"AMAZON DREAMING '
Sunlight shimmers on the water from the mighty Amazon River as our speedboat slows pass local residents in their wooden canoes. Whole family to look up from his paddling, and wool warm-heartedly, as wake up from our ship is shaking.
I went to the 'Refugio Altiplano', an upmarket lodge jungle 35 kilometers south from the jungle city of Iquitos, over 1,000 km from Lima, the capital of Peru. Refugio is a sanctuary where you can be pampered by the natural surrounds and participate in programs for healing and relaxation with natural herbal products to bring home medicine men, or as in the West calls them - shaman.
We dock for the collection of floating shanty huts with tin roofs and beer signs outside the riverside village Tamshiyacu. A swarm of young boys Peruvian chatter excitedly and grab our guide ropes tying the ship with trained hands.
"They are excited because they know I give them sol," said our guide, Scott Petersen, as we had supplied some last minute supplies on the river base.
Petersen is a tall, bearded American from Michigan, with a wavy blue eyes and a swagger Richard Branson and style. Just as a guide and entrepreneur, is also a trained herbalist and anthropologist who studies more than 25 years with a Peruvian shaman.
Ten years ago he came to Iquitos, to their knowledge in practice and offer Western tourists a place to rest, treatment and learn. Refugio Altiplano (which translates to 'Reguge the High Plains') is now one of the biggest tourist centers on the upper Amazon. This sprawling jungle retreat offers a range of traditional adventure activities such as rafting, Kyaking, swimming, fishing, bushwalking and nature tours.
But also offers something more - in the jungle cure 'ayahuasca' (which means' vine of Souls' in native language), which attracts thousands of visitors each year in search of indigenous spiritual experience.
When engine pulls the boat into the river Refugio at the dock there is an immediate impression of the lagoon on Gilligan's Island -- cluster of jungle huts with conical thatched roofs and long walks peering over the coast.
Helpful staff settles us into one of dozens of spacious bungalows that are spread across the vast 250 acres of property. All the buildings were constructed with natural materials by local workers from nearby villages. They are equipped with their own mosquito-netted bedrooms, living room, balconies overlooking the forest and a modern bathroom with toilet and shower - a luxury here. And then he hits you.
You came. Quiet sounds of the jungle and surrounded the close: parrots, insects, monkeys - warm sound of nature at best, invites you into their secrets. And remember, you're million miles from the city deep into the heart of the Amazon jungle surrounded by forest, and it is an adventure begins.
Along with the Shipibo shaman called home 'Walter', Petersen conducts his shamanic rituals of giant, two story brick huts with conical roofs, which can hold up to thirty Five people on the benches inside the perimeter. By candlelight on the small cups of ayahuasca assigned to cook and guide seekers on the mystical route discovery. Many people report seeing visions giant anacondas, jaguars and geometric patterns. Others feel a sense of being spread throughout their body.
"Healing comes from within," says Petersen. What ayahuasca and Refugio really offer guests is to look at their thinking, habits and circumstances that cause stress and disease. Then "shaman connects with the spirit and work to the client back into harmony. "
Refugio receives packages of six to eight people at a time is coming from America, Europe, Japan and throughout world. There is the same number of men and women of all ages, to lean towards people in their thirties, forties older. Many stressed-out professionals come to relax and again another and with nature.
The morning after the ceremony, we walk around Refugio back and visit the extensive botanical gardens Petersen is cultivated, with more than 250 medicinal plants, worshiped for its medicinal and healing properties. Group of indigenous Peruvians from the local community work in the area, seeking to plant a garden in hot, sweltering Sun
Hundred meters around the garden, we explore the magnificent two-story jungle house, built for families remain on the property. Next hundred yards behind it is an amazing story of five tree houses Olympian proportions. Is at least thirty meters straight up into the large green canopy overhead, Robinson Crusoe-style bungalow overlooking the river and jungle for miles. It is an ideal refuge for anyone wishing to literally away from it all.
All of Refugio is large, as the size of the central building - Three-story wooden structure, open air called 'El Centro'. It looks like a Victorian property in the jungle, with kitchen and restaurant on the ground floor, offering a varied menu of fresh natural foods, including fish, fruit and vegetables from the surrounding region.
Upstairs on the second floor there is additional space for dining and living area. The third floor has the ever-popular area, hammock, where guests can while away the afternoon or the day without a care in the world, nurtured peace in this jungle paradise.
Prices start at $ 100 per day, and people can support Refugio paying U.S. $ 20,000, which makes donors eligible for reduced lifetime rate. They also pay a higher amount and have a house built on the property of their long-term stay.
There is also non-profit wing of Refugio established to purchase land in the jungle to protect it from logging and inappropriate development, you can donate and receive tax-free deal. Like 'assimilate' the country, Petersen, as it is called, the money also goes to help create jobs and training for villagers.
"I feel that I was gone for a week," said Rolando, manager of NGOs on leave from Denver. He is surrounded by the comfort of a hammock in a deep observation of the sun in a brilliant pink stripes and blue, just a few hours after arrival.
"Wait until tomorrow - it will seem like three weeks," Petersen counters Laughing from the opposite hammock, lazily rocking back and forth, the master of his domain.
Refugio Altiplano is a small piece of heaven on the banks of the Amazon, which must be seen to be believed - but what is more, it is necessary to try to fully integrate its subtle gifts and healing power.
www.refugioaltiplano.org
writer was a guest of the airline Aerolineas Argentinas on to Peru. For sales information ring (02) 9234 9000th
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