Paojilhuasca Amazonian Medicine Centre review
Hi all, not sure if this is the right flair so let me know if its ok!
Just wanted to post a review on the Paojilhuasca amazonian medicine centre! Sorry for the long post but I wanted to go over everything for anyone who is interested in going!
I was there for a week in Mid March, and it cost $700. Overall I would say you get what you paid for. Personally I think its a really good introduction to ayahuasca and to see if its for you. I think the price is good so if you feel that you dont want to partake in ceremonies anymore you don't feel like you have wasted thousands, or if you do you can get some deep insight. I'm glad I came here for a week and I'm definitely not finished with my ayahuasca journey, however future retreats I would definitely pay more and go somewhere more comfortable.
Firstly, what everyone wants to know about - the ceremonies.
At the retreat we have 4 ceremonies, 2 ayahuasca, one Yopo and kambo (you can do more then one kambo ceremony if you choose).
The first full day we did our first Kambo ceremony. For me it was incredibly rough. My whole face swelled up, I was vomiting and sweating. Later I got told the extreme swelling was due to sugar or medication. A few days before the retreat I got my period and got told it would be ok to take medication as the kambo would help flush out the toxins - as long as i stopped taking it at the retreat. I did this and apparently the result was my face looking like I had eaten a wasps nest. We also didnt have a strict diet as we were having the kambo. I must admit I was very relaxed about what I was eating, but I never thought I would end up looking like a balloon. Moral of the story is to follow a diet and stay away from medication. I wish when I had asked before arriving at the retreat I was told that could happen as I would have probably not taken any paracetamol and accepted being uncomfortable.
Since my reaction to the kambo was so intense I did a second ceremony the day after, the day of the ayahuasca. We got given less and which was ok. We relaxed the rest of the day. We had a meditation session before the ayahuasca ceremony and then went into the ayahuasca. During this ceremony we got given half a cup and got told to take more if we wanted. I think I should have gone up for more, but due to my own anxiety I didnt which ended up being an incredibly short, mild experience. None the less I think I overcame a lot of my anxiety. Others had very intense experiences however.
During the ceremony I felt like we were left to our own devices. We got told to just shout and someone will come and help, however that can be a bit intimidating. Also both the facilitators and shaman were men in the first ceremony which felt a bit intimidating. I think the ceremonies worked well for the men in the group, and the ones who wanted to face next steps in life and career. One lady was here to challenge trauma and she had a very long difficult ceremony - where I didnt see her getting much help either. The facilitators didnt seem equipt to be helping her. She didnt do any more ceremonies.
The next ceremony we did was Yopo. The facilitator told us afterwards it was his own blend of combining yopo and dried ayahuasca. I thought it was a bit of a red flag as he didnt tell us this til afterwards. Also reading on reddit i heard this could be potentially dangerous. It was incredibly uncomfortable. 5/6 hardly tripped and overall was an unpleasant experience. One person said he had an enlightening experience, however it still felt horrible. I ended up leaving the ceremony early as I felt sober and just wanted to be able to relax. During the ceremony there was a lot of drumming which I didnt like. Also our facilitator lead this ceremony despite not being a shaman.
The last ceremony was also ayahuasca. Before this ceremony we had a breathwork session where we "micro dosed" mushrooms. This ended up being a low dose. It effected some people a lot more then others however was definitely more then a micro dose. About 4 hours later we had the ayahuasca ceremony. I ended up going for about 2 cups (1 then went up and had half then went up for another half). This gave me a very mild trip which I was disappointed about as my first ayahuasca ceremony was also mild. The ceremony I felt better in myself, as the first one as I was carrying some anxiety, however the trip lasted about 1h at most, with it being mostly some mild visules. It didnt feel very introspective. After the ceremony the group talked and everyone felt similar- none to mild trip. Also everyone purged a lot (TMI but imagine pissing from your ass) as well as a lot of vomiting. This shaman travelled from far to get to us for this ceremony (she is only there once a month). I believe that the reason the ayahuasca didnt work was because the mushrooms may have a cross tolerance. This felt disrespectful to the shaman who travelled to give us a beautiful ceremony. Also one girl, who only drank less then 1/4 of the cup ended up tripping so hard it felt like she had a whole cup.
Overall I think the ceremonies and mixture of drugs felt a bit YOLO and not backed by research. I dont think all the practices were carried out as safe as theh could be. I think if I had a really hard trip I dont know how well the facilitators would handle it. I heard about one man being allowed to drink 3-4 cups in once ceremony and ended up in psychosis and having to stay for a few extra days to come back to normal a bit. I also heard about ayahuasca being given to a random drunk man who wondered into the retreat (during a san Pedro ceremony) and he ended up running into the jungle at night (he ended up being ok but it seemed incredibly irresponsible). I think if you are in sound mind and you want a taste of ayahuasca this would be good for you. If you want deep healing and are potentially a bit unstable this wouldn't be the safest option.
Also I think its worth mentioning that someone who had schizophrenia in their family was allowed to participate, as well as someone who was suicidal and someone else with bi polar.
Onto the property itself:
The property was beautiful. Right by the river in little shacks. These gave the feel of being immersed in the amazon. I loved sleeping and being able to hear monkeys (although they can make quite a bit of noise as they run across the roof). Unfortunately my hut was right next to the kitchen so I got woken up quite early, however walking down further the bigger huts/houses were in an opening which had so many flowers. They also have cats wondering around which was such a great addition as they were fun to play with - and also hunted some of the spiders. The "Vomiting Centre" as they call it (where we do the ceremonies as well as relax during the day) had bats living in the roof - which didnt bother me except one night where they kept swooping around me and 2 others while we were in the hammocks. They seemed harmless but equally we weren't really informed on how to handle them.
The food was what you could expect - jungle food. It had hunted meat and fish. The food was good although nothing to write home about. They fast so we have food in the morning and about 3pm, however your welcome to get snacks whenever you want.
During my stay there was unfortunately a power outage which ment we had nothing cold, which would have been much appreciated in the jungle heat. This also ment there was no wifi to talk to loved ones. I think this was good initially as the group managed to bond, however in the last day or 2 when the power came back people were more stuck on their phones as they were catching up on messages and doing other work. They had a generator for just under an hour maybe once a day which they had to borrow, as the retreats generator had been broken for 3 months. I think this was bad planning for the retreat, especially due to it being wet season when I arrived and power outages are more common. I know generators aren't cheap however I think wifi is a necessity just to be able to let people at home know you are ok and arrived safe.
Speaking of arriving, our boat there ($18 USD each way) was over 2 hours late taking us to the retreat. During wet season you can also walk or take a significantly cheaper cargo boat. I think it was unfair we got charged the full amount after waiting so long. Also on the boat a lot if bags got wet and it was down to us (the customers) to realise that we needed to scoop some water out. The way back went smoothly, however bags still got a bit wet. Some people brought laptops or other electronics and the fact that the boat would get so wet wasnt communicated.
Overall I think this retreat is a good budget option if you want to trial ayahuasca without going in to deep. You do have to be confident you can take care of yourself during the ceremonies as, personally, I felt a bit abandoned. I also felt this retreat was more suited for men as all the facilitators were men, as well as the resident shaman.
Hope this helps anyone who is thinking of going!