Sunday, September 11, 2011

Ayahuasca Wasi Seprember 6 to 11

Melissa Wasi is the name of the complex which contains the Ayahuasca Wasi Temple as well as accommodation for guests and a restaurant.  I arrived at this gate on Sept 6th, 2011 for a six day retreat.



It is situated near the town of Pisac Peru in a beautiful setting in the Sacred Valley surrounded by the Apas Mountains.  Here you see the main house where the owners live and it also contains some rooms for guests.

My accommodation was in a room for two on the hillside across the road.  The building was the same style as the main house and there were several of them.  The view from our window.

This building that looks like a hobbits house is the temple.  Our ceremonies with Ayahuasca were held in it.  There were 16 guests plus the two leaders and four support staff.  You couldn´t put in many more.


This is Christina the lawnmower.  She is never tied up and she doesn´t wander off.  She does quite a nice job on the grass.

Me on our patio under a flowering bush because at mid day the sun is quite warm.

This house belongs to other members of the family.

The setting was surrounded by mountains on all sides.  This is another view of the yard.

Here I am, on one of our many outings, at the Terraces of Moray where we find the Temple of Pachu Mamma.

The first thing you encounter are the stalls of the marketers.  I found a nice shoulder bag here.

This is the main and largest temple of three which has been restored.  We went into another smaller one which still had its shape but many of the rocks had fallen out.  We went into the bottom of it and had a meditation time.

Back at the vendors I took the opportunity to hold a baby goat.

Here is my room mate holding the goat.

We had a day off between the three ceremonies and they took us on tour in the Sacred Valley each time.  This day we went to The Salinas (salt mines) of Maras.  It was a steep climb down and most of the group went while I opted to save my breath (literally) and stayed on top.
The water which runs down this mountain has at least 90% salt content.  They capture it in pools and dry it for harvesting.

Here is a Shaman in the town of Pisaq .  He is smudging and blessing my purchase in his shop.  You can notice that his cheek seems full.  He has a wad of coca leaves in there.

Pisaq is a totally beautiful town and the market is very nice.  Here we are looking through a street of shops toward the market.


A lady, a child and a lamb decked out in their finery to pose for money.


The market area proper.  They have excellent items for sale.  I bought a new drum and a bag to carry it in.


Walking back from town we cross this stream.  Nature seems abundantly beautiful here.



Our next adventure was to the Ruins of Pisaq.  We were driven to the top of the mountain and walked down to the ruins.  This view is from near the top looking down on farmland and a few houses.



Passing some buildings along the way.


The first view of the temple of Inti Huatana the Sun God.  The mountain is known by the same name.


Getting closer.

This was kind of a lookout mound behind the temple.


After we left the temple we hiked the rest of the way down the mountain.  We could see the fields they have made on the slope.



There were many, many steps on the way down.  My legs were shaking by the time we arrived in the town of Pisaq.



Coming into town from the other side and very glad to be on flat ground.

Another tour we had was to the Chauaitiri community up in the hills.  This is their textile market set up in some kind of a compound.  They are well known for the beauty and quality of their work.  It is much better than what you find in the markets elsewhere but its price does reflect the quality.  I bought a couple of pieces here.

They had their looms set up and were working while we watched.

The goods were just spread out on the ground.

I am fascinated by the dress, as always.



The children were well behaved and content.

A group of women working on looms.


Driving home there were sheep alongside the road and I tried to grab a picture while we were moving.  You know how that goes; I got the cow.

The retreat was interesting and very different from the way we work in the jungle.  Neither is good or bad, just different.  I appreciate them both in different ways.

Tomorrow I head to Cusco again for overnight and then move on to Puno.




















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