Thinking back on 2023 and trying to summarize it with a couple of words. What comes to mind is adventure and experiences. I also have some questions about my direction and where I’m headed. Still can’t answer that one hahhaaaa… I love to travel and being in nature, so I hope 2024 includes that. I also hope I get to be healthy so I can keep exploring and experiencing!
Here are a few highlights from last year…
Visiting Patagonia in Argentina in February. Stayed in Bariloche and it was beautiful. Surrounded by water and nature. Also visited the little town El Bolsón where I would spend more time in if I visited again.
It was weird travelling and being in a country with such high inflation. You paid double for things if you paid with a card. To get cash you had to wire it to yourself and then line up at Western Union to get it.
Went to a wedding of a good friend in Palm Desert. Everything was kept off social media so I couldn’t post pics of the beautiful groom & bride. I really enjoyed Palm Desert and hope to go back.
After Palm Desert I went to LA and my sister came too from Sweden. We stayed with Sandy and her family so I got the good stuff all at once, family & friends while visiting LA. Took advantage of Sandy’s make up skills and got some work done too… I’m trying to plan a trip to LA asap to see Sandy as I miss her a lot!
In April I visited Puerto Escondido here in Mexico for the first time. Wow, what a cool beach town. Not busy and developed like Tulum. Very chill and relaxed. Would definitely go back here too 🙂
In May I went to the Mycelia Retreat in Jamaica. Definitely one of the top experiences in 2023 that made a big impact on me. Such a beautiful time with mushrooms and an amazing group of people. I hope to host my own retreat this year. Let me know if you’re interested in coming 🙂
In June it was time for a yearly hike up north in Sweden for my sister and I. 3rd year in a row and we plan to keep this going. This time we did the first part of the Kings Trail. 6 days and 5 nights and we loved every day of it!
In August I visited Oaxaca the city. Very beautiful. Drove to the small village called San Jose del Pacifico. It was mushroom season and had a great mushroom trip out in the woods there.
In October it was time for Medellin in Colombia. First time trying paragliding and another mushroom trip 🙂
And the last adventure of the year went to San Miguel de Allende. That trip included trying Kambo and San Pedro for the first time. Very powerful and intense experience.
Not to forget, Hunter celebrated 1 year as a new family member. I love him so much 🙂
Soooo, how about you? Got goals, direction or things you want to do/achieve in 2024? I hope you gotten a fabulous start to this new year!
I had a great time in Sweden. Got to see a lot of friends, family, snow and froze my butt off, went to a couple of spas and a cruise, party and dining & a lot of tasty Christmas foods…
My flight from Mexico City was delayed so I had a long layover in Frankfurt. At least I slept and ate good on the plane 🙂
Didn’t get to my sisters until 1am. My sister is the best and had my favorites lined up as I got there 🙂 Also a belated birthday gift which was a supersoft Fjällräven sweater! Thanks sis!
Next day I started with breakfast and a fika at my favorite cafe in Stockholm, Lisas Grabb. There’s a lot of regulars there and this time I was introduced to a guy named Jorgen. He is a pro hiker and has written 8 books about hiking. He gave me this book, so hopefully on my next hike my backpack will be a lot lighter.
I don’t think I’ve shared this before, but I have hearing aids. I barely used them in the past, don’t ask me why, but maybe because they don’t feel really sexy LOL… I have noticed my hearing is worse and it’s annoying when I miss things in a conversation and have to ask people to repeat themselves 16 times. And people repeating themselves are just as annoyed. So, I finally upgraded to what they called the ‘Rolls Royce’ of hearing aids. Daaaamn, it’s like a new world! I hear birds, snow crunching, and can secretly listen in on other people’s conversations hahahaa… Also they have bluetooth so I can take my calls or listen to music in them. I also got a TV adapter so I can listen to the TV in them without having to turn up the volume to the max. Glasses, hearing aids, where will this end hahahaaa… #gilf
Met up with my sister later for dinner and what was going to be one drink. But more and more friends kept showing up and all of a sudden we are playing ‘Truth or Dare’ and doing dance off’s hahhaaaa… Needless to say, there was more than one drink being had…
On Friday me and my sister went to Yasuragi, a Japanese styled spa in Stockholm. Perfect way to recover 🙂 We hit the saunas, different pools and then had massages and food. No cameras allowed so couldn’t take any pictures from the spa.
The weekend I spent with one of my best and definitely oldest friends Karina. We did some Christmas shopping, eating, drinking and catching up all day. On Sunday we checked in At Ellery Beach House which is another spa hotel in Stockholm.
We hit the sauna and even managed to take a plunge twice in the ice cold water outdoors. Then some chilling and pre dinner drinks 🙂
Also met up with my childhood friend Pia. We went to Liljevalchs and checked out the Fredrik Robertsson exhibition – The dress makes the man. He is probably the only one in Sweden buying Haute Couture. Very cool outfits!
This was really out of the blue, but on Tuesday I went to casting for a Swedish movie. I’ve never done well in castings because they’ve always given me the script right before turning on the camera and then asked me to deliver the lines. I can never remember any lines so I pretty much read the paper from top to bottom, and as you can guess, it’s never a success. This time I got my lines before and was able to study and remember them so I thought it went pretty good. But then I always think I do good. Whether it’s in tests, performances or whatever and that’s not always the case hahhaaaa…
Party time! Had a night out with my friend Katrin and a couple of other girls. Katrin is a great because she doesn’t half ass things and when partying with her, she rarely talks me out of a great (sometimes bad) idea. Like when we hit a bar/club after dinner and I spot a ceramic panda with guns that I thought was awesome. I convinced a bar man to find me scissors and I freed him for a better life with me. I then wore him in my pants with his head and guns sticking out the whole night. Yes, I was going to make it mine until Katrin calls me the next day that the owner of the panda, also owner of the club/bar, demanded his return to captivity! Oooops… But I did as I was told and I think the panda had a blast in my pants for a night out on the town 🙂 I only found this picture from the night out hahahaaa…
I had some gringos in town and took them sightseeing in the rain and snow. We checked out the Christmas Market in Old Town and I obviously fed them meatballs too at Älskade Traditioner, which is another favorite place of mine in Stockholm.
On the 23rd we all went on a cruise to Mariehamn. An island between Sweden and Finland, but I believe it’s ruled by the Finns. We were 10 in total with a couple of kids included. Raced motorcycles, ate Swedish/Finnish Xmas foods, shopped candy and then I played Bingo. I love Bingo and used to play car bingo with my mom. I’m quite lucky in games so when it was time for 5 rows to get bingo, who do you think won??? Me of course 🙂 31 Euros so don’t get too excited hahahaaa…
Finally Xmas Eve and Santa time! We headed out to my nephew’s place out in the woods. So beautiful (and cold) with all the snow…
Lots of food…
I was winding the kids up about Santa Claus so they were almost poo-ing their pants in excitement hahhaaaa… I think I might of been more excited about Santa than they wore and he finally came.
The 25th I went to the stable with my cousin. I used to do horseback riding so it was great to get to pet a horse again. And there were stable cats that I was chasing to pet too…
That is pretty much what I managed during my stay in broad strokes. There was a lot of fikas, more meatballs and friends, so here they are in a mix…
And can you guess what this is? Sorry, my humor…
I got a cold now but my plan is to be rid of it by January 1st 🙂 Too much to deal with a cold and a hangover 😉 What are your plans for tonight? I’m going to a party with an Intergalactic Cowboy/Cowgirl theme. I love costume parties so I will see what I can come up with 🙂
I will do a recap of 2023 and my plans for 2024 too. You got any plans or resolutions? Yesterday I got an invite to go to Goa in India in February. I think I’m going to jump on it 🙂 OK, more to come, need to nap now so I can stay up until midnight! Me & Hunter wish you a fabulous New Years Eve whatever you got planned and the best start on 2024!
Let’s start with the most important stuff first. Wednesday was Finland’s Independence Day! For those who don’t know, I was born in Sweden, but my parents are Finnish. I put on Finland’s hockey jersey and put on some Finnish Christmas songs to celebrate 🙂 Paras Suomi!!!
I got my hair done. My friend Dayana is moving her salon so I had to go to a new place. The guy is Mexican, but lived 12 years in Sweden so we had a lot to talk about 🙂
I don’t know if it is because the weather is colder or knowing that it’s the end of the year, but I didn’t have much motivation to go to the gym this week. Only managed to find my way there twice…
Met up for lunch with Angel. He has a portable wash station in his car so we tried it on the street and it works great 🙂
Been working on my Christmas content and it’s coming along. Hunter wanted some Xmas content too!
My not so Christmasy stuff…
On Friday I had my little get-together and I made Swedish Christmas foods with Julieta’s help. Meatball sandwiches with a beet salad, salmon, ham and some other stuff. Bought a couple of cakes because I was too lazy to bake 🙁
I always plan to take more pics, but it’s so fun to chat with everyone and I forget. It was a super fun night that ended with some Abba karaoke songs, wigs came out, and I tried a pillow as a temporary butt-implant 🙂
George, who I visited in Colombia, was proudly showcasing his mullet LOL,
That was pretty much the whole week. I had my dance class and I felt like I could bust some moves this time! Going to try to get an appointment for nails today and remove these long claws. Too much to maintain. Packing since I’m taking off for Sweden tomorrow night wohoooo… And lots of cuddles with Hunter since I miss him so much when I’m away. Julieta is coming to stay here with him so I know he’ll be in good hands 🙂
Next post from Sweden unless I freeze my butt off there 😉
Finally feeling almost back to normal. Even went to a class at the gym yesterday and struggled through it. At night we had dinner with people from the gym. Most people speak Spanish so I did my best to follow along. Luckily there is always someone translating for me when I’m looking completely lost 🙂 Finished the night off with a Mezcal shot!
Oh, and one guy had this awesome tattoo of an alien handing out mushrooms.
Also got a Christmas tree and started decorating last night. I love the feeling of Christmas being around the corner. Hunter inspected the tree, and so far it still standing. Also forced Hunter to pose for some pictures with his Santa hat, and he was less than impressed by that. I’ll show you next week when I’ve chosen the pics where we both are most photogenic 🙂
I went on a small staycation in Coyocán last week. It’s very popular and a lot of tourists visit during weekends. I stayed at Mansión de Papilo. WOW, what a place!
There were peacocks strolling around and a cat or 2. The colors on the male peacocks are so vibrant. The females looked like regular turkeys next to them lol… And they had an albino peacock too!
I got a whole building to myself in the back. It even had this private pool for me. I hope I can go back soon because it was sooo nice and relaxing there. There was a full tree growing out of the bathroom…
I think I accidentally shot a picture of the toilet too, but now you know how that looks too hahahaa…
Before I left for the retreat I had a girl come over and give me a trippy set of nails. I loved them. I would do it all the time if it didn’t take so long. But pretty cool, or what do you think?
After the retreat I was sick and exhausted for a week. I didn’t do much else other than sleep, cuddle with Hunter, or watch movies. A lot of mornings Hunter and I watch the birds outside together 🙂
When I finally felt better it was time to put on some outfits and get to work…
Catched up with Milla, saw this cute dog, a huge spider, and then it’s just the regular selfies 🙂
I bought more lights for my Christmas tree, so I’m gonna throw them up. Tomorrow starting off with the gym and then going to get my hair done. I have Spanish and a dance class this week too, and on Friday I’m having some friends over for some Swedish Christmas foods 🙂 What are you up to?
Here comes the second part. In case it wasn’t obvious by the headline lol.
On our 3rd day it was time for San Pedro. Here is Lupita who made us a tasty juice for breakfast 🙂
We had another exercise and we talked about human needs. We arranged them by how they are at the present moment, and how we would like to reorder them. There was a lot more that went into this, but hard to explain it unless I write an essay and I suck at that 😉
I’d never tried San Pedro before which is a cactus. It was like a dark green, lumpy, warm smoothie. It did not taste good! We all had a lot of trouble getting it down; spooning it up from our cups while gagging.
I laid down to wait and see what San Pedro was going to bring along. I fell asleep and when I woke up I was alone in the room. I got up and joined everyone on the rooftop and listened to some good disco tunes.
None of us were really feeling anything from the medicine. We decided that we would have some more. It was really hard to get it down again, and I only managed to eat half of it.
We then started sharing about our families and upbringing. My personal story was about how my dad was very strict. I had the utmost respect for him, border lining on fear if I knew I’d done something wrong. There were a lot of emotions and tears. Bawling. Michael brought out wooden boards. He taught us a technique to punch through it. Not sure this was anything I could do. Seemed like some cool Kung Fu. I was told to share the old image/perception I had of my dad, and then what would be the new one. In short, I believe he really loved me and did his best. Even though he was a bit hardcore at the time hahhaaaa… I was told to punch through the wood.
Damn, that was powerful and I felt a bit like Uma Thurman in Kill Bill when she punches herself out of the coffin! I did cut out my bawling before this though…
We then ate on the rooftop together and talked. The weirdest thing is that I then started feeling the San Pedro. Things were morphing a bit and I was tripping. It was great hanging out, and after a while we all felt that it was time for bed. I slept badly though, and was twisting and turning all night.
Sunday, our last day, and I was (and looked) pretty worn out hahahaa…
It was time to prep for Bufo. Bufo is a psychedelic derived from the secretions of the Bufo Alvaius toad. Photo by Joel Sartore, National Geographic.
We gathered in our retreat room and were told that Bufo is what would bring clarity to all of the previous medicines. I was very excited about it as I felt I need some answers.
A little side note here. We were told on the first day not to smoke anything whether it be cigarettes, vapes or cannabis. I refrained from smoking for two days, but then snuck out and had a couple of cigarettes. Also a couple on the rooftop the night before. Not very bueno of me, but I felt like I ‘deserved’ it… Here’s me thinking I got away with it 😉
Sooo, Miryana and Michael started preparing and serving the medicine.
They came to me last and sat down next to me. I was then told that I would not receive the medicine since I’ve been smoking. I felt disappointed and angry. I realized that I could only blame myself. So hard when you can’t point fingers at anyone else hahahaaa… All I could do was take this as a learning lesson, to honor my promises in the future! I asked everyone else how their experience was and it sounded pretty amazing. I’m sure there will come another time for me to try Bufo…
Afterwards we gathered on the rooftop and talked about these 4 days. It’s hard to take it all in and make sense of it so shortly after. It was an amazing group of people and new friends were made.
Alex came up with our motto which I documented with and extra # in the end hahahaaa…
This is a very intense experience in a short period of time. I believe most (if not all) medicines numb you and take away what might be an uneasy feeling, like depression or anxiety for example. These medicines do the opposite, they make you feel! It might be hard, or not, but I’ve seen and felt them work on me and others.
I took the bus back home on Sunday afternoon.
Monday was pretty normal and on Tuesday I got a cold and was a bit lethargic. I felt a lot of different emotions, ups and downs, and I stayed home most of the day. I don’t know if it’s been because I was sick, but for the first time I’ve been able to just be at home and relax. I barely did anything last week. I stayed home, I started reading a book about mindfulness, and I have tried to meditate for small amounts of time every day. I watched a movie in the middle of the day, I slept a lot, and didn’t feel any pressure to work on something all the time. Normally I need to be working or I feel that I’m wasting my time. I feel better now and I will try to hold onto this new more chilled version of me 🙂 And of course Hunter is supporting me. He likes chill 🙂
If you have any questions about the retreat, hit me up 🙂
It’s been a lot to process as it was four very intense days with different medicines. I’ve decided to make two different posts as it became very looooooong and I’m still polishing the last part. Hopefully post it tomorrow 🙂
I took the bus from Mexico City to San Miguel de Allende. Very smooth ride about 4h away.
I wanted to have a relaxing day before the ceremonies and not arrive the day of. I stayed at Maison Mexique, a cute little hotel in the middle of everything. I threw my bag down and spent the day walking around the city.
In the evening I sat on the rooftop writing down some thoughts and intentions for the days to come.
Next morning I walked around a bit in the sun and had some fruit for breakfast.
We were notified that they would also be offering Kambo before the Ayahuasca ceremony the first day. I decided I wanted it, and drank 2 liters of water before leaving for the retreat. It was a short 10 minute Uber ride away. I’m always early, so I checked into my room at the house we were staying at, and then walked around checking out the hood 🙂
“Kambo is the name of a natural substance derived from the glandular secretions of the amphibian Phyllomedusa bicolor, a species native to regions in South America. The communities living in these areas administer the substance generally transdermally during rituals for religious-purifying purposes, producing small skin burns.” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9061256/
The retreat was held by Miryana & Michael. More about them later 🙂 There were four of us who showed up to receive Kambo. The room had mattresses and buckets. I knew Kambo makes you purge and I remember thinking that I’ve never purged in a group setting. First time for everything…
We were told how it would be administered, the duration and what to expect. Miryana burned 3 holes on my ankle with the end of a burning stick. Didn’t hurt as much as I thought it would, but it still stinged. She rubbed the burnt skin off and applied the Kambo.
We were told to keep drinking water. I think it took around 15-20 minutes until I started to get an uneasy feeling in my stomach. I let out a small purge. Michael kept encouraging us to drink more water. Kept drinking and then I purged out what felt like the rest of what I had in my stomach.
I thought beforehand that I would feel a lot worse, but it wasn’t too hard to handle and I felt good after purging. You are pretty focused on what you are going through, so I barely noticed the others purging. The Kambo is then wiped off the skin and it took about 1 hour in total. I felt pretty much back to normal afterwards.
In the afternoon two more people arrived. We all met up and talked about the upcoming Ayahuasca ceremony that was happening later at night. When it was time we first had an ‘exercise’ led by Michael. It was about setting your intentions. What is your perception about yourself right now and what would you like it to be. Before going at it, we danced together and then settled down and wrote whatever came to mind. Then more dancing and again settling down to write about the ‘new’ and improved you.
I like to draw and this is the new me going who knows where hahahaaa….
Then we all shared a word that summarized it all. My word was peace. I would like to live and be aware of the present more. Not to feel that I need to be effective all of the time. There was also a table set-up and you could leave an offering there…
At 8.15pm we were served Ayahuasca. (Ayahuasca is commonly made by the stems of the Banisteriopsis caapi vine and the leaves of the Psychotria viridis shrub). Photo by: Jana Klintoukh
I think about an hour after drinking the first cup, we all opted for a second serving. As usual when I’m doing larger doses of psychedelics, I remember thinking, ‘I don’t feel anything’, and then all of a sudden it hit me full-force. Wow, what a journey it took me on. There were times when I had to ask the medicine to take it a bit slow as it was so intense. At one point I think I experienced some kind of death. It all became white and my face was covered in tears when I came to again. I had a lot of visuals. I had visions of wolves howling and eating a carcass. I might of howled at one point too hahhaaaa… The feelings were mixed between fear, mostly because it was so intense, a lot of love for people I know, and in the between I just tried to surrender to everything and take it all in. Not very easy though lol…
Around 4am they told us we could go to our rooms or we could stay where we were. I did not hear this as I think I had fallen asleep. It was 6.30am when I was able to get up and go to bed exhausted. I’m still trying to make sense of my journey. I have a follow up call next week on Tuesday so maybe I can get more clarity then…
On the 2nd day we got together around 10 am to share about our different journeys. I’m always amazed how the experiences differ from one person to another. Some had people from their past ‘visit’ them and no visions of patterns. Very interesting to hear about the various trips.
We then talked about the mushroom ceremony, and it was going to be in silence with no music or drums. Around noon we were served the mushroom tea. Miryana said before that it was important to not compare this journey with other shroom journeys we might of had before. Well, my trip was nothing like any other I’ve had and there’s been a few. I felt the effect, but had no visuals like I always have. I walked up to the rooftop and put my headphones on and started dancing. Felt so good moving in the sun. After about 4 hours the effect of the mushrooms were wearing off, and we gathered downstairs again to share. I asked about my trip because I thought maybe I had become immune to shrooms. One suggestions was that I had asked for peace during Ayahuasca and maybe that was what I was experiencing. Hmm, makes sense to me…
We then had 1.5h to ourselves and I decided to emerge from our ‘container’ and go for a walk and clear my head a bit.
In the evening we gathered again for a breathing exercise. Mryana & Michael told us beforehand that it could get intense and to just let go and do whatever you felt you needed to do. Move, make sounds or whatever. I remember thinking – How powerful can a breathing exercise be? It was all very simple. Sit with your eyes closed and take deep breaths, inhale & exhale, with your mouth only. It varied with drums and then music. It started with everyone concentrating on their inhales and exhales. I don’t know at what point it happened, but soon we were making sounds. Pretty quietly at first. Then it got louder and louder. I remember pretty much letting it all out, crying loudly at one point. I had visuals appear. A giant flower with a tunnel leading into it. I remember thinking that this is like no other breathing exercise I ever done and it felt so good. Maybe I had some leftover shrooms and Aya that helped with the visions, I don’t know. It calmed down and we were told to take deep breaths and hold. Hold when we exhaled. The last holding of your breath was 2.5 min long. I didn’t quite manage that, but held my breath far longer than I thought I could… I really liked it. We then all gathered at the rooftop and hung out. It was a very cool group of people I was with, and it is always very interesting to hear everyone’s stories and why they’ve chosen these medicines.
OK, I’m going to leave at this, and next post will be about the 2 remaining days with San Pedro and Bufo 🙂 And I’m going to share a pretty badass video of myself!
A guy at the gym told me about a place called Laguna. I decided to Uber there and check it out. It’s now one of my favorite spots to drink coffee and work at. There are stores, offices, food, and the design of the place is very cool. I was also chasing after this black cat who I think lives there, but he could care less about me. – “Don’t you know who I think I am”
There are always new places opening here. Took a new route home walking one night and discovered this new cafe/restaurant. When the sun sets, they project silent movies on a wall there. Decided to try it out and definitely going back. It’s called the Treehouse.
One of the girls at the new gym is a dancer. I love dancing, but don’t really have any moves. I asked her if she would be willing to teach a class or two. Wow, sooo much fun even though I felt like a tree trunk trying to copy her moves hahahaaaa…
Can’t just waltz around trying new places so here’s proof that I work too 🙂
Tomorrow the last challenge is revealed. Cross your fingers for me 🙂
Next week on Wednesday I’m heading to San Miguel de Allende for the retreat. I’m very excited about it as it’s going to be different from previous experiences. We will be doing ceremonies of Ayahuasca, mushrooms, San Pedro and Bufo. I will be returning next week late on Sunday so probably won’t hear from me then, but I will update on Instagram (@thepumaswede) and here as soon as I can 🙂
I tried a gym called Tribu two weeks ago. It focuses a lot on movement, but also has strength classes. I felt that I needed more mobility and a bit of change in my workout routine. On Mondays and Thursdays I do 2 classes back to back. First strength and then movement. So far I’m loving it, even though I’ve been sore pretty much after every class hahahaaa…
Checking for gains after. Didn’t find any 🙁
Checked off some work… Threw in a couple of pics from Colombia in the end too. I want that red chair so I can feel like I’m on a throne at home!
Shot some Psychonaut Explorer stuff too. I love this blue furry hat so much (that I bought in a vintage store), so I went Downtown and bought pink furry fabric. Hopefully the seamstress can make some pink ones too!
Working on some camouflage pants and I want to paint them. Slow going because I need the paint to dry inbetween, but got a flower done 🙂
So what did you do for Halloween? I didn’t manage to do anything. But yesterday, we went to see the Día de Muertos parade here. Very crowded and I love that in the middle of the crowds, you can always find someone cooking and serving something edible or drinkable 🙂
Here they make ‘ofrendas’ for the dead. It’s an altar, big or small, where you place pictures of the dead and their favorite food and drinks. This is so they can come over from the other side and visit us. I made one at home too. Saw this one someone put up by the park for their dogs and I love it.
Last Sunday I tried a new trail. Nothing hard and very relaxing. Best part of the outdoors is the coffee break!
The trail ended up by a monastery close to Boxque Teva. I’ve been here before, but explored a bit more this time and found this spot where people were relaxing and bbq’ing.
Hunter seems tired after his birthday celebration. He’s got a hard life…(not even remotely)…
Yesterday my birthday present to him arrived – a cat stroller! Haven’t had time to take pics of him in it yet, but he seems happy to be pushed around in it in the apartment. Will train at home first and then I hope I can bring him out on walks with me 🙂
Also saw a basketball game this week and the rest is just me out and about and showing off my cooking skills 🙂
This week I plan to get a lot of work done because the week after I’m off to a retreat 🙂 I have Botox booked, going to work on those gains and improve my moves in the gym, and then just go with whatever else happens 🙂
It’s been 1 year since I adopted Hunter 🙂 Last year some friends and I went to one of my favorite spots here in Mexico City – Boxque Teva. I had a small mushroom trip that night. The next day we went up to a monastery for breakfast. I found this weird and awesome ‘viking’ hat at one of the vendors up there. We got back to Boxque Teva, and from nowhere this beautiful red cat comes up to me and is super friendly.
We all love animals so of course he got a lot of attention from all of us. My friend Laura wanted to take pics of me and my new hat, and the cat just followed along and pretended I was a normal human being hahahaaa…
He didn’t mind my hat and was just being happy to be held.
The people that manage the place told me that the cat was homeless and asked if I wanted him. Of course I did. I want to rescue all animals. I said I would go home and think about it and make sure I have people who would look after him when I travel. Both Ximena and Julieta said they would happily help and I called and said I would take him.
He only appeared at Boxque Teva now and then and would take off for days before returning. I had to wait 2 weeks before he appeared again. During those weeks I feared that he ran off for good or maybe was in an accident. Imagining the worst. They finally called and we met up at a veterinarian who checked him out before he could come home with me. He was fine, just a bit scuffed up and dirty. We took an Uber to his new home.
I had already named him Hunter S Thompson. He goes by Hunter though. This is when we first got home. He was under the couch for about 5 minutes and then he came out and explored. After he checked out his new crib, he was just happy to cuddle up 🙂
I love him so much! The veterinarian said he’s about 5-6 years old. I have decided that today is his birthday and he is 6 years old 🙂 Served him some ground up beef with liver and other nutritious stuff in it this morning. It’s his favorite. And then put him back to bed…
Sooo, the story about my friend George adopting a dog in Colombia is quite similar to Hunter’s story. Almost on the same date, a year after Boxque Teva, me, Laura and George got together in Colombia as you know. George and I had a shroom ceremony. The day after that, when Laura was taking pictures, this cute dog appears. Super friendly and loving. Long story short, George adopts her after finding out she doesn’t have a home.
The joke now is that next year, at this time of the year, we’ll all meet again and whatever animal shows up, Laura has to adopt. I hope it’s a Puma 🙂
Happy birthday to Hunter and here’s a few more pics of him just because 🙂
I’m still processing the experience as it was a powerful one. From the beginning though…
Our original guide/facilitator had to cancel, but recommended for us to go to Andres at La Ofrenda Para Ti. It was me and three friends arriving at 8pm. It was my first time doing a ceremony at night time. The space was pitch black and there were a few ‘huts’ with some light in the woods. We just stood there dumbfounded not knowing where we were supposed to go until our guide, Andres, appeared from one of the huts cheerfully. He showed us around and told us that all the huts were made of clay and wood. We then walked a short path to a big dome.
There were matts and blankets laid out individually for each of us.
Andres started working the firepit in the middle while we all shared a bit about ourselves and our intentions for the journey.
My intention was that I wished for some guidance. I feel there are new things coming for me and I have some ideas on my own, but feel a bit hesitant, and have 105 different ideas hahhaaa… I have long since learned that with mushrooms, you don’t get what you want, but what you need.
We finally had a big fire going and we were first served Ambil (tobacco paste) that you licked off a stick, and then after a small spoon of ground up Mambe (coca leaf powder). This is used for the equilibrium between masculine and feminine energy, thinking and feeling, to open up your heart, not from the ego, and to clarify purpose. Not super tasty, but it eventually dissolved and you swallowed it. Then we got rapé. And then we got two different types of dried mushrooms that we ate. Three grams of Blue Moon (lab) and one gram Mexican (earth). I was told that the one from lab helps with focus and Blue Moon is more visual and keeps a connection to earth.
I always note the time down when I ingest any type of psychedelic. It was 10:05 pm.
I laid down and after, what probably was 15 minutes, remembered thinking: ‘these shrooms are probably not that powerful since I’m not feeling anything’. Shortly after it hit me full force and it took me on a powerful ride. I remember sometimes it being so intense so I opened my eyes and looked at the fire which kind of centered me and reminded me that I’m safe and can let go.
At points it is like I cease existing and I’m a being in a different realm. I’m not seeing it, I am in the midst of it all. For me it is like cartoon images. It’s not realistic surroundings and people, but they are drawn and cartoonish. I see things and then I’m swooshed away like I’m flying to new imagery. I also remember looking up at the dome and it was all purplish with tentacles dancing around me.
After about 2h I sat up and everyone was laughing and having a great time. I felt exhausted after my initial ‘ride’. I put on my headphones and danced a bit. The music always sounds so good and evokes all kinds of feelings in me. I felt a lot of love and most of the times my family, friends and people I know come to my mind. I lied back down, cried, and watched the fire. The crying is not out of sadness, more a feeling of love and it feels like I’m clearing my head/body of tension.
We had our driver come at around 2am to pick us up. We all felt that we were not ready to leave yet. I think at some point we all slept. I spotted this mask and felt like it was a sister Puma meant for me 🙂
It was refreshing to step outside in the fresh air and sit in the darkness. I liked hearing the laughter from inside the dome…
I went in and out of sleep and at 8am we felt ready to emerge from the dome. Andres served us some fruits and drinks and we sat talking about our journey. I felt a lot of gratitude and a beautiful connection to everyone in the ceremony. It is always funny how different everyone’s trip is. Some did not have a lot of visuals while I felt that I was emerged in them. All together a beautiful ceremony and night and I hope to visit Andres and La Ofrenda Para Ti again.
Not much got done the day after. We all smelled like a fire pit after a night in the dome, so a much needed shower felt amazing. Later we went to Crepes & Waffles and this dessert hit the spot.
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I was going to share George’s dog adoption story here too, but since Hunter’s adoption is going to be 1 year next week, I’ll share them together 🙂 Instead you get this little video of our night that I scramble together 🙂
While on the subject of mushrooms, my next retreat is coming up now in November. I’m sharing 2 videos about it. It’s in San Miguel de Allende here in Mexico. About 4h drive from Mexico City 🙂 I’m very excited about this one as it’s going to involve other psychedelics and not just mushrooms.
There are 2 spots left and if you are interested, contact @miryana.gongora.hernandez or @michaelhokkinensoder on Instagram. They are both super nice and can answer all your questions 🙂
Until the next trip you all 🙂 Happy Halloween and Día de Muertos!
