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Please review the information below, and contact
us anytime you have additional questions.
- Staying at Sr. Theo's Poqen Kanchay Foundation near Cusco
- Working with plant medicines
- Visiting the Citidel of Machu Picchu
- Working with ceremony and dispachos
- Journeying to the Manu National RainForest
- Cusco, Sacred Valley, Olltaytambo and their respective ruins.
What to expect
Here's a general narrative of some of the major components of this program
Arrive in Lima from your night flight from the states, then morning flight Lima-Cusco.
We take a bus to Ollantaytambo.
Ollantaytambo is one of the oldest continually inhabited Incan pueblos where you'll see adobe houses built upon original Incan stonework and channeled waterways.
Lunch at Ollantaytambo.
Rest during the day to adjust to the altitude.
Evening despacho ceremony at the hotel in Ollantaytambo. (L, D)
Welcome Dinner
Morning visit Ollantaytambo's ruins and walled streets.
Lunch in Ollantaytambo.
Mid-afternoon (2:00) train to Machu Picchu.
Evening sound ceremony with Herbert Jordan at Aguas Calientes.
Dinner at Aguas Calientes
Overnight at El Presidente or Hostal Machu Picchu. (L, D not included)
Day visit at Macchu Picchu, "The Crystal City," whose buildings and terraces spill over a ridge hundreds of meters above the rushing Urubamba River. Macchu Picchu' s builders harmonized architecture and sacred geography, framing views of nearby mountains in doorways and windows and
Carving stones to echo the mountain's shapes. We'll visit the temples of Macchu Picchu where Don Theo will guide us in a special day ceremony and then continue ceremony work at the hot springs in the afternoon.
Overnight at El Presidente or Hostal Machu Picchu. (L, D not included)
Morning free to return to Machu Picchu (entrance not included in price), climb
Wayna Picchu, shopping or visit the hot springs. Lunch not included.
3:00 pm train back to Cusco (Ollantaytambo).
Sauna and Dinner at Poqen Kanchay
Overnight at Poqen Kanchay.
We leave in the morning for Tres Cruces de Oro, the Mountain of the "Three Crosses of Gold " by private transport, arriving during the afternoon to this special place bordering the Amazon rain forest. We share an evening of teaching with Don Theo. Don Theo will guide us in meditation here, as we work with the sacred plant, San Pedro.
Breakfast, a Picnic Lunch, and Dinner are included.
Tents are provided and are arranged by staff for overnight camping.
Each person will need to provide their own sleeping bag.
We awaken before dawn to celebrate sunrise, where the special optics of the earth's curvature from this altitude provide a spectacular show of the sun.
Plant ceremony- San Pedro.
After viewing the spectacular sunrise, we break camp and continue our journey down into the Amazon. We travel to Villa Carmen, a ranch house on the fringes of the Parque Nacional del Manu. The Parque is a huge flora, fauna, and native peoples reserve in the Southeast of Peru. The area is a cloud rainforest which lends itself to a wide range of biodiversity, from a huge selection of orchids to a myriad of florescent butterflies. It is a jungle with mountains, as opposed to the flat Amazon basin. There are incredible rivers and waterfalls, and special trees, called "grandmothers," visited by the locals.
Villa Carmen is an old ranch begun a century ago by a Spaniard on the land that belonged to Garcilazo de la Vega, daughter of the last great Incan emperor. Now it is hosted by Abel Muniz, a man knowledgeable about the jungle, the tribes, plants, animals, and trails. His wife, Gretel, is the hostess who opens her home to us. All of the meals are prepared fresh daily from produce and livestock in the traditional style of the area. The accommodations are in double or triple rooms with a common bath area. We explore the jungle during the day by foot, horses, and boats. We will be joined by local peoples who are very knowledgeable about the flora and fauna. Our night ceremonies with Don Theo will be working with the sacred plant Ayahuasca. (3 night ceremonies)
We travel back to Cusco.
We stop for lunch in the mountain village of Paucartambo.
We return in time for dinner at Poqen Kanchay
Breakfast, lunch and Dinner are included.
Sauna at Poqen Kanchay
We overnight at Poqen Kanchay.
Free day in Cusco
Farewell dinner at Don Antonio's
Overnight at Poqen Kanchay outside of Cusco
Early morning flight to Lima from Cusco.
The incredible Peruvian National Museum in Lima, lunch, shopping etc. and return to airport in the evening for the night flight home.
Lunch and dinner are not included
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Theo Paredes, Ph.D.
Theo Paredes, Ph.D., is the founding Director of Poqen Kanchay Foundation in Cusco, Peru. Growing up in Cusco, he has always had contact with the native people of Peru worked with them to maintain sustainable communities. At 11 years old, he was initiated into the traditional healing practices of his people and has continued to work with shamanic practices for over thirty years, particularly in the use of ceremony and the practices of managing energy to make living an art. He has survived two lightening strikes, which in the Andean tradition, is considered a "call by nature" to train and practice in the Earth traditions. He combines his knowledge of the myths and the life view of the societies, which culminated with the Incas, together with Andean energy concepts, to form the perspective of a different kind of society.
Dr. Paredes has studied and practiced anthropology in Europe and the Americas. For the past fifteen years he has worked within the Peruvian government as Director of National Projects and the Governor of the Cusco Department and as a consultant for IFAD (Internal Foundation for Agricultural Development). Dr. Paredes is fluent in Spanish, English, and we think Quechua and possilby other languages.
Dexter R. Richards
'Randy' Richards' role for this program will be assist where needed. He has been meditating since a young age, studied in Peru and has provided intuitive readings to individuals and groups for about 15 years. He has guided and taught individuals, clients,
and participants throughout South America, the European Alps
and the Western US since 1981. .read more.
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Preparing for your trip will insure a successful, fun, spiritually fullfulling and healthy outcome. Mountain Spirit suggest that you purchase a few guide books
from our reading list, aquaint yourself as much as possible with Peru, shamanic studies.
Please contact us for our reading list.
Health
Your MSI staff on this expedition includes Randy
Richards, an Emergency Medical Technician, to take care
of you while you're with us. Before you leave, however, The
Center for Disease Control CDC recommends the following vaccines;
see your doctor at least 4–6 weeks before your trip to
allow time for immunizations to take effect.
- Hepatitis A or immune globulin (IG).
- Hepatitis B, if you might be exposed to blood (for example,
health-care workers), have sexual contact with the local population,
stay >6 months in the region, or be exposed through medical
treatment.
- Yellow fever vaccination, if you will be traveling outside
urban areas.
- As needed, booster doses for tetanus-diphtheria and measles.
- Anti-malarial drugs are not necessary for this trip (per
MSI).
For more information on CDC recommendations, please visit their their general website www.cdc.gov for details on the tropics visit their tropics specific page .
Supplies and Belongings
One can very easily take precautions against loss of personal items. We recommend reading Lonely
Planet’s instructions about traveling safely.
You can purchase most everything in Cusco that you'll need
(shampoo, razors, socks and t-shirts, etc.), so you may want
to buy some of these items there. Certainly, traveling light
on the plane and buying a sweater in Cusco is a good way to
go. However, Gore-tex or similar rainwear is better purchased
in the US. Consider also purchasing a large colorful Peruvian
duffle bag once you are there for taking gifts back to the US.
For suggestions on what to bring along with you, please contact
us and we'll be happy to help.
Language
We suggest you brush up or start on any language skills you may have. Don't be afraid to try if you're not familiar with a foriegn language. Speaking Spanish is not required for this program however! A bit of
effort to speak the language goes a long, long way with the
local people. Knowing some
basic Spanish and a few Quechua words will do more than anything
else to put you in closer touch with the people of Peru. Learning
the basics is easier than you might expect. Start with Spanish
tapes or a fun picture book with removable stickers of Spanish
words (which one can put on light switches, night tables, and
toothbrush). Contact us if you have any questions!
Don Theo speaks fluent Spanish, Quechua and English. Randy speaks Spanish and basic phrases in Quechua.Some shop owners most likely speak a little English. If you find yourself
in a bind, you probably won’t have a long wait before someone
comes to your rescue.
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Altitude
Taking it slowly the first few days to allow time for your
body to acclimate is the most important rule for adjusting to
altitude. The itinerary is designed with aclimitization in mind. Cusco is higher than Machu Picchu.
Money, Credit Cards and Debit Cards
Cash advances and debit machines are easily accessed in Cusco
and Lima, however we have found that VISA is much more widely
used than Mastercard. Have a backup card carried in a separate
place. Transfers from Savings to your checking is also possible
in some locations but not all. Traveler’s checks may be
cashed at some locations.
Communications
- PHONE: having a calling card will be useful or better yet,
you can purchase a Peruvian calling card and use it for calling
the US. Prices are very reasonable.
- EMAIL: This is the best way to go. There are public computer
booths/stalls where you can log onto the web for approx. $.50/hour.
Having a web-based email such as Yahoo! or Hotmail is free,
so you only pay the hourly rate. It can save a bundle on phone
calls.
- MAIL: Peruvian stamps aren’t the cheapest but are works
for art. Regular mail’s reliability has improved somewhat,
especially for letters, which take about 2 weeks delivery
time. Mailing valuables, and any packages for that matter, is
not recommended.
- FAX: easily available, but more expensive than email, in many
shops.
- SKYPE INTERNET CALLING: This program available at most internet centers in Peru is available from the web that allows free high
quality international calling from Internet café computers. More more details visit www.skype.com
- VoIP: R. Richards has a VoIP phone, which enables free calling to the US, Canada and Western Europe. Moreover, it also allows those in the US to call us (as a normal domestic toll call in the USA). You will be welcome to use this when available. It's the main MSI telephone number. See CONTACT page for more information.
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This Peru Healing Journey with Don Theo Paredes costs $2800.00 US which covers items listed below. MSI is a non-profit organzation and offers this program at cost to our particpants.
INCLUDED
- All transportation to the sites listed in the itinerary including bus to sites in the itinerary, train to Aguas Calientes, and hotel transfers.
- In-Country Air Transport to and from Lima
- Facilitators & Guides
- All lodging in doubles or triples in first class hotels/retreat centers with private baths.
- Entrance to all sites listed in the itinerary.
- All work with Don Theo (excluding private healings and private ceremonies).
- All Breakfasts and other meals listed in itinerary and narrative above
NOT INCLUDED
- International air transportation from the US or other origins
- Peru airport taxes (domestic or international flight)
- Telephone, wine, beer and other liquor, soft drinks and bottled water, incidental food and beverages bought on the road and/or at meals not included in the program
- Compensation for consequences of flight delays or Acts of
God
- Tips and gratuities
- Personal purchases,
laundry
- Individual work and personal work
- Airfare to the commencement and from the termination point of this program
- Expenses incurred because participants miss flights or buses
- Expenses incurred due to sickness of participants during the expedition
- Immunizations, medical costs or health insurance, (which includes an international medical evacuations
REGISTRATION DETAILS
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College credit is available through Plymouth State University and/or Fort Lewis College. Arrangements
must be made during the application process. Please contact the
MSI office for a syllabus and how to proceed.
Mountain Spirit Institute is a fully insured and federally recognized
510 (c) 3 Non-Profit Educational Organization.
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