Peru and Ayahuasca Diaries
Prologue
Hello everyone!
In this series, I will be sharing my journey to Peru in August 2023 and my experience with ayahuasca.
I’m a white-collar woman over 50 living in Istanbul. Like many middle-class individuals living in Turkey, planning such distant trips is no longer as easily achievable for me. Firstly, cost is a significant barrier. On the other hand, scheduling time, such as taking two consecutive weeks of annual leave, is often not preferred by employers.
Ayahuasca has been something I’ve wanted to experience for the last 10 years. I’m not sure that I can give a clear answer to the question of what I wanted to solve in my soul or what I thought it would cure. I have been working on my spiritual development for a long time. While passing by all these processes, for sure I learned that there are no magic wands to make you the happiest person in life. What drew me to ayahuasca was, I think, curiosity above all else. It was an experience that has been vividly recounted by those who have gone through it, a mysterious and not easily attainable adventure. The visions, the pain, the happiness, the transformation that follows, and many more. I’ve read many articles and watched videos. In the last year, I researched some organizations in Turkey and Europe that make ceremonies with the participation of some “shamans” and checked the costs. But every time, my gut feeling was that this experience wouldn’t be meaningful unless I experienced it in its homeland, the Amazon. I’m grateful that I thought this way.
In July, something from deep in my heart suddenly said, “You’re going to Peru.” Under normal circumstances, especially considering Turkey’s current economic situation, I’m not someone who can make such plans. I’ve been cautious and concerned about the economy for a long time. But this time, I obeyed my inner feeling, and said, “I’m going to Peru,” and determined the place and the schedule. The Center I went to was run by a real Shipibo tribe shaman’s family, with everything being authentic, with zero cosmetic additives and touristy elements.
I have been very insistent on going there alone. I’m glad I did it this way. I believe this trip should definitely be done alone because the ayahuasca retreat is incredibly personal, introspective, and something that can’t be shared with anyone else. Being completely inward, experiencing this process free from all the obligatory greetings, conversations, and behaviors that social life requires, was a great luxury for me, and I recommend this to everyone. Beyond that, in the following week wandering around, doing what I wanted, going where I wanted freely whenever I wanted, without asking anyone else made me feel great! I recommend solo travel to everyone, especially to my female friends, at least once.
In this journal, I will convey every detail from the moment I boarded the plane. The section about ayahuasca is my personal experience. Many readers may feel this diary is a bit “dry”, it may make them think, “Is this all?” The reason for this is my reluctance to embellish the notes that were initially written only to convey to my friends what I experienced, without adding or omitting anything, and they are entirely based on facts. I must add that, everyone’s experience with ayahuasca may be totally different from each other. But what I deeply feel is, many narrators also embellish and exaggerate their adventures a lot. This also mythicizes Ayahuasca more than it should be, even though the process itself is already uniquely impactful.
After the first week, I spent a short time in Cusco and finally in Lima, and I will mention some of this in the later parts of the journal. Maybe this writing will encourage me to become a travel blogger in the long run.
I chose Medium because I believe it’s the most suitable platform for combining text with videos and photos. I’m not entirely sure how appropriate it is for such content. I’d just like to emphasize this note: if it piques your interest, reading the sections sequentially rather than skipping through will make our sharing even more powerful.
That’s it for now, enjoy your reading. With love and peace:)
