Ayahuasca and San Pedro Plant Spirit Shamanism

Ayahuasca and San Pedro
Plant Spirit Shamanism Retreat with Alonso del Rio

Announcing a special Workshop and Shamanism Retreat.
with Alonso del Rio in Mishana, Peru.

Dates: October 13th - 27th 2007

Retreat Guide & Leader: Howard G Charing, Author of Plant Spirit Shamanism, published by Destiny Books (USA). Photo below; Howard with the Great Visionary Artist Pablo Amaringo, who wrote the foreword to his book.




The uses of powerful hallucinogenic plants such as Ayahuasca and San Pedro have been developed by indigenous peoples and early civilizations over thousands of years, and their effects are highly dependent upon the context of the ceremony, the chants and the essential personality of the shaman, all of which can vary with surprising results.

Diverse urban uses have emerged recently and a few of these are spreading, while some traditional shamans travel the world, thus Ayahuasca is gaining recognition in Western civilization. But what really is the potential of these ancestral plants, and how can we get the most out of them?

In this special workshop – shamanism retreat, the Peruvian maestro ayahuasquero Alonso del Rio will be with us for 10 days and hold ceremonies with both Ayahuasca and San Pedro. Alonso will open us to a different dimension from working with a traditional shaman. He has both an Amazonian and Western background and is therefore well placed to understand the problems of modern people and help them to greater self knowledge.

He will share his wealth of insight into Amazonian and Andean cosmology in a series of meetings with time for discussion and questions. Apart from the ceremonies, he will be offering a choice of two plants to diet: tobacco and guayusa. Both of these work with your dreams, making them more conscious and 'real', in order to rest the rational mind and explore more deeply inwards.

About the maestro


Alonso is a powerful maestro who interweaves Shipibo and other icaros with sacred music of his own to lead you on your journey; he is both a talented musician and an inspiring communicator of the Amazonian shamanic world. He first came into contact with ayahuasca in 1979 after spending three years working with huachuma (San Pedro). This was when he met Don Benito Arevalo, a grand Shipibo shaman with whom he developed a long relationship, and who gave him his first teachings in ayahuasca and other medicinal plants.

Later, taking ayahuasca alone as part of his traditional teaching, he says: "I didn't feel comfortable reproducing the chants that I'd learned with my maestro, so one night I picked up my guitar and began to play what came to me and the result was surprising. From then on I was never without my guitar at ceremonies and over the years many songs came to me, set to different rhythms for ceremonies and incorporating teachings and revelations from the medicine itself.” He has published three CDs to date. Alonso lives in the sacred valley of Cusco where he runs a healing centre and a primary school for local children.

The potential and purpose of Ayahuasca

For most traditional shamans, ayahuasca is a tool for diagnosing illness, and as curanderos, (healers) they will mediate with plant spirits to heal their clients both physically and spiritually. More ‘popular’ urban shamans can also use their magical powers to change your luck, for example attracting money or a lover.

On this retreat we would like to develop another aspect, perhaps even more serious, and use the plants as powerful tools for self knowledge. Amongst all the spiritual paths that the world offers, Alonso believes that, at this time, teacher plants are the best way for people to gain a deep knowledge of themselves and at the same time this can solve some problems that other paths cannot.

During his 30 years experience with ayahuasca and San Pedro, Alonso never wanted to be a shaman or attain magical powers but rather gain self development through self knowledge. He will share his discoveries to help us ‘undo’ the mental programming and the cultural conditioning (family and ancestral) which models our minds.

Ayahuasca is a powerful tool for being happy and free, says Alonso, who disagrees with the way many shamans work today, considering that they often deceive people by telling them what they want to hear like gypsies at a village fare! ‘You will have many suitors, etc.’

This retreat could equally suit a person who has some background in Buddhism, yoga or mysticism. It is a space for having contact with divinity without intermediaries or interpretations. Ayahuasca allows you to be gently introspective, to see your fears, worries and everything that makes you suffer! It can take you back through your life to show you at what moment the suffering took hold in your body and in your memory, how it has made you live on a superficial level because underneath there is too much pain, and as we don’t want to feel pain, how we condemn ourselves to living on the surface. With ayahuasca we can enter the pain at the time when we were children, when we experienced the first traumas and agonies of life, and cleanse it by forgiving the whole chain of events and the people who made us suffer. Traumatic experiences are inevitable in life, but what we cannot afford to do is live with resentment and blame people, as this ruins our relationships.

Some people may not be satisfied with the life they lead. Ayahuasca enables them to see their priorities. Is it following a spiritual path that you want most, or making money? Do you want to start a family or do you want to pursue your career? Constantly doing what is expected of us we cause suffering. The answers are all inside us. We must live by what we profoundly want. Ayahuasca clarifies your priorities and feelings, which are neither good nor bad in and of them selves.

Photo 'Sunset at Mishana'

About the diet plants

Tobacco is important throughout the Amazon. For many indigenous groups and in many legends, it is considered the first medicine because it is used alone, unlike ayahuasca which is prepared with two plants because the one alone is not possible to assimilate due to enzymes in the stomach. How did indigenous people gain knowledge of this complicated chemical process? They needed plants which could be used without any preparation or mixing. Alonso suggests Tobacco was a path to the discovery of ayahuasca, thus in many legends tobacco is the father, which gave origin to civilization. Tobacco does not engender cancer if it is not burned. Guayusa has a similar function giving knowledge of other plants and is very effective for lucid dreaming and problem solving. It contains escorpoline but little else is known of its pharmaceutical properties.


Mishana Private Retreat Centre

This programme will take place in the Mishana Private Retreat Centre. We have 57 Hectares (140 acres) of land with a lodge in the Allpahuayo Mishana Nature reserve. Our lodge is located directy on the river which is part of a 58,070 hectare nature reserve.

Due to a combination of geological factors and diverse soil types, the reserve supports a unique community of plant and animal species. It is the ‘jewel’ in the crown for bird-watchers and contains dozens of species which are unique to this area. The Reserve contains one of the highest biodiversities known in the Amazon basin. The Lodge is located directly on the Rio Nanay which is a tributary of the Amazon River.

Our lodge is situated in-between two bends of the river giving an amazing panoramic view . We have our own boat so trips can be made to some interesting, and extraordinarily beautiful places along the river. The lodge is a 2 hour river journey from Iquitos by power boat. We have the dedicated services of maestro shaman Artidoro Aro Cardenas. Included in the program are individual personal healing or consultative sessions based upon your personal needs by our shaman. The maestro will also provide experiential teachings about the fascinating medicinal and psycho-spiritual properties of the local plants. Participants can choose their plant medicine which will be made fresh for them.

Our accommodation is in comfortable traditional cabins or tambos (dieting huts), a leaf roof supported by poles and with open sides (the most intimate way to sleep in the jungle). The beds benefit from a comfortable mattress and fly nets when necessary. The tambos are spread out to assure privacy and minimum disturbance from others. Participants have a choice of using either the cabins in the 'Casa Grande' annex or tambos for their retreat.

During the day when there are no activities, there will be hammocks to relax in, and you can read, or wander into the forest, or swim in the river (there is a small sandy beach). Our ceremonies and meeting will be held in either the Casa Grande with an open platform on stilts directly on the river with a magnificent view of the rainforest and star filled sky. or our maloca (ceremonial temple), a large circular tambo made of natural materials and shaped like a womb. We will eat our meals in the lodge, the traditional meeting place, where food is cooked on a wood fire.

Single Accommodation

One of the unique characteristics of this programme is that we offer single accommodation throughout both in the hotels in Lima, Iquitos, and at our Centre in Mishana. This ensures that participants can obtain the maximum benefit from their encounter with the plants. The Diet really needs to be taken in solitude and personal retreat without distractions. This is a defining characteristic of this programme. Typically other programmes do not offer this and dormitory / shared accommodation is usually the rule. Our Tambos (individual accommodation huts) are all different and are spread out, some with more isolation than others and we also have individual accommodation rooms in the wing of our Casa Grande for those who would prefer being close to the main facilities. There are photos on the web or I can send pictures on request.

Excursions

There will be opportunities to make night time dugout canoe fishing trips with Pedro our hunting guide and power boat trips along the river. There will also be a resident craftswoman to demonstrate and teach us to make the unique Amazonian crafts and textiles.

The proposal

Our intention in this journey is to provide the conditions and orientation to enable participants to follow a proper diet, and for it to be as near as possible to what indigenous people have done for thousands of years, (although we can avoid unnecessary hardship, in any case a diet is not a trial of endurance).

The diet is a journey of self-exploration and the maestro is there to give support, not to impress us with a ‘show’, as do some of the ayahuasca shamans who work with Westerners. It is tempting to imagine that shamans with the gift for engendering powerful experiences in their clients are necessarily spiritually evolved and benevolent, but unfortunately this is not always the case. It is more important that the shaman is an evolved and impeccable person, who will guide us to learn for ourselves and benefit from our experiences in safety.

Participants will undertake to ‘diet’ a plant for a full six to eight days, selecting their plant from a range of options which will be explained by the maestro and depend on individual requirements. Some plants are good for specific ailments as, for example Chuchahuasi for arthritis and other bone conditions, although there is always a magical world opened up by the plant spirit. Other plants have specific spiritual benefits. Chirisanango and Ushpahuasanango, for example, open up the heart and are healing to emotions. Guayusa works very curiously on one’s dreams, affording an experience of being conscious while in fact asleep or dreaming. The plants used will all be compatible with Ayahuasca so that we can benefit from the plant diet during Ayahuasca ceremonies. There will be a programme of talks, exercises, individual sessions and group meetings without prejudicing the spirit of the diet. This is a way to learn from observation and intimate contact with nature, practical artistic exercises using local materials.

We will participate in the gathering and preparation of Ayahuasca, a prolonged ritual in which power is invoked from the planta maestra. We will learn about healing plants and how to find them.

The Shaman’s Diet

For a future shaman or person seeking wisdom, the plant diet is the first step in the journey of initiation, however it can also be used to cure physical illness or as a means of achieving spiritual well being. During the diet a concoction made from your chosen teacher plant is usually brought to you each morning by the maestro and drunk on awakening. After you have got to know a plant spirit in this way, it becomes your ally and a shaman can then use it for healing his clients.

A diet for a serious illness may last for several months and sometimes in the process, the person discovers his ability to heal, decides to apprentice himself, and goes on to diet many more plants. The apprentice’s diet is normally undertaken deep in the forest, and alone with the maestro, but in practice it can be very difficult to find ideal conditions of tranquillity, support, the proper food and distance from temptation, yet with adequate conditions of comfort.

The most important things to avoid are pork, red meat, fat, salt, sugar, alcohol, drugs - including medicines - and sexual activity. This diet is begun in a more liberal form the week before starting to take the plant, and is continued for a while afterwards. Its purpose is to prepare the body and nervous system for the powerful knowledge and expansion of consciousness given by teacher plants. In everyday life, the mind creates the illusion that we are separate from reality, and thus protects us, like a veil, from experiencing the vastness of the universe. Access to the truth without preparation could be a radical shock to the system.

Teacher plants act as a bridge to a realm of knowledge which goes beyond individuals or plants, however they vary greatly, as each plant shows us its own world. Ajo sacho, for example, tunes you in to the reality of the rain forest, sharpening the senses and inhibiting body odour through its own garlic smell, so that you will not be detected by animals in the forest. It has been used to improve hunting skills for thousands of years. The magical world to which we are transported by plants is not accessible through the verbal rational mind but through dream language. Thus dreams act like doorways during a plant diet and connect us with the plant spirit.

Diets are not invented by maestros, they are given by the plant spirits themselves,but there is more to it than simply abstaining from certain foods and activities. It involves a state of purification, retreat, commitment, and respect for our connection with everything around us - above all the rain forest. When we listen to our dreams, they become more real, and equally important as everyday life. For this reason we do not encourage distracting or libidinous thoughts, dreams or fantasies.



To quote the Shipibo maestro Guillermo Arevalo who worked with our group on the February 2003 Retreat,

“ Whether the diet is to heal the body or the spirit or whether it is part of an apprenticeship, what makes it work is your good intention towards the diet. Also the good intention of the maestro who helps make the connection with the spirit of the plant. He must know how to get into the altered state to be in contact himself first. They are beings, which have their own forms or they can be like human beings with faces and bodies. When the spirit accepts the dieter, and the dieter has the will, the spirit grants them energy. The path to knowledge opens, the healing takes place, as the case may be.”


Shamanism: The Plants


Working with teacher plants is known as the ‘shaman’s diet’. The purpose of the diet is to prepare the body and nervous system for the powerful knowledge and expansion of consciousness given by teacher plants. In everyday life, the mind creates the illusion that we are separate from reality, and thus protects us, like a veil, from experiencing the vastness of the universe. Access to the truth without preparation could be a radical shock to the system. It offers a significant challenge for the rational Western mind to come to terms with the teacher plants, and a leap of imagination is required to incorporate the ‘other’ consciousness of the plant.The magical world to which we are transported by plants is not accessible through the verbal rational mind but through dream language or an expansion of the imagination. Thus dreams & our imaginative powers act like doorways during a plant diet and connect us with the plant spirit.

Some Plants


• Mocura; taken orally or used in floral baths to raise energy, or take you out of a saladera (a run of bad luck, inertia, sense of not living to the full). This plant gives mental strength and you can feel its effects as also with ajosacha, both are varieties of garlic and have a penetrating aroma. Mental strength means it could be good to counter shyness, find one’s personal value or authority. Medicinal properties include asthma, bronchitis, reduction of fat and cholesterol. Another of its properties is that it burns of excess fat.

• Piñon Colorado; this plant has short lived effect after drinking but helps dreaming later on when you go to sleep. Piñon Colorado can also be worked with as a planta maestra (teacher plant). Medicinal properties include dealing with Insect bites and stings, vaginal infections, and bronchitis. It is possible to take the resin which is much stronger but toxic if too much ingested. The resin can be applied directly to the skin.

• Chirisanango; this plant is good for colds and arthritis and has the effect of heating up the body, so much so that the maestro advises a cold shower after each dose! This plant can be used in baths for good luck, and bring success to fishing, hunting etc. This planta maestra also makes possible for people to open up their heart to feel love for people and animals, and identify with other people as though brothers and sisters.

It grows mainly in the Upper Amazon and only a few restingas (high ground which never floods) in the Lower Amazon. The shamans say that plants connect us with nature because they take their nourishment directly from the earth, as well as the sun’s rays, the air. They allow us to know and recognize ourselves. A shaman must know this and must love his people to heal them. The gift of Chirisanango is self esteem i.e the ability to recognise ourselves.

The shamans say that this plant opens up the shamanic path, assuming that we are prepared to live under the rules of shamanism, to do this we need courage and no fear of extremes or negative & challenging circumstances. We need to understand what role we will play in society and have the heart of a warrior.

• Guayusa; It is good for excessive acidity and other problems in the stomach and bile. Also it is both energizing and relaxing at the same time and develops mental strength. This also has the most interesting effect of giving lucid dreams i.e when you are dreaming you are aware that you are dreaming. The plant is also known as the "watchman's plant", as even when sleeping you are aware of the outer physical surroundings.

On another personal note, I found the experience with this plant also to be quite incredible. I found that the usual boundary between sleeping and being awake to be more fluid than I had anticipated. Even now, sometime after taking the plant my dreams are more colourful, richer, and lucid than before. For those interested in 'dreaming' this is certainly the plant to explore.

• Ajo Sacha; An important planta maestra in the initiation of Amazonian shamans. Mental strength, acuity of mind, saladera (explained above), for ridding spells, self healing. Originally used to enhance hunting skills by covering up human smell with the garlic smell of Ajosacha.

On another personal note, I found my senses being altered and enhanced with this plant. I could zoom in and focus on sounds emanating from the rainforest, my sense of smell became sharper, and in some ineffable way I could tune into the breathing or rhythm of the rainforest. The sound of insects and birds was no longer a random phenomenon, these sounds became a rhythmic breath, rising and falling. No wonder that it is used for hunting as one's sense are heightened in an incredible way.

• Icoja; A bark used for malaria, fever, an astringent, disinfectant for healing septic wounds. Used against Uta - a kind of leprosy found in the Amazon. Wounds are washed directly with this plant, and it is also used for an infectious disease (Pilagra) in children.

• Chanca piedra; Used for Kidney problems especially kidney stones (hence the name ‘stone crusher’), gall bladder, disinfectant. This is recognised as a gall bladder and liver tonic. It is also used for cleansing the urinary system and for dealing with intestinal parasites. This plant is only used for its many pharmaceutical properties, not a planta maestra per se.

• Sachamangua; This is a large single seeded fruit, which when you crush the fruit and squeeze the juice into the nose, it warms the area locally (it can sting a bit), and it is effective for curing sinusitis. It also helps the eyesight and restores visual acuity by relieving the pressure from the sinuses. You eliminate a lot of mucus and this gives relief. The fruit when ripe is normally eaten peeled or roasted, and is a little like the aguaje fruit, but for medicinal uses it must be green. It is also good for tired feet in an poultice. Taken orally it is useful for the liver when struggling with the digestion of fat, it is also a treatment for gases. Fungal spores in the nose can cause itching, rhinitis or allergy and Sachamangua is effective for this too. Athlete’s foot can also be treated with the dry powder, like talcum powder, prepared from this fruit.

• Cat’s Claw (una de gato); Cat's Claw is a tropical vine that grows in rainforest. This vine gets its name from the small thorns at the base of the leaves, which looks like a cat's claw. These claws enable the vine to attach itself around trees climbing to a heights up to 150 feet. The inner bark of this vine has been used for generations to treat inflammations, colds, viral infections, arthritis, and tumors.

Cat's Claw can be used as tonic to boost the body's immune system. And is considered by many as a ‘balancer’ returning the body's functions to a healthy equilibrium. Its has anti-inflammatory and blood cleansing properties as well as being able to clean out the entire intestinal tract and therefore helps treat a wide array of digestive problems such as gastric ulcers, parasites, and dysentery.

From a psycho-spiritual, plant spirit, or shamanic perspective in which disease and illness can be initiated by a spiritual imbalance within a person causing the person to become de-spirited, or losing heart (in the West we would call this depression), it can restore this inner sacred union of spirit and physical body.

The medicinal properties of this plant are officially recognized by the Peruvian government and it is a protected (for export) plant. It is available widely in the west in capsule form. In the markets in Iquitos it is available in bark form, and many indigenous communities are increasingly cultivating this plant

• Boahuasca; Used to heal Cancer of the stomach and intestines and prolapses. Also used against Uta, and cancerous, malignant wounds. The shaman's make an ointment from the ash and apply directly.

The underlying truth that is revealed in working with the plant spirit or consciousness is that we are not separate from the natural world. We perceive ourselves to be separate beings with our minds firmly embedded within our being (typically our head). The plants can show you that this way of being is an illusion and that we are all connected, all of us and everything else is a discrete element in the great universal field of consciousness. This is an area where the ancient knowledge of the peoples of the rainforest and modern quantum physics point in the very same direction, “Reality is an illusion, albeit a persistent one’ Albert Einstein.

Another way of seeing the shaman’s diet is that like the platitude ‘all roads lead to Rome’, all plants lead through different paths of experiences to the same place, i.e a deep and expanded understanding of one’s place in the world around us and a recognition of self as an intrinsic element of this.

The indigenous people of the Amazon see life as having enough purpose just as it is. Fulfilment comes from being in tune with the spirits so there is an abundance of fish, bananas, yucca for making masato (alcoholic beverage), and plenty of healthy children, in short, life is for being happy!



The Shaman

We are very delighted to have secured the services of some of the most experienced shamans in the region, during our Retreats we will work with one of the following shamans;, Artidoro Aro Cardenas, Javier Arevalo and Leoncio Garcia.


Artidoro Aro Cardenas

We have worked with Maestro Artidoro on our previous Amazon Retreat, and again we were greatly impressed with his knowledge of medicinal and power plants, and his compassion and support for the participants. Although Artidoro is Mestizo he has lived amongst the Ashaninka Indians for many years, and has learned their languages which result in that many of his chants come from a variety of indigenous groups including the Ashaninka, Cashibo, and Capanaua .He has started his own centre near Iquitos.


Javier Arevalo

We have worked with Javier many times on our Retreats, we also brought him to the UK for a special Amazonian Medicine camp in 2002. We are greatly impressed and moved by his dedication, and his commitment to the demanding rigours of an Amazonian shaman.It is fair to say that everybody who has worked with Javier has been touched by his kindness, compassion , humour, and spirit.


Leoncio Garcia

The Shipibo maestro is now in his mid 70's with the appearance of a man in his 50's. He was born in the Shipibo community of San Francisco by Yarina Cocha (an oxbow lake near Pucullpa). On a number of occasions he has worked with medical doctors in various cities in Peru. Don Leoncio also founded a healing centre near Nina Rumi on the Rio Nanay.


Workshop and Shamanic Retreat with Alonso del Rio.

Dates: October 13th - 27th 2007

Day 1 Saturday Arrive in Lima & Transfer to Hotel. Overnight at the comfortable 3 Star Hotel La Castillana in the Miraflores district of Lima.

Day 2 Late morning fly Lima-Iquitos, transfer from the airport to port then by power boat to the Mishana Private Retreat Centre, introduction, make decision of plant to be dieted. Welcome Jungle Dinner.

Day 3 - 12 At this special workshop - retreat, the Peruvian maestro and ayahuasquero Alonso del Rio , will be with us for 10 days and hold ceremonies with both ayahuasca and huachuma (San Pedro). Alonso will open us to a different dimension from working with a traditional shaman. Having both an Amazonian and occidental background, he is well placed to understand the problems of modern human beings and help people towards greater self knowledge.

He will share his wealth of insight into the Amazonian and Andean cosmology in a series of daily meetings with time for discussion and questions.

Day 13 Thursday mid morning departure for participants on two week programme leave Mishana by power boat to Iquitos for relaxation in luxury Three star Hotel Victoria Regia with swimming pool located near the Malecon overlooking the Amazon.

Day 14 Friday, morning Flight returning to Lima. Time at own disposition. Overnight at Hotel La Castillana.

Day 15 Saturday, International Return Flights.

Costs: £1,800 , US$ and EURO at FX rates.

Please refer below for details of what is included etc in costs.


Amazon Retreat: Summary itinerary: November 10th - 27th 2007

We will also have available., Eugene Bersuker, a Yoga teacher, trained in India, Shivananda Saraswati School of Yoga. Traditional Hatha and Yoga for Healing. Yoga postures and meditations used to relieve tensions, purify mind/body, and raise vibrations. An instructor in Chi Gong, and Eugene is also a Licensed Massage Therapist - Swedish and Shiatsu.

Eugene will be offering Yoga and meditation classes, with individual massages available (fee payable).

Day 1 Saturday Arrive in Lima & Transfer to Hotel. Overnight at the comfortable 3 Star Hotel La Castillana in the Miraflores district of Lima.

Day 2 Late morning fly Lima-Iquitos, transfer from the airport to port then by power boat to the Mishana Private Retreat Centre, introduction, make decision of plant to be dieted. Welcome Jungle Dinner.

shamanic retreat, also includes Yoga and Meditation with Eugene Bersuker (see below)

Days 3 , 4, 5, 6, 7 , 8, 9 , & 10 Start plant diet with seven Ayahuasca sessions.

Day 11 ‘Cut’ the diet for participants on two week programme, end to drinking plants but continue with ‘liberal’ diet. Final evening meeting and supper.

Day 12 Wednesday mid morning departure for participants on two week programme leave Mishana by power boat to Iquitos for relaxation in luxury Three star Hotel Victoria Regia with swimming pool located near the Malecon overlooking the Amazon. Participants on three week programme enjoy a full week longer at Mishana. At Mishana we take a little break before continuing with the Plant Diet and Ayahuasca Sessions After the break we continue with the Plant Diet and Ayahuasca Sessions with Artiduro.

Days 13 Thursday, participants on two week programme, free time for going to the market to buy jungle plants and products, to sit on the Malecon and dream over a view of the river or write a journal. Alternatively, we can help you arrange optional excursions to visit the botanical gardens and sandy beach for swimming at Quistacocha, or to see the Bora Indians.

Day 14 Friday, participants on two week programme, morning Flight returning to Lima. Time at own disposition. Overnight at Hotel La Castillana. Mishana resume Plant Diet and Ayahuasca Sessions (additional four sessions).

Day 15 Saturday, International Return Flights for Participants on two week programme.

Day 16 Sunday, Continue Plant Diet and Ayahuasca Sessions,

Day 17 Monday, Continue Plant Diet and Ayahuasca Sessions

Day 18 Tuesday, Close Plant Diet

Day 19 Wednesday, Return to Iquitos. leave Mishana by power boat to Iquitos for relaxation in luxury Three star Hotel Victoria Regia with swimming pool located near the Malecon overlooking the Amazon

Day 20 Thursday, Free time in Iquitos, Farewell Dinner

Day 21 Friday, Morning Flight returning to Lima. Time at own disposition. Overnight at Hotel La Castillana.

Day 22 (Saturday 11th) International Return Flights

Costs: £1,700 , US$ and EURO at FX rates.


What the price Includes:

• Single Accommodation throughout. Note: no single accomodation surcharge.
• All transport from Lima hotel to and from our Retreat Centre at Mishana, including internal flights
• Breakfast throughout plus all meals at the lodge & farewell celebration dinner in Iquitos.
• Permits to enter the Mishana Reserve.
• All Ceremonies and services from shamans at the Retreat Centre.
• All tips for porterage etc

What is not included in the price

• International airfare
• Transportation to and from your Airport of Departure
• Transfers from Lima airport on arrival to the Hotel, and departure transfer to the airport from the hotel.
• Local airport taxes (approx US $5 per flight)
• International departure tax currently US $28 from Lima
• Additional meals & drinks
• Peru Visa costs for non EEC or USA nationals
• Personal expenditure such as drinks, laundry
• Travel Insurance
• Additional nights either before or after the tour (we can book them for you)
• Additional tips & gratuities & individual one-to-one sessions e.g. shamans

Optional Extension Week - November 25th - December 1st 2007
Extension week Costs £700. US & EURO at FX rates.

For Full Programme: Eagle's Wing Centre for Contemporary Shamanism.

Full Details at www.shamanism.co.uk

Photo Galleries at www.shamanism.slide.com

email: eagleswing@shamanism.co.uk
Tel: (44) 1273 882027

USA Tel contact: (415) 508-3975.

SKYPE Contact: HGC999

Howard G. Charing, is an accomplished international workshop leader on shamanism. He has worked some of the most respected and extraordinary shamans & healers in the Andes, the Amazon Rainforest, and the Philippines. He organises specialist retreats to the Amazon Rainforest at the dedicated centre located in the Mishana nature reserve. He is the author of the best selling book, Plant Spirit Shamanism (Destiny Books USA). His website: www.shamanism.co.uk