Peter
Gorman, noted writer, adventurer and medicinal plant collector will lead
several expeditions to some of his favorite haunts in the Upper Amazon,
in and around Iquitos, Peru, during 2007
The trips will focus on ayahuasca
shamanism and include river boat travel on the Amazon, jungle
hikes and survival techniques, lessons in plant collecting
and preservation, a
visit to the exotic floating village of Belen and its extraordinary
herb market and anything else we can squeeze in.
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BASIC
TRIP ITENERARY
Any of the below may be altered
to suit the desires of the group
All
group participants will meet in Iquitos, Peru on the first
day of each trip. Arrangements will be made for pick up
from the Iquitos airport and transport to hotels.
 Dates: Six
trips are planned for 2007: each begins on
Saturday.
First Saturday of February, April, June, August, October, December
 Costs: $2,200
per person. Includes hotels, breakfast and some meals in
Iquitos, all meals outside of Iquitos. Does not include
airfare to and from Iquitos. Additionally, participants
will need a couple of hundred dollars walking-around-money.
 Needed
to bring: Cameras and film, tape recorders
and batteries (for those who wish to tape the ceremonies),
a flashlight, couple of pairs of long, comfortable
pants, shorts, bathing suit, two pairs of sneakers,
a long-sleeved shirt, sunscreen, sunglasses, hat and
a great attitude. All but the attitude are available
in Iquitos for those who forget anything.
 The river at night can get cold,
so include at least one long-sleeved,
comfortable wool shirt, sweater or jacket.
 Medical
supplies: For those with specific needs,
bring your own medicine. For general problems, the
house has a great medical kit.
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Day
1
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Arrive
in Iquitos. Airport pickup and transfer to the El Dorado
Hotel, a terrific place just off the Plaza D'Armas, the center
of town. After settling in, we'll meet for dinner at El Maison,
one of Iquitos' best known and best restaurants, for a get-together
dinner.
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Day
2
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Iquitos
and Belen. Meet for breakfast and walk along the banks of
the Amazon. Explore Belen’s fantastic marketplace and
sample an array of local medicinal beverages, tour Iquitos
during the afternoon then return to Belen to visit the floating
village in a dugout canoe while enjoying your first spectacular
Amazon sunset.
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Day
3
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Tour
the zoo at Quistacocha to familiarize yourself with local
fauna and marine life. In the afternoon pick up any last
minute supplies, then board a riverboat for an overnight
ride to city of Genero Herrera, 212 kilometers upriver, enroute
to curandero Julio Jerena’s home.
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Day
4
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Transfer
to local boats, peque-peques, and head through the fantastic
Supay Lake, home to pink and gray river dolphins. Take a
swim in the lake, weather permitting, then head up the Auchyaco
to Julio’s. Following hellos and dinner, we'll head
out for some night fishing in dugout canoes. While catching
fish isn't a priority, getting the feel and sound of the
jungle into our hearts is.
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Day
5
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We'll
take a short jungle hike and view and collect ayahuasca and
admixture plants in their natural environment. Return to
Julio's, have a good but light breakfast, the only meal of
the day. While Julio prepares ayahuasca we'll head out for
an afternoon hike into deep jungle. That evening we will
have our first ayahuasca ritual. For those who do not wish
to partake, participation in the ritual is still encouraged,
as this is the heart of Amazonian shamanism.
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Day
6
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After
a morning bath, we will relax and absorb the previous night's
experience. We'll eat well, rest, take the canoe's out. For
those who wish, the Matses medicine, sapo, will be available
- a difficult but worthwhile and energizing experience.
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Day
7
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A
day of fasting and quiet - swimming or canoeing in preparation
for our second ayahuasca ritual in the evening.
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Day
8
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Return
to Genero Herrera through the Supay lake, then travel by
riverboat back to Iquitos, which we will reach by morning.
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Day
9
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A
free day in Iquitos to catch our breath, wash our clothes
and hit the internet. We'll get together in the evening for
dinner as a group.
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Day
10
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Begin
overnight jungle excursion on private boat to the Yanayako,
a clear, black water river outside of Iquitos. After a short
ride we'll hike for 45 minutes to the black-water river,
where we'll canoe to the home of Don Roman, a local curandero,
with whom we will have a third opportunity to drink ayahuasca.
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Day
11
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After
an early morning swim in the clear black river water and
a good breakfast, we will make our way back to the Amazon
and our waiting boat. Enroute back to Iquitos we'll stop
at a local serpentarium where we can handle exotic snakes,
caiman, sloths and other animals. with Moises. As with all
of our events, no one will be required to participate in
handling animals. Nonetheless, all are encouraged to view
them.
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Day
12
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An
early morning trip to Sachamama, a botanical reserve outside
of Iquitos. There, we will receive a traditional flower bath
in the afternoon in preparation for our last ayahuasca experience
in the evening.
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Day
13
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We'll
take a ride as far as we can on the road being built between
Iquitos and the city of Nauta, stopping in the new Mishana
Reserve before lunch and heading back to Iquitos for the
evening.
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Day
14
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Last
day in Iquitos. Free day. For those leaving on the evening
flights, you'll be transferred to the airport. For those
staying until the following day, we'll have a goodbye dinner
to celebrate the trip.
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Copyright
© by Peter Gorman, 1983-2007
Photographs Copyright information
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