Back To Iquitos To Purge The Chaos. And Sugar.

The second trip to Iquitos, Peru - a place you can only reach by boat or by plane - I timed so that I would spend as little time in the congested but remote city as possible.

The city has bit of a chaotic energy, and you can feel it before you even have had any ayahuasca brew.  Pedicabs speed around corners, narrowly missing pedestrians attempting to cross streets safely. Stray dogs roam the streets. Children play in front of building openings, laughing and saying "hola" as you pass. Local walk slowly along the sidewalk, making you feel rude as you try to pass.

It can overwhelm and exhaust you. Add the heat and the humidity, along with the dust layered in the air... And a simple walk to a restaurant up the street leaves you drained.

But it does have much beauty...

It's the low-water season. So the river isn't as filled in, leaving lush green present. That doesn't mean. though, that there aren't any storms. One rolled in behind me as I shot the above photo...

The dark skies forming around the hotel... Casa Morey. It is an old mansion that was once occupied by a rubber baron. The wifi is fantastic, and the rooms are large and charming. And the free breakfast...

Amazing. I loaded up on fruit like crazy the morning after we arrived, prior to leaving for the retreat. I was going to have to go nearly 10 days without sugar, which included fruit. They had to refill the watermelon bowl before anyone else had the chance to have some.

(Shameless.)

But I would soon be purging all of the fruit. And the chaotic energy I encountered. I was soon headed up the Amazon by power boat, to detox from life for a week.