Caballos and chacruna...

Returning from the Inca Trail, after only five hours sleep, it was time for another little adventure.  We left for an overnight trip into the hills by horse for an ayahuasca session.  Setting off from the Temple of the Moon we climbed into the hills.  My trusty steed, Bubalou, was a gentle beast but I wasn't sure how eager he was to be carrying my not-insignificant weight.  However, he obediently trudged on negotiating rocky trails, cascading rivers and the dogs, donkeys, pigs, sheep and cars that crossed our path.  There was only one tricky moment in which a combination of my lack of direction and his lack of judgement led us up a shallow gulley that was too narrow for him to place his feet.  A farcical scene followed in which he fell, very slowly, in stages.  A little like dismounting a camel very badly, I eventually fell over his head and landed on the grass.  Luckily neither caballo nor caballero were hurt.  You had to be there.

We trekked on for over six hours at a snail's pace.  When we did gather a little speed, usually as a result of a whip on Bubalou's backside by Javier, our guide, we charged ahead in bursts.  Given that my total time in the saddle is less than ten hours, I bounced about with the ever present threat of another unseemly dismount.  Through a combination of a lot of luck and very little skill this didn't come to pass and we arrived at our destination unharmed.  The ceremony was to take place in the house of a family living on the shore of Lake Puray, a very tranquil spot.

The family, along with the tour operator, had been quite canny in setting up facilities for tourists to attend ceremonies.  The basic house had acquired a purpose built building with beds and bathrooms.  Once again, an example of Peruvians living in quarters of a much lower standard than their guests.  Tourism is an extremely important industry here.  After not eating an eveing meal (something ayahuasca preparation requires for reasons that will become clear) we drove to the local town of Chinchero, I'm not sure why but you don't need to know everything.  As it was already dark it was then time to head back and begin the ceremony at about 7.30pm.

For those who don't know, ayahuasca is a sacred medicinal plant which has been used in the shamanic traditions of Amazonia for thousands of years.  Although it is legal in many countries, such as Peru, it's legal status is vague in others, such as some states of the USA, and clearly illegal in others.  In the UK it is currently illegal but there are cases currently going through the courts that will hopefully rectify this error of judgement.  Whilst some authorities see ayahuasca as a drug it is a view held mainly as a result of ignorance.  These plant medicines - when used in a proper setting with a shaman, in ceremony with respect for the power of the plant - can be deeply beneficial in healing the many psychosomatic ailments humans are afflicted with.

Ayahuasca itself is a vine that grows in the jungle and whose scientific name is Banisteriopsis caapi.  Its name means 'spirit vine' or 'vine of the souls' and is a powerful teacher and healer.  The plant itself doesn't cause the psychotropic effects of the brew, for this it must be combined with other plants that contain Dimethyl Triptamine (DMT), such as chacruna.  DMT is a naturally occuring compound that is produced in the pineal gland located in the centre of the brain.  It is thought that this gland floods the brain with DMT upon death.  This is why so many people seem to have a 'death experience' when taking ayahuasca.  When a ceremony is conducted by expert shamans there is no actual physical danger in taking ayahuasca, although it is a very powerful and, for some, scary experience.  If DMT were to be ingested enzymes in the digestive system would quickly break down the compund and there would be no transmission into the bloodstream.  This is where the ayahuasca vine plays its part.  It contains monoamine oxidase inhibitors which preclude the functioning of these enzymes allowing the uptake of the DMT molecules into the bloodstream.  A special diet must be followed in order to avoid adverse reactions.  Science lesson over.

A little meditation got me into the right frame of mind for the ceremony.  After some time our trip organiser, Gabriel, joined us and the ceremony began.  The shaman, a Shipibo Indian woman named Enid from Pucallpa on the fringes of the Amazon rainforest, prepared the ayahuasca by blowing into the large plastic bottle this black brew was contained in.  This wasn't just any old blowing, she sang using her outbreath in a way I'd never heard before and couldn't repeat if I tried.  After a considerable length of time she poured two cups for us and an eggcup for herself.  The concoction tasted foul.  Dark in colour, gritty in texture and a flavour like very bitter carob mixed with earth.  Truly repulsive.  After drinking 'every last drop' (as Gabriel stressed) I returned to my bed and sat waiting for the effects to manifest.  However, my stomach was having other ideas as pain shot across my abdomen and gurgling became churning.  I knew I had to keep the drink down for fifteen minutes at the very least but two minutes in and I was struggling.  Rejecting the libation I had poured down my throat, my stomach heaved it all into my mouth with two giant spasms.  Here's the tricky bit... I couldn't let it out of my mouth or the ceremony would never even start.  My only other choice was to reswallow this foul liquid, now mixed with the acidic contents of my stomach (although thankfully no food).

The visions came on very quickly.  Swirling lights of purple and green.  Fluid dynamic patterns that were hard to follow.  My mind drifted into alternate perceptions of reality.  All enhanced by the pitch black space we were in.  The visions became more and more intense when, out of the dark, Enid began singing her Icaros - songs transitted to her by ayahuasca that call in the spirits.  This caused the visions to stop immediately and, as I lay in the darkness, I became increasingly convinced that that was the end of the night.

I lay listening to the extraordinary singing ability of Enid shifting from piercing high notes to incredibly fragile warbling.  The former causing any nausea to move closer to vomiting, the latter delighting the senses with their delicacy.  After some time the shaman checked on us and I reported that the experience was very mellow... more fool me.  A second cup of the foul brew was poured and once again I drank 'every last drop'.  The next morning upon speaking to Enid she could tell I was blocking the medicine and the solution was to, well, drink more, of course.  I could relate to this as throughout the day my mood had been shifting.  As the dark clouds gatherered on the horizon and thunder rumbled across the landscape an issue has been gaining ground in my mind.  As it is of a personal nature I'm not going to relate it fully here.  What I can say is ayahuasca worked her magic exploring the issue in ways I couldn't have predicted and providing answers which were both surprising and helpful.

The experience continued to grow more intense and I became lost in the visions.  The crescendo of the evening was intriguing.  A being of some kind appeared and showed me a doorway, a portal to another place/dimension/state of mind.  I was offered the opportunity to enter but, upon consideration, decided not to and the portal disappeared.  Chatting with Enid the following morning she told me that when offered such chances you should take them as they are gateways to knowledge.  Closing the door on this ceremony I drifted slowly back into my 'normal' consciousness and eventually slept a little.

In the morning we went fishing although noone thought to bring any fishing gear but it was a pleasant once round the lake.  Afterwards we saddled up and continued to ride, 500 metres down the street before we reaslied one of the horses had injured its leg.  Abandoning the steeds we set off in our guide's car whilst some local boys waited for the horse van to arrive.  We carried on to visit Moray, an impressive agricultural research station of the Incas.  This depression of concentric circles created a range of microclimates in which experiments could be conducted to find the right crop for the various climatic conditions throughout the empire.  Following that we headed to Maras, another amazing Inca creation at the point a hot, salty spring leaves the mountain.  The Incas channeled this water into hundreds of tanks in which evaporation slowly created salt for the huge population.  More impressive, this site is still in use today and is the salt is damn tasty.