celestine Prophesy.  It synchronistically crossed my path after having a conversation with another guest at the guesthouse where Jared and I were staying.  If Jared not been late back to the guesthouse that day then I may not have had the opportunity to have the conversation with this person in the first place.  Thank you universe...everything happens for a reason and there are no coincidences! I'd read this book several years ago and it was a significant piece of the puzzle that would help guide me towards my spiritual path.  If you haven't read this before then I invite you to read it because it makes so much sense echoing life's many mysteries.  Its based in Peru, so there's no coincidence that I've always had this connection to Peru but had forgotten why over the years.

After my arrival in Lima I took a taxi to a hostel where I spent 2 days in the women's dorm.  There was free wi-fi so I done lots of research.  Where would I like to go and where can I find a teacher in the Amazon?  Being aware of signs that may pop up, I met another woman who was staying in the same dorm and we talked about places to see in Peru.  She mentioned there was an eco village 1.5 hours outside of Lima called Eco Truly Park.  Her description of the place sounded wonderful so I decided to take a visit myself and check it out.  I took a bus to Huaral after mentioning to the bus driver that I wanted to visit eco truly park and boarded the bus.  As we drove through Lima I got to see the surrounding city suburbs.  I was aware prior to my arrival that Peru was quite underdeveloped but seeing it first hand it was clear how underdeveloped!  On the outer city limits there are lots of shanty towns scattered around, unfinished building projects and rebar sticking out of many derelict houses.  The messy infrastructure was pretty harsh on my eyes!  The coastline was fabulous though, seeing how extreme the environment is here, with a busy, winding road along huge dune like cliffs.  The sheer drop below makes it look surreal and made me wonder "how can a road be supported under such an unstable base: a dune?!"  Watching the big waves crashing against the coastline brought a warm fuzzy feeling into my heart as I looked out at the Pacific ocean.  Good surfing may be on the agenda at some point in the future during my stay here in Peru.  After 1.5 hours the bus was approaching the eco village because from the road I could see the big temple structures below.  Excitement to be visiting such a cool place and living in a sustainable community filled me up as I sat impatiently for my arrival.  The community is huge with many buildings dispersed around the property.  All the structures are made with adobe (a type of material made from sand, clay and water but can also be made with sticks, straw and manure.)

The main temple area is made up of micro temples all attached with a center space in the middle

Pathway leading up to the main temple area

When I arrived at the Eco Truly Park, I received a warm welcome from Priya (His Hare Krishna name) the village organizer.  Born in Chile but he has lived in the eco village for 6 months.  He explained the ins and outs of the community and how the volunteering projects worked.  After the introduction he mentioned that the yoga teacher was leaving the next day for some days, so there may not be yoga classes.  I told him that  I was a certified yoga teacher, being trained in India but hadn't taught for sometime.  He laughed out loud with joy because of how perfect my timing was and that the yoga classes could continue.  Its wonderful how the universe works!  I felt empowered to get back into my yoga teaching practice again and felt moved that I got to contribute to the community in another way by sharing the gifts I learned from my time spent in India.

The guesthouse area where visitors that are not volunteering stay

Here a couple of examples of the 'sustainable gadgets' 

a solar oven that was used to dry fruit and vegetables 

and of course a windmill...

I was shown around, getting a mini tour of where the dinner hall was, the daily schedule and the expectations for the volunteers.  Settling into the dorm where I would be staying I met a wonderful gal Anna from Denmark, we hit it off immediately and shared the upstairs room for the time I was there.  It was really nice having a European english speaking friend there.  It felt quite luxurious having all that space and light to ourselves upstairs and we were quite blessed.  The dormitory building was great made from adobe with arched wooden window frames.  It reminded me of a hobbit's house from Lord of The Rings.  The whole village was "Truly" amazing because everywhere I looked there were unusual things to look at.  Many sustainable gadgets such as solar ovens, windmills, compost toilets (big plastic bin with a toilet seat stuck on top of it and when you've done your business you put sawdust inside) all throughout the village.  Composting toilet is very simple but so beneficial for the environment.  Lowering the impact on watercourses and oceans by reducing marine pollution.  No flush system helps protect our precious water resources so reservoirs and dams can spread over a larger population.  They can be also used in areas that have sensitive terrains for example swampy ground, rocky mountainous areas and in a place that is close to a watercourse.  The village was located right next to the beach, right on the pacific ocean so these toilets were ideal.

The Temple

The community is Hare Krishna (Hindu religion) so all the food was vegetarian and really delicious.  The schedule is similar to ashrams in India, Satsang starts at 4.30am (this is a time where people chant, read and share about truth) in the temple.  There are also offerings during the day, prayer and Satsang again in the evenings at 7pm.  The attendees played the drum, bells and sang the hymns in sanskrit and then in spanish.  The chanting is followed by a reading from the Bhagavad-Gita (the ancient Hindu scriptures written in sanskrit which is the ancient language in India) and a discussion with teaching on the text.  In the afternoons there are also times of offering, prayer and again in the evenings at 7pm.  These practices were optional for non Hare Krishna followers.  Guests were asked to respect the Hare Krishna beliefs and participate if one wanted to but there were no expectations.  I attended most mornings because it felt nice to wake up before sunrise, meditate and sing together afterwards.  I found this quite easy to do this because of the time I spent in different ashrams in my previous visits to India.  It was really special to be a part of this community here in Peru and I shared some of my stories of travels in there, which the devotees appreciated because they'd never visited India before.

In the evening when I arrived, I attended the Satsang in the temple which was nice to sing and participate.  Govinda (Her Hare Krishna name) one of the devotees who lives in the community was leading it and I really enjoyed her peaceful presence.  It was bizarre noticing how much spanish I actually understood during the evening.  I realized how much spanish I had from the time I spent in Central America.  Grateful that I had decided to go to the community to practice and learn more spanish.  Afterwards as we were all leaving the temple, I looked up at the night sky seeing a large halo (otherwise known as a corona which is the refraction of moonlight from ice crystals in the upper atmosphere) around the moon.  I pointed it out to the others with excitement and we had a conversation about it, partly in english and partly in spanish.  We all agreed how auspicious the phenomenon was and shared in its delight as we walked to the dinning hall to have dinner together.

One of the micro temples inside the main temple where Satsang was held daily

Biodynamic farmer Rosario

On my first day I volunteered in the vegetable garden helping the Peruvian biodynamic farmer Rosario, he was a gentle man by nature.  I thoroughly enjoyed helping him because I learned some new words in spanish for the different vegetables that we were harvesting.  Working in the garden brings me joy, getting mucky and connecting with the earth.  Seeing all the plants, bugs, smelling the earth and feeling the warmth of the sun on my skin felt divine.  We harvested many vegetables such as beets, celery and radishes later a large group was coming to visit the ashram to buy them at the vegetable market we created.   Gathering healthy food and being a part of the process providing yummy vegetables and salad bits to the people in the kitchen who were making lunch that day.  Later on Priya asked if I could teach a second yoga class the following day in the afternoon to a group of 10 Peruvians.  I was a little nervous accepting the request at first because of my limited spanish but it pushed me to learn some new words for different parts of the body I would need to know for the class.




On day 2, I helped in the kitchen for a while before I was called away to attend a Mantra yoga meditation  class that was then followed by yoga (which I was teaching).  My class went well and there was a variety of students, 2 had practiced yoga before but for the other 8 it was their first time.  Luckily there was a woman in the class who spoke enough english to assist me as well and it went pretty smoothly.  It was a wonderful experience to have the opportunity to teach, inspire, and connect with Peruvian people here on another level by teaching them yoga.  There were 2 reporters from a newspaper in Lima also in the class.  The woman (I found out afterwards was a reporter) practiced yoga and the man was walking around taking photos during the class.  It was a bit nerve wracking to have a camera in the class and anywhere I turned there he was shooting pictures.  I felt blessed though to have had the opportunity to put my yoga teaching skills into practice. I got over my nervousness pretty quickly by immersing myself into the experience of being present and seeing the gift of being a teacher again.  It felt great!

After the yoga class a few of the students stayed back to speak to me afterwards.  With my colorful spanish I managed to converse and share with gratitude having the opportunity to teach them yoga.  Another woman I spoke to asked what brought me to Peru? I told her that I had a calling to come and find a teacher in natural healing.  Her eyes lit up as she became overjoyed with excitement and said that I must meet a woman she knows who's a famous shamanness in Lima, Mary Ann Eddowes.  Very well known in Peru for her healing work and the deep knowledge she has with medicinal plants.  The plants uses in her healing workshops and ceremonies.  I felt tingles (usually a good sign that is someone I need to meet!) all over my body when I heard this.  The student gave me her contact details and I thanked her graciously.  I knew that being at the eco village was a way of connecting me with local people and that will lead me in the direction to finding my teacher.  Again everything happens for a reason and when we are open the signs start flooding into ones life.  The special people we meet along the way can give us a little push in the direction we need to go.

Believe, open, and follow your heart is what I'm learning each day on this magnificent journey.

A painting on the wall of the yoga space, one of many beautiful art pieces

Later that evening the reporters interviewed myself and the other volunteers because they were curious if we were Hare Krishna devotees.  We all had the opportunity to explain our beliefs which were: none of us were religious but had spiritual beliefs.  It was funny that we all shared the same ideas of spirituality coming from all different parts of the world; Denmark, Ireland and U.S.A. In Peru and throughout other Latin American countries Catholicism is the primary religion.  The interviewers were captivated after hearing we were not religious and that we would still come to a Hare Krishna community.  Our shared views went something like this; by remaining open to other belief systems means we can observe with a non judgmental attitude and appreciate the essence of faith in all religious forms.  I added to it, most of the great teachers around the world share(d) the same messages: love one another, treat people with respect, forgive, live with compassion and kindness for all living creatures.  Concluding that if we can apply all these principles to our daily lives, then it doesn't matter what sect or religion we belong to because we are living truth.

It's same same but different as the locals like to say in Thailand, there is a huge acceptance of different religions within this culture .  Also in most parts of India people of all religions Buddhists, Christians and Muslims live side by side peacefully.

On the 5th day at the village I decided to return to Lima to meet the healer I'd heard about.  Its too soon to get comfortable in one community as I still haven't found my teacher.  I do intend on living in another sustainable community but once I've found my teacher.  I know they will be living in an eco community and I can learn about natural healing in addition to other things.

Last night I met with the shamanic healer Mary Ann and we had a dynamic and powerful visit together instantly connecting like we've always known one another.  Giving me some guidance in the direction I want to go in to find a teacher in the Amazon.  She mentioned some names, that I quickly jotted down as she spoke to me explaining that she can recommend ones that are working in the light.  She warned me that there are many maestros in Peru and some are not good shamans, so to be very careful especially going to the Amazon.  Closure on our visit we discussed the different healing  work we both do and made a plan to do a healing trade tomorrow.  I'll be giving her an Ayurvedic yoga massage and afterwards she will give me a sound healing session.  I've never had a sound healing session before and feel exhilarated that I'll be receiving it.  Isn't it wonderful to have gifts to share with the world and in return receive healing too.

I've decided to head North tomorrow afternoon to a place called Huaraz.  It's located in the Andes, the  climate is a bit cooler and there aren't any mosquitos.  It sounds like a nice place to meet a shaman and begin my studies in natural healing.  Healing retreats are held bimonthly in the space.  The community is completed sustainable with a vegetable farm, fruit trees, all kinds of animals such as goats, horses, chickens and some more I read online.  After a conversation I just had with the person coordinating the center we discussed volunteering opportunities.  I offered my healing skills, yoga teaching and gardening.  When I arrive there tomorrow we'll talk more in length and see where my skill set can fit in.

More about the adventure in Peru later...

Light & Love to you all