At 6am I started writing down my dreams, didn't think I had slept very well but there was no fatigue in my body to speak of and my thoughts were clear. We read in the morning and arrived right on time for breakfast to be served. We scarfed that down and played a quick game of criminal punch before going right back to the hut to read.Don Romano, his son and Ricky were already there preparing a new batch of ayahuasca in a 1 and a half-foot wide black cooking pot. All we could see inside was the vine of the dead, the MAO inhibitor containing element of ayahuasca that allows the DMT to be used orally, which is normally not possible because our stomachs contain an acid that breaks down DMT before it can be used by the body, and that's a good thing because nearly everything contains DMT. Otherwise everyone would be tripping everyday and never be normal enough to function.We were supposedly going to be taught how to make the ayahuasca brew and how it all works, but all that they did was sit there and talk among themselves, occasionally stirring the brew. This was all happening under our hut while constantly fighting off mosquitos, and meanwhile Ricky, who was not needed as an interpretor, was laying down in the hut safe and sound.The Argentinians came to visit us then and we talked for a while about their country and what places were best to visit, they gave me their contact information and even offered us a place to stay while we were there. We shared lunch with them at a small table looking out over the water, which was moved there because the workers were fixing the holes in the dinning hall roof, of which there were many.Victor was clearing the entire camp of unwanted brush and helping the workers with moving lumber, as he did everyday before we woke up and until just before dinner. He and Ricky came up to us, smiled and asked if we wanted to go to another camp to get drinking water. "Drinking water?" I asked Ricky. "Yes we are out." I laughed, and we accepted the mission.Ricky stayed behind to manage the camp, since Wilder wasnt there he was next in command. We picked up the cross-eyed soccer kid at the first camp we went too, which was able to give us 4 gallons or so of water. Next we went to Liberta village and were given mixed fruit lemonade. While Victor talked to the owner of the establishment a guide came in and showed us the scorpion he had just caught. He let it out of its bottle cage on the table and the soccer kid was putting his face up to it and pushing the guide into it while he tried to capture it again. Victor had no patience for such things and asked us to take the boy outside.We took the kid out of the village and he showed us a pathway into the jungle where many different trees and crops wed not seen before were growing. The path was full of sharp sticks mud and spiny plants, im glad we had our gum boots, but the boy went barefoot totally unphased. When we reached the village the boy ran off into a house and we rejoined Victor, who was drinking KR cherry soda and watching the local girls play Bingo. We joined in on the game and only once got close to winning. We might have had better luck if we had anymore than a 3 year olds understanding of the spanish number system.We then returned to camp, having succeeded in our mission for water, a mere 4 gallons. We had noodle soup for dinner, of which I ate far too much, and played a few great games of criminal punch with Ricky, who loves card games and shows a whole new personality while playing it, just like Wilder does. New people come tomorrow, I can't wait to meet them!
Cards & Conversation
This morning we went to camp and had or usual pre-breakfast ritual of cards and conversation. Laura was already there and joined in. We taught her criminal punch and got into a very deep conversation with her about each of our childhoods, our reasons for being here in Peru seeking ayahuasca, and what we wanted to bring back home with us to our family and friends.Ricky came in when breakfast was over and invited everyone to join him on a mission to the other villages, only Blake accepted. David and Yuka went on a wildlife tour with a different guide, leaving Laura and I alone at the table to continue the conversation.We talked about our early years and the lovers in our lives that changed us, for better or worse. How each new love was a shadow of our first, who we hoped could replace them, or a hopeless opposite that taught us exactly the kind of person we couldn't be with. We talked about our dreams for the future and what we were doing to see them come true.Whoever had the cards would shuffle them endlessly while they talked for a long period of time, it served almost as a mediation, giving each of us something to do with our hands, allowing the mind to concentrate on remembering the past or considering the future.Before I knew it, two hours had gone by and I looked past Laura to see that everyone was returning from their journeys away from camp. "They're back..." I said, rather disappointed. Laura looked, then turned back to me and said, "I think the they're shuffled enough," referring to the cards, and perhaps our thoughts and emotions as well.We talked about meeting up in California where she might visit in January - february or Europe, a possibility I admitted was very likely, considering my plans of returning to Europe for the first time in 5 years, when Blake and I were there last in 2009. That's a whole other blog that I never got around to finishing...Laura and David were leaving in less than 30 minutes and had to pack up so we ended the conversation there.Wilder came back from Iquitos with Don Romano and his son, who as we were surprised to find out, would be replacing Caesar as our new shaman. We were told this was because Caesar had to tend to his wife who was in the hospital. Don Romano was younger than both Victor and Caesar, but he looked like he already had a foot solidly planted in the grave. Anyways, we didn't understand why Wilder surprised us with this instead of letting us keep using Victor who we really enjoyed.At this point it was obvious that two more months of this experience would be far more detrimental to our health and wellbeing than it would do any good, so we sat down with Wilder and informed him we would only be staying a month. As We did, the blood in his face could easily be seen draining away, and his eyes stared through me blankly as if towards some terrible fate that awaited either him or us in the near future, I couldn't tell which.After that he got up and went into the kitchen to call Moisess informing him of our decision, walking away with his head slumped as though wounded by a sudden stomach pain. Ricky came in from outside with a big smile and a ready joke, his usual self when he isn't relating the darkest moments of his life. "Want to learn a new card game? It's called casino!" Having reached the limits of fun playing 13 and thirsty for new games to play, we easily accepted.As he was laying out the cards and explaining the game to us Wilder returned from the kitchen and spotted us playing. He walked over to us and instantaneously changed his mood as he recognized the game. "Casino?" He asked Ricky. Ricky looked up at him as though he'd just been challenged by an old rival and smiled. "Yes.. Im teaching them how to play." Ricky replied. Wilder slapped his hands together and rubbed them vigorously with a genuine smile beaming from him that I hadn't thought possible, "we will teach them together!" He announced, and sat down beside Blake looking at his cards. Ricky looked at me, winked, and nodded his head at Wilder with a laugh.Ricky played against Blake, explaining the best options to me as he went, and Wilder basically made Blake's moves for him, explaining things precisely but too quickly to be of any use. Blake, I mean Wilder, ended up winning. The next game was just him and Ricky while we watched. I've never seen Wilder so happy and animated before, he's obviously very good at cards.We skipped dinner and sat down for ceremony with Don Romano, his son, who helped him with all but handing the cups to us, and Ricky who translated. We drank and I asked for the true spirit of ayahuasca to flow through me. I was very happy through the whole ceremony, but otherwise was totally normal. The ceremony, if you could call it that, was only an hour-long as opposed to the normal three and Don Romano barely chanted or did any rituals for us. All he did the whole time was smoke heinous amounts of tobacco and cough. Blake denies it but I swear I saw him fall asleep 30 minutes into the ritual. Neither of us vomited and we both went right to sleep.