Amazon Adventures January 2012

After Christmas I left the lodge to explore the amazon jungle as that was my intention of going to Peru in the first place. Sad to be leaving my new friends in the Andes, I left Huaraz for an 8 hour bus journey to Lima.  Then caught a flight to Iquitos which is in the heart of the Amazon Jungle.  It was a fairly straightforward flight and I arrived in Iquitos about 2.5 hours later. On the way we done a small detour to Pucallpa.  One passenger almost got off the plane thinking we had arrived in Iquitos but the flight attendant mentioned that we were in Pucallpa.  This is how things are done here in Peru, communication isn't great, flights will take small detours to get the most efficiency for their money and stop at places along the way.  It's a good idea because it cuts down on the number of flights going to places and the amount of petrol being consumed.  It's even better when the attendants make it clear that we are doing a detour though otherwise like that woman other people may get off thinking their at the final destination! How I Love Peru and the funny little idiosyncrasies that occur hear sometimes make me laugh out loud!

Flying over the amazon jungle brought tears to my eyes, after all these years of dreaming about it I'm finally here.  The amount of lush green canopy, trees, winding rivers and tributaries made my heart expand to the size of a balloon full of love and joy to be looking down on one of the biggest ecosystems in the world.  Arriving in Iquitos I caught a funny looking motor-taxi to the city from the airport.  They are part motorcycle and part car, much like a rickshaw in India but different… noisy, crazy, as unstable as a motorbike but efficient on petrol.  On my way through the city of Iquitos some people waved at me like I was the prodigal daughter returning after being away for some years, it felt nice to know how open and friendly the people are.  Iquitos is the most densely populated city in Peru without any road access, the only way in is to fly or get a boat.  Soon the taxi driver found the hostel that one of my volunteer friends recommended and I settled in right away.  Casa Samantha is a nice, simple little hostel in Iquitos with a kitchen to cook your own food.  The owner is a very kind, loving and open hearted man who runs the hostel with his young son/grandson…not sure but the little boy is a real cutie and very professional in running the show :)  

Motor taxi

During my visit to Iquitos I read in a local paper that the Amazon Rainforest has just been added as one of the Seven Natural Wonders of The World (The Amazon spreads across South America; Brazil, Peru, Bolivia, Columbia, Ecuador, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana).  That's twice Peru have been given the opportunity to share their wonders with the world; Machu Pichu being one of the older wonders (voted in 2007).

Iquitos is a crazy place, the amount of noise from the motor taxis zipping around like madmen beeping, hustle and bustle of jungle city life.  Due to these intense sensory experiences in my short time in there, I decided it was a bit too manic to spend New Years.  I decided to make an escape route and head up river to a small village where the other retreat center is called Janero Herrera. Catching the slow boat from Iquitos to Janero Herrera the following day which took 10 hours (fast boat only takes 4-5 hours).  I wanted to the experience of going along the amazon river, slinging my hammock on the deck along with many more peruvians and doing it the rustic way.  The slow boat is a cargo boat that brings supplies and passengers to each of the towns along the amazon river.  Known to be the cheapest way to travel in the jungle, it's not the safest of options but a real authentic experience and how most of the locals travel from place to place.  Some other travelers avoid this mode of transport for safety reasons and I can understand why, but my experience was filled with goodness.  What you put out comes back; generate love and trust and it returns 10 fold! I found a nice safe spot between a couple of families and they looked out for me during the 10 hours journey.  In exchange for my gratitude I taught two of them, one on each side of me, to play Sudoku.  It was really funny laying there in my hammock with both students either side asking questions with my broken spanish answering them and guiding through their first Sudoku experiences.  I would chuckle inside when I would observe each one thinking hard and concentrating on the puzzle I gave them.  This was a good move because not only did I make a difference in their lives by teaching them something new, they accepted me right away and I felt safe throughout the journey and as though they were my family. 

My hammock is the one with the carabiner and sling

During the night I stood on the deck and had a conversation in spanglish with a friendly lady from a town 3 hours past where I was going.  I offered her some dietary advice for her husband who suffers with ulcers.  She was very thankful and I promised myself I would learn spanish to be able to help more people with their health and nutritional problems here.  We looked at the moon and stars together conversing in a strange dialect that we both could kinda understand but with the help of the trusted dictionary I could expand the conversation in small ways.  At about 2.30am the boat was getting closer to Janero Herrera and my adopted family woke me up and were getting anxious for my arrival.  Walking me to the front of the boat, waiting until it moored at the pier.  Hugs and kisses to say farewell and off I went into the unknown not even knowing if there is a hostel there waiting for me to sleep in.  I caught a motor taxi and we drove for about 1 minute and we reached a hostel, being so late I had concerns that I would not be able to get a room but a sleepy old man met me at the door and led me to a room in the back.  I couldn't believe how straight forward it was to get a room at that ungodly hour but I was grateful to have a bed to sleep in.  Around 6-7am a loud generator behind my room went on and that was the end of my brief but restful sleep. It was New years eve and probably just the beginning of a long and restless day/night ahead.  This is Latin America where celebration, noise and disco music are their fortes - the louder the better! I  met with a German traveler who had just got back after being in the jungle with his guide for 2 months.  I met the guide: Jorge: AKA George of the Jungle...seriously that was his name LOL.  We'd go to the jungle for 1 week, my intension to learn some things about medicinal plants, trees, barks and vines in the jungle and giving me a little taster of what it's like to live in the Amazon.  We would go by canoe for 1 day into the jungle to stay in a very rustic camp there.  Meeting up later that day to get food supplies for the week, rubber boots because of the rainy season and made arrangements for a time to meet the following day to set off into the jungle.

Setting off by canoe into the Amazon

Jorge's teenage son & boat with supplies

Meeting very early the next morning Jorge and his son Jose Carlos got everything ready and we packed the canoe full of our supplies.  Filled with excitement and wonder off we went.  The canoe was powered with a motor (outboard engine, like the long tail boats in Thailand) attached and we went for about 5-6 hours along the river into the jungle, leaving behind all attachments to community life and venturing into the wild Amazon.   

Camu Camu fruit

As we were traveling down river to the place we would camp we passed some bushes with fruit on them.  Camu Camu having the second highest concentration of vitamin C of any known fruit in the world.  Its known for its healing properties from the common cold to arthritis.  Sour by taste but people here make a juice out of it by mixing a little sugar and water making it very delicious. 

Source: http://www.freshplaza.com/news_detail.asp?id=89848

My hammock with plastic tarp for rain protection Day 1 The camp was made up of two wooden frames that was the base for the plastic cover that was thrown over the top for shelter from the rain. Underneath the plastic cover was where my hammock hung and that was where I slept or rested in when wanting cover from the hoards of mosquitos. My guide looked at me strangely when I hung the hammock and he asked in spanglish if it was enough for me? I said "sure, this hammock is called Amazona and has a mosquito net already attached", how naive I was to the amazon jungle I thought I could sleep comfortably in that contraption.  Jorge must of been thinking "yeah right, you'll need more but it's up to you!" The first night I didn't get much sleep because the mosquitos were bussing around outside and biting me through the material underneath.  I bought the hammock in Rei in the U.S and the brand name is Amazona hammock but I can tell you that was the real test to see if it's Amazon fit and it wasn't enough.  It would be fine for small bugs and a little protection from mosquitos but definitely not enough for the Amazon jungle! Also during the same night I had a party, with ants being the guests of honor walking along the top of my hammock.  When I got up to go to go to the toilet, and got back into the hammock I had an invasion of the little buggers in my lovely cozy abode. It was a very long night indeed! The next day was extermination day, Jorge and his son rolled up some cloth and attached it to the top of a long stick and then poured gasoline on it and setting it on fire.  Putting it into the tree that my hammock was attached - smoking out the ants nest.  That wasn't all, he actually cut the small tree down to ensure the ants were gone and would not come back later in the evening.  It done the job for a while but being that we were in the jungle, the ants found a way back but there weren't as many as before.  Additional supplies were needed and we strung my hammock up inside a full fledged amazon mosquitos net and I felt like I was in a cocoon protected from any wildlife I wasn't comfortable sharing my hammock with. My camp armored with a proper mosquito net Day 2  A trees sap that is good for ulcers Each day after breakfast Jorge and I would walk in the jungle together. He would point out trees, plants and vines that were medicinal telling me their healing properties.  It was great to explore the jungle with an experienced guide and seeing the lush forest in its full splendor.  We drank water from a vine and it tasted really good.  There were so many butterflies, many of different sizes and colors; my favorite being the "Blue Morpho" (sadly too fast for me to get a picture of).  The tones of exotic birds and the full symphony of sounds in the jungle filled my senses with love and I felt right at home there - except for the stinking mosquitos! Always being on the lookout for other wildlife, the cougars, snakes, monkeys and poisonous spiders.  I didn't get to see most of those critters but I did get to see some monkeys which was cool.   Bark of the tree is good for infections Tree with medicinal properties Vine that has drinking water - yummy Exotic flower in the Amazon One of many butterflies I seen  Beautiful mushroom growing wild in the jungle One of the nights we took the canoe out to see if we could spot any nocturnal animals but we weren't fortunate enough, due to the height of the river it was impossible to see any alligators.  It was cool going out at night rowing the canoe, the peacefulness of the nighttime noises of the jungle, delicious night air filled the atmosphere with mystery and awe.  Even better because there were no mosquitos out on the water at night! Little butterfly friend visiting as Jorge fishes Jorge fishing for dinner Each day we would take the canoe down river and fish for dinner.  The first day we only caught piraña but instead of eating it for dinner we used it as bait.  The fishing tool was just a hook and line which is very primitive but effective most of the time.  Due to the rainy season and the river being higher it was harder to catch fish. On the fist day we only caught a piranha but instead of eating it for dinner we used it as bait.  The days we didn't catch anything we would eat just rice, yucca (a jungle vegetable) and eggs.  When we caught a fish it was a real delicious treat to have something different for dinner.  Simple food but tasty all the same, it's amazing how garlic, onion and cumin can make the most basic ingredients yummy.  On day 3 Jorge caught a big fish and we enjoyed a feast that evening.  The fish was cut into segments marinated in garlic, salt and some pepper and wrapped in banana leaves.  Placed on the homemade grill and cooked over the fire.  It was a really tasty meal, mealtime magic in the camp and made a super change from plain rice, yucca and the simplest of ingredients we'd been eating on days prior to the big catch! The Big Catch Making the grill to cook the fish over the fire Fish wrapped in banana leaf to cook Boiling water over the fire for rice, the canopy to shelter from the rain A Poem I wrote after I arrived in the jungle.... Mysterious Amazon Calls Me Mysteries of the jungle are calling me, adventurous life with a mission.  As I flew over the luscious amazon tears filled my eyes as my heart overflowed with love and joy.  I'm here, I'm home… Exactly as its supposed to be! This connection is old, many lives and stories told.  Waiting for the boat to take me deep into the jungle I go, to learn, share and grow.  As the seeds that were planted long ago are now ready to sew.  Stay present - free - courageously living the truth I was born to Be.  Butterfly friend I made while fishing one day Life in the jungle is primitive and hard work because you always have to be aware of your surroundings in case of wild animals, snakes, poisonous spiders or plants.  I really enjoyed my time there fishing for dinner, cooking on an open fire and living so simply.  It felt great to be in the jungle but the mosquitos were the most unpleasant thing for me to deal with and I'd been eaten alive in just the 4 days of being there and I was getting quite irritated.  Being it was the rainy season didn't help because the river is higher and there are many more mosquitos than normal. Which is A Lot already, so you can only just imagine how much more of a pain they were. I've lived in tropical places before with mosquitos but nothing like this! Apparently there are places in the amazon that don't have mosquitos at all and that is where I would like to visit some time. I still prefer the mountains, although I love the humidity of the jungle, the wildlife and the magical buzz with all the sounds.  The mountains have stolen my heart, peaceful, bug free and tranquil setting in the Andes. I decided it was time to return to the hill tribe I met and to do a retreat there in Andes without the unpleasant and distracting bugs of the amazon.

Magnificent Andean Mountains of Huaraz - December 2011

After going off grid for sometime because living in the Huaraz region in the Peruvian Andes where the internet connection was quite slow.  I've decided its time to resuscitate my blog and let people know how the past months of my life have been since my last post.

The view I woke up to everyday

Living up in the mountains cut me off for a bit. Although being at 3,712 meters was wonderful! The higher in altitude I go to the clearer my mind becomes filling it with clarity and truth.  Most days I would wake up to a beautiful sunny morning, blue sky and surrounding snow capped mountains. The Way Inn lodge where I was staying it's surrounded by some fantastic views of the Andes, a gorgeous river valley that I hiked in and a huge glacier in full view between the valley.  Wild horses, cows and many types of birds including one of my favorites - the hummingbird inhabit these surrounding areas.  The lodge is beautiful and offers many amenities for guests: great rooms, lovely helpful staff, clean white starched linens, feather duvets and pillows (a great treat after been backpacking for so long).  Raging hot water showers with clean fresh towels.  After the views which are phenomenal, the people that live there are truly wonderful!! Friendly, warm, loving and full of light.  After my arrival I felt connected and accepted as one of the family right away. The place is fabulous with a cozy feel from the wood stove burning all day making it a very snug sanctuary in the mountains.  The food is fantastic, just when you think you can't beat all the other things available, the staff there sure know how to cook!!!

Humming bird gathering nectar from flowers close to the lodge

Just another day in the mountains, love this view!

The nearby glacier

The Way Inn Lodge, Huaraz

Resident ducks that I fed each day

The sauna being repaired and is now wonderful

Vegetarian and carnivore options on the menu with very reasonable prices too for what they offer.  If you want to hike they'll make you a yummy packed lunch for you.  My favorite place to stay was "The Cave" which is the dorm built into huge boulders.  Being that I often joke about wanting to escape to a cave in the Himalayas to meditate and become enlightened that was the perfect abode for me in the Andean mountains when I needed some time to myself.  The surrounding areas have bouldering available because of the massive boulders everywhere and makes it a whole rounded experience being up in the mountains. I would meditate most mornings or sometimes in the afternoons on my favorite boulder behind the cave.  There's also a sauna which is made out of adobe mud and is a good afternoon/evening treat when my muscles were aching after a long hike through the hills or just to warm my bones on cooler days.

Window next to my bed in "The Cave" & amazing view

One of the boulders the cave is built into

Volunteering my time 6 hours a day 4 days a week in exchange for meals was the deal, which left a few days to enjoy the playground of mountains and excellent hiking in the area all around the lodge.  I helped out with a crew of volunteers about 6 including myself and there were other paid Peruvian helpers working on the project as well. The work consisted of finishing building a house at the end of the property "The Farmhouse" where the upcoming retreats were going to be held.  My first job was to varnish the window frames before they were installed after the carpenter built them.  When that task was complete I measured the length and breath of each individual window so glass could be ordered and then added to the frames at a later time.  Adding the styrofoam to gaps in the roof for insulation before the planks of wood went over them making up the ceiling.  Then as the project evolved I also applied some of the carpentry skills I gained from my time in Alaska and helped nail the flooring down.  I spent 10 days helping out with this and loving every minute of being there as days were full of light, love and laughter.  Christmas in the Andes was great and was a celebration with the volunteers, some other guests who arrived to spend christmas and the beautiful staff all at the lodge in the mountains. Christmas eve morning one of the guests wanted a massage and I gave her one which she expressed her gratitude to be pampered during her holidays.  Then on Christmas day gave another guest a massage after she got back from a hike that day.  It felt great to be able to put my massage skills into action and share the good healing energy with the guests! Later that night we all are a big turkey dinner and all the frills of a real European/American cook-up.  

Wild horses I met on one of my hikes

Local lady and her alpaca pal in the town of Huaraz 

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