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Hola mi queridos
I hope this finds you all.
We spent the weekend with a community near Pisac called Willka Hampi. They are a non-profit in the sacred valley, their main focus is leadership programs and spreading their vision around the world and I have to say I was really affected by the place. The community I found were really welcoming and the whole place buzzed with an energy I had not really felt before. They are altogether a community of about 20 people but they refer to themselves as “the family” and it really feels like a family, a family galvanized with a single mission. They work really hard at it and with such joy and enthusiasm. Working day and night on ceremonies and preparing for ceremonies. The ceremonies are mainly based around plant medicine, Tobacco, Coca, San Pedro, Ayahuasca, Willka were the main ones we heard about.
We came to the community to do a weekend program that would include a Nipi (sweat lodge) on Friday night and a day of learning and ceremony on Saturday through Sunday. I have done l a fair bit of hippie workshops in my time with amazing people so I was a bit reserved at the beginning. I have done a good few sweat lodges in my time so I took it very easy as I did not know this people well enough yet but I have to say it was a very strong sweat, Gopishvara was the main leader in there and he ran a really good one, there was lots of space compared to other sweats I have done so I stretched out so I was not pushed too hard compared to others I have done in the past but it was really lovely to come out of the lodge and lie on the cool earth under a Peruvian night sky! Could not think of a better way to spend my Friday night.
Saturday Adi introduced us to some of their philosophies and spoke to us about The Sacred Wheel. It is along lines I have thought about before and quite universal. There was some talk about icons and symbols of leadership I really connected with and I would like to explore more in the future.
The ceremony was to start at 2 am so after some briefings and food we went to rest up. At 2 am we gathered in the structure known as the Woman’s temple.
We did some lovely chanting, cleansing and offerings of tobacco and out came the plant medicine for this ceremony, Huachuma (San Pedro). Two 2 litre bottles of what looks like Aloe juice but is San Pedro that has been prepared in the traditional way. Everything was handled with great reverence.
We each, in turn, got to up receive our medicine and then we started to chant and sing. I was confronted with a lot of expectation and I was thinking I would get to go on this cosmic journey. My monkey brain threw up lots of things and after an hour or so I was still not feeling anything except a bit of anger thinking I had been swindled. Light was coming to the sky so I asked for a 2nd glass to see if that would encourage Huachuma to show himself to me. After another while I was still feeling nothing, I was expecting vomiting or stomach cramps at least but just felt nothing. There was a lovely water ceremony part of the ceremony, you sit in the middle of the room and are daubed with water and smoke with a feather, that was when things turned around for me, I came to let my expectations go and reminded myself that I am in Peru with some amazing people and we are all doing a lovely ceremony and I am really part of it and that is enough, I was filled with a lovely lightness and softness and really started to enjoy the singing and chats. At about 8 am the women went off to prepare the food offering, this is the only time I have felt gender roles in Peru and I was a bit uneasy about it but I also did not complain. Lots of wonderful food came in and we all feasted with the sun coming in warming us. Lots of really lovely connecting and chatting. I was full of gratitude and joy that we are here. This trip so far has really just been stunning and really getting to unwind and move into this transition Gabby and I are doing in our lives and I got to really feel that on a more deeper level. We all drifted off about 10 am to rest. Sleep did not come but I was still feeling really good so it did not matter. After a lovely lunch and small de-brief, we decided to hit the road to our next place. They said we could have stayed the night but I feel that if I did not leave then I could end up staying forever. I really felt at home there and also the road was calling to me for the next adventure.
Two very easy conectivos (local buses) passing through the sacred valley and people selling guinea pigs on a stick and we arrived at Ollantaytambo. 
Ollantaytambo is a lovely ancient town a bit farther into the sacred valley. Small canals run all through the town. It is surrounded by mountains and ancient ruins that we hope to explore a bit before we go. This is our last stop in Peru! We fly from Cuzco to Bogota on 31st and I have to say as much as I’m excited for Colombia I will be sad to leave Peru. I think I will be back though.
Love all of you 🙂