I just recently heard about Hyrox from some people at the gym. Kind of like Crossfit, but with a lot of running & cardio in it. Their IG says ‘World Series of Fitness Racing’. Yesterday they had a competition here in Mexico City, and a lot of people from the gym competed. Basically it was 8 x 1km running and 8 x workouts like sledge pull & push, wall-balls, skiing, farmers carry, etc. You could compete in teams, pairs, couples, solo, and different age groups. Cheered for Milla my Finn friend who I think finished in 5th place and a guy from Sweden, Hugo, who came 2nd. Also our team from the gym finished in 2nd place! Wow, I’m so impressed at their fitness level, so now I’m going to give this Hyrox-thingy a try for a month.
Realized I need to stop snacking on all of the crap too, so right now I have paleo bread cooking in the oven 🙂 Fingers crossed my motivation lasts for more than a week hahahhaaaa… I actually managed to finish baking it while writing this masterpiece of a blog and I must say it turned out fabulously! Will be making more of this!
The theme for shooting this week was wet, slippery, & latex-y…
It’s pretty much exactly one month until I’m going to Jamaica. Had to dig out my Jamaican bikini and see if it still fits 🙂 Last week when I spoke to Troy he said there was 1 room left. If you are interested in joining me at the Mycelia Retreat on May 23rd to the 26th – hit them up www.myceliajm.com 🙂
Hit the gym and it’s been so hot here in Mexico, so I’m sweaty before I even started working out! Pretty good though because I always feel like I worked out harder than I did 😉
Hunter is being his usual spoiled self. I like to start mornings with coffee in bed and Hunter gets some milk too to feel like he’s part of the morning chill. Also practicing with him being in the stroller. Want to be able to take him out on walks 🙂 So far we’ve been strolling around in the apartment only, but will hopefully try the elevator and at least take a peek outside next week 🙂
I finished a couple of books by Rebecca Yarros. Fourth Wing and Iron Flame, book 1 & 2 in the Empyrean series. The 1st book was exciting and it was a bit like Game of Thrones for young adults. The 2nd book I feel lost it a bit. The main characters’ dragon was always flying faster and faster and what got the most description and details were the sex scenes. But that was also so mind blowing and always better and better that I actually ended up skimming past them. Not like me if you know me hahhaaaa…
Still going to classes for photography and next week I’m getting a light and softbox delivered. Hopefully I will produce some fancy pics after that. On Friday I’m taking off to San Francisco over the weekend for another wedding. Will see some friends too so I’m excited. Other than that I will try to stay off refined sugars and get through some Hyrox training!
I just recently heard about Hyrox from some people at the gym. Kind of like Crossfit, but with a lot of running & cardio in it. Their IG says ‘World Series of Fitness Racing’. Yesterday they had a competition here in Mexico City, and a lot of people from the gym competed. Basically it was 8 x 1km running and 8 x workouts like sledge pull & push, wall-balls, skiing, farmers carry, etc. You could compete in teams, pairs, couples, solo, and different age groups. Cheered for Milla my Finn friend who I think finished in 5th place and a guy from Sweden, Hugo, who came 2nd. Also our team from the gym finished in 2nd place! Wow, I’m so impressed at their fitness level, so now I’m going to give this Hyrox-thingy a try for a month.
Realized I need to stop snacking on all of the crap too, so right now I have paleo bread cooking in the oven 🙂 Fingers crossed my motivation lasts for more than a week hahahhaaaa… I actually managed to finish baking it while writing this masterpiece of a blog and I must say it turned out fabulously! Will be making more of this!
The theme for shooting this week was wet, slippery, & latex-y…
It’s pretty much exactly one month until I’m going to Jamaica. Had to dig out my Jamaican bikini and see if it still fits 🙂 Last week when I spoke to Troy he said there was 1 room left. If you are interested in joining me at the Mycelia Retreat on May 23rd to the 26th – hit them up www.myceliajm.com 🙂
Hit the gym and it’s been so hot here in Mexico, so I’m sweaty before I even started working out! Pretty good though because I always feel like I worked out harder than I did 😉
Hunter is being his usual spoiled self. I like to start mornings with coffee in bed and Hunter gets some milk too to feel like he’s part of the morning chill. Also practicing with him being in the stroller. Want to be able to take him out on walks 🙂 So far we’ve been strolling around in the apartment only, but will hopefully try the elevator and at least take a peek outside next week 🙂
I finished a couple of books by Rebecca Yarros. Fourth Wing and Iron Flame, book 1 & 2 in the Empyrean series. The 1st book was exciting and it was a bit like Game of Thrones for young adults. The 2nd book I feel lost it a bit. The main characters’ dragon was always flying faster and faster and what got the most description and details were the sex scenes. But that was also so mind blowing and always better and better that I actually ended up skimming past them. Not like me if you know me hahhaaaa…
Still going to classes for photography and next week I’m getting a light and softbox delivered. Hopefully I will produce some fancy pics after that. On Friday I’m taking off to San Francisco over the weekend for another wedding. Will see some friends too so I’m excited. Other than that I will try to stay off refined sugars and get through some Hyrox training!
Started the week off shooting. Hunter always loves to be close by, demanding attention as well. We ended up pulling up a chair for him and Ximena had to multitask between shooting and petting Hunter 🙂
Threw on some wigs and Psychonaut jackets too…
Tried to get a cute selfie with Hunter and you can tell how impressed he is with me – NOT!
Decided it was time to touch up my roots this week. While I’m sitting there, I start looking at different hair colors. Decided I want to try yellow hair. Hmm, might be more orange, but supposedly it’s supposed to wash out a bit and turn more yellow. Guess I just have to wait and see, but I kind of like it 🙂 #carrottop
Sanna, my Swedish friend here, had a small get-together at her place with a couple of other Swedes. So awesome to talk Swedish all night. The dessert was marängsviss, which is a Swedish classic. Vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, banana and chocolate sauce mixed up together. I’m drooling writing this now, sooo good!
On Friday I shot with a new photographer here. I’m waiting for the pics, but I think they will be super cool. Very fun shoot! Here is a pic the make up artist shot on her phone. Earlier this week I met an awesome lingerie designer here – Marika Vera. This outfit is from her and I’ll show the rest when I get the pics 🙂
Finished the book ‘First Lie Wins’ by Ashley Elston. It was recommended by Reese’s book club and it was a pretty good and interesting read. Nothing really stood out, but nothing really bad to say either. This is what Amazon says about it –
‘The identity comes first: Evie Porter. Once she’s given a name and location by her mysterious boss Mr. Smith, she learns everything there is to know about the town and the people in it. Then the mark: Ryan Sumner. The last piece of the puzzle is the job.
Evie isn’t privy to Mr. Smith’s real identity, but she knows this job will be different. Ryan has gotten under her skin, and she’s starting to envision a different sort of life for herself. But Evie can’t make any mistakes–especially after what happened last time.
Because the one thing she’s worked her entire life to keep clean, the one identity she could always go back to—her real identity—just walked right into this town. Evie Porter must stay one step ahead of her past while making sure there’s still a future in front of her. The stakes couldn’t be higher–but then, Evie has always liked a challenge…’
I also started photography lessons this week. Very good teacher and got my next lesson this week. This week there’s also the annual international art fair here in Mexico City called Zona Maco. I hope to go visit one of the events 🙂
Hopefully tomorrow I will post about a retreat I’m gauging interest for. It’s my favorite mushroom retreat Mycelia in Jamaica. I’m going to confirm the dates, but we’re planning to do it in May 🙂
Getting hungry and going to order some food before I rip into one of the chips bags I saw in the pantry 🙂
Went for another staycation last week. I visited and stayed in Tepoztlán again, and I love it there. Very chill with great restaurants and bars. I’ve heard that it gets packed during the weekends though. I prefer to visit places during the week when it’s not too crowded. That way you never have to wait for a table and there are plenty of Airbnb accommodations to choose from. This was our casa and it was great!
Checked in and took a stroll. We passed this beautiful cemetery…
Grabbed some food and I found this awesome cowboy hat to hide my bad hair days with 🙂
There is a bar called La Cueva – the Cave. It feels like you are in a cave made of trees. Grabbed some cocktails and in the end we ended up eating there too. Got a new cute kitty-buddy that I shared my meal (not cocktails) with. I know a lot of people think you shouldn’t feed dogs or cats in a restaurant, but I do because I just can’t resist them 🙂
Next day Ximena came down and we got some work done. First, test the lighting, and then action..
Lot of swimwear. I love working outdoors!
How awesome is this t-shirt?
Dayana came down and joined us. We headed for a late lunch at La Veladora. They have a pool area for hotel guests, good food and it’s very relaxing there…
There’s some great sculptures, and I tried to imitate one of them. Pretty accurate or what do you think?
Had time to chill for like 10 min and switch outfits, then we stopped by La Cueva again for pre-dinner drinks.
Dinner was at the Amomoxtli hotel. Been there before and it was great then. Now it was just meeh. Not very good service, but my Piña Colada was very good 🙂
Passed a local bar on the way back and decided to make a pit stop. It was packed with locals and you could order 1 liter beers and blue Smurf drinks hahahaa… Settled for some beers and Tequila shots.
When we arrived home we had these horses outside our place. Not sure if they were wild, but they were just strolling the streets…
Back home we felt like an after party. Unfortunately no one brought a speaker, but a coffee pot did a decent job 🙂
Next morning we walked to Cafe de la Milpa. It’s an amazing farm to table restaurant. You sit outdoors and they have a community garden there. I can imagine myself living like this in a few years with all my rescued animals 🙂
We worked on our tans by the pool for a bit before checking out. Then we headed to the main street in town. Lots of shops, restaurants and bars…
Or you can buy yourself some scorpion infused Tequila…
I wanted to do this hike up the mountain Al Tepozteco at the end of the main street, but there just wasn’t any time. Or energy I might add… There are some old pyramids up at the top and it’s supposed to be very cool. Next time…
Grabbed some lunch and I’m showing off my beautiful new bag I got from Dayana. And my Pussitive hat 🙂
The restaurant had the best painting so I thought I might as well imitate that one as well 🙂
I also got this mug after we finished the drink in it 🙂 I think the chicas on mug look like me & Dayana. Chicas Borrachas means Drunk Girls hahahaaa…
Found some leftover pics. All together it was a great little trip and it’s only about 1,5h from Mexico City so definitely go if you can 🙂
Best part about coming home is Hunter of course. He doesn’t think I need to work when I’m back so he plants himself on the computer, or just stares at me until I either feed him or go and take a nap with him 🙂
I went to a great event this weekend and went eating Colombian food and shopping with Dayana yesterday. I will make another post about it. Heading to a camera store now to look at cameras 🙂
It’s been a fun-filled and productive week. Walking in Mexico City you always discover new places. I walked on this street before, but now I spotted a photography school. I visited them and found out that all of the scheduled courses are in Spanish; no bueno for me. They also offer tailored private classes in English, so long story short, I’m looking for a camera unless I can get the one repaired that I have. I want to take classes in lighting first and learn Lightroom. Very excited about this!
En route there, I found this amazing seafood restaurant. Not very healthy, but anything fried pretty much makes love to my tastebuds hahhaaaa….
On Tuesday I had lunch with Dayana and another friend named Camile. They laughed when I suggested lunch at noon. Latinos don’t eat lunch until later, so we planned for 1.30pm. European as I am, I was obviously on time. Both Dayana and Camile (they’re Colombians) showed up 30 minutes late. It’s not even rude here, it’s just the norm. Sometimes people ask if the time is “Mexican time”, meaning that everyone show up about an hour late. We went to one of my favorite restaurants here – Estiatorio Nostos.
They have really good seafood and I had the responsibility of finding the right fish for us!
Lunch became drinks at some bar, and whoever came up with this bird-drink-glass, where you insert the straw up it’s a*s, must be someone with a great sense humor!
Couldn’t do an all-nighter, because I rented a location for the next days shoot.
Hit the gym 3 times last week. 2 classes on Thursday and after that I needed a caffeine fix after to make it home!
A friend’s girlfriend was having her birthday, so I joined in for a drink before they headed to dinner. I prefer wearing my onesie over anything, so as I soon as I come home, I switch. I think I spend about 50% of my time in it LOL…
I met a girl here through another friend who’s a filmmaker. We’re planning to do an experimental film, and it’s going to be shot on VHS to get the old grainy feel to it. Unfortunately her camera decided to not work when we were going to shoot, so now we are waiting for her to find another ancient camera 🙂
Another friend is visiting Mexico City right now, and we had a nice group that went out for dinner. Only managed to snap myself in the mirror as I came back from smoking.
After, there was some birthday dinner venue we popped in on. Weirdest place. It’s about 01.30am here, bright lights on, no music, and the place was packed. Felt more like a school cafeteria. Like why not dim the lights a bit and have some music? Strange, but fun…
I also talked to Troy in Jamaica. I want to put together a mushroom retreat in May. It was such an amazing experience there and I want everyone who’s interested to get to experience it too. I will have more info and dates in a week or two 🙂 That being said, I leave you with a selfie and Hunter hard at work with me 🙂
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!
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!
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!
The best thing about this week was yesterday’s hike. It felt more like a climb, but it was worth it when you got to the top and saw the views over Mexico City. The place is called Pico del Aguila.
At the top we saw (or at least I think it is) the Popocatepetl volcano. It erupted this summer and some smoke was coming out of it…
Everytime I’m out hiking I’m reminded how much I love it. Need to make an effort and remind myself to plan more adventures in nature!
Looked like a big chicken at the gym the other day. I like colors 🙂
This week’s shoots… Felt right at home shooting in a sauna 🙂
I participated in two different Zoom meetings that talked about psychedelics. Key topics were how we can involve and respect the traditions of indigenous people who have a lot of knowledge about different plant medicines. Very interesting.
I love glasses and fun frames. I bought these two which I think are cool 🙂
Called the veterinarian over this week for Hunter. He had some wet stuff by his butt and thought maybe he has a wound or something. Hunter was not very accommodating when I tried to lift his tail and research his butt so it was better to have the vet do it. This veterinarian is amazing and so kind. He took Hunter with him and shaved his empty nutsack and around the butt. But everything was fine. Apparently just some discharge that was all normal. So Hunter is chilling and nothing wrong with him. Which just reminded me that I adopted him from the woods almost a year ago 🙂
Saw my friend Dyana and catched up.
I’ll leave you with this great quote by Maria Sabina!
“Be smarter every day by listening to your intuition, looking at the world with your forehead. Jump, dance, sing, so that you live happier. Heal yourself, with beautiful love and always remember…You are the medicine.”
Soooo, on Wednesday it was my birthday 🙂 Decided I wanted to go to one of my favorite spots here in Mexico City: Boxque Teva. It’s only about 45 min from the city and in the woods. I’ve written about this place before, and if you come to the city and need to clear your head, come here!
Before leaving, I’m always making sure Hunter is taken care of. Julieta is Hunter’s extra mom and she knows only the best is good enough for Hunter. Ancestral ground beef mixed with liver and other healthy stuff. Cat food is below him. Or at least he thinks so and looks offended when I feed a can to him hahahaaa…
Here are some pics from Boxque Teva… Went with a friend and we had the whole place to ourselves.
I wanted to take some time and reflect on the year that has been and reset for the one to come. What better way than to have nature’s own medicine to help you – magical mushrooms. I like the image in the window too, it’s like the photo is saying “Mushrooms, please show me the way…”
Settled in at a clearing and let my mind go wherever it needed to go…
It got a bit cold later and moved in to the main room with a fire pit…
The people that worked then prepped dinner. Ate, listened to music and later rain and thunder…
Slept like a baby. Had a relaxing morning and then breakfast in the sun…
Found these cards with wisdom and this one is so accurate for me…
Took some picture because the Psychonaut Explorer clothes just fit perfectly here 🙂
Got some presents from my second home here in Mexico, Bold & Bowl the hair salon. Angel also thought I deserved getting my hair done with some wine 🙂
I’ve really gotten into baking. Well, pizza might not be strictly baking. I also attempted Paleo bagels. You can see how they look in the book. Mine look like torn up b*ttholes! But they tasted decent 🙂
Hunter, always close by and sometimes we’re holding hands…
In case you need more of me…
Had a coffee with my fellow Finn, Milla, here in Mexico and she had her birthday yesterday. She got me these beautiful flowers 🙂
Remember, enough is enough! Until next week friends 🙂
