The Heliconia Amazon River Lodge.

Our power boats, loaded with 12 to 14 people each - as well as luggage, arrived to a hill of grassy mud. 

A very narrow wooden foot bridge led to a set of wooden stairs that looked like they would collapse. Uneven and varying in distance, we navigated them up the hill to the lodge landing.

The place immediately felt very different from the last lodge location where Blue Morpho operated. while I loved the previous location, this one was a luxury. They had a game/bar hut... Complete with hammocks to lounge in and books to read...

But also plenty of comfy places to sit...

And a pool table and foosball table!

But for me, the most dramatic change was in the accommodations for sleeping and bathing...

These were the bungalows. Most slept two people. But they could accommodate up to four.  And each has it's own private bathroom WITH a shower that occasionally pushes out hot water.

And...

A few hours of electricity each day! See that light in the picture above?  LIGHT! And a ceiling fan above the beds!

This was luxury.

One of my favorite spots of all, though, was the private hammock room off the room.

A friend of mine (who came to the retreat with me) agreed that it was too easy to fall asleep in this thing... And completely zone the whole world out.

The dining room and food were a very different experience than the last place too. Much more formal...

And while I was on the strict Shamanic Dieta the last time and really have no basis for comparison, the food at the new location was delicious. Epically clean. Perfect.

In fact, one of the recommendations I had for the new location is to add in cooking classes for some of the dishes we ate each day. Many of the guests commented wanting to learn how to cook this Peruvian fare.  Above was our lunch in the early afternoon, about six hours before the first ayahuasca ceremony.

Six hours before we'd be walking this very long bridge to the ceremony house to begin our mind journeys.

The jungle surrounds you on either side as you walk along it. And at night, kerosene lamps light the way back dimly... Forcing you to use your other senses to navigate yourself back while you are "marciano."