There was definitely a familiar aroma when we landed in Lima, bringing back lots of old memories to me of the time when the airport was little more than a small building with a control tower. The first thing I noticed on arriving at this swish international airport was how clean and tidy everything was, how smart the cars were, and how happy everybody looked.
Our Peru team: Edith and Eric, and our drivers and staff, had been waiting in the heat and as we came through the gates they were as delighted to see me as I was delighted to see them. And of course we had six years of chatter to catch up on so we were straight into our normal routine. Our first port of call was Iquitos β the jungle, the Amazon River, the sounds, the smells, the excitement of the travellers.
So much to show them, so much to tell them, but I felt it was best just to leave them for a while to absorb it all. And with shrieks of laughter, the fun began. So I knew that they would feel comfortable in my little domain. Ayahuasca ceremonies were part of the detox. The group were asked to detox at least four days before they took part, and the whole process when they were there was about eating lightly and drinking lots of liquid.
The ceremony was conducted by a man who I trust implicitly and have done for 24 years. He arrived from deep in the jungle to meet us. How do you get in touch with a person like that? He was happy to see us, happy to reconnect with me, and he told me that he had occasionally sent out a thought that one day I would come back.
And here I was. We had four days doing things in the jungle β fishing, walking, dancing with the Bora Bora tribe, finding out about medicinal herbs and plants, lazing in hammocks, swimming in the most amazing jungle pool, and visiting schools, seeing what we started working on years ago that is now established.
