I'd like to clarify that a bit. :)

If you can interest him as a mentor I think he could guide you in this and in a way that would have real integrity. I can't speak for him or answer if he'd be interested, but if I was wanting what your looking for I'd start with Steve. I'd treat him with respect and as an elder himself because he's earned that honorific by his work and service in many fields, and because his knowledge in this field of medicines is both highly educated and built in real world experience over many years.

Cheers.

CG,

I thank you so much for taking the time to respond to my post. Steve sounds amazing and is exactly the type of mentor I am looking for. I would love to get in contact with him. Do you know how I can get his contact info? Thanks again!

Ross

Four friends and I did that (made it up as we went along) on our Amazon trip 15 years ago. One of us was totally bilingual Spanish-English and had kayaked and canoed solo in several Central American countries, three others were experienced trekkers, all five of us were familiar with ayahuasca and had stayed for a week in Pucallpa and gotten advice from Pedro Amaringo and others.

We chose to set out from Iquitos, Peru, and stayed for a few days while we "interviewed" guides from our table at a street-side cafe every day. They ranged all the way from Germanic botanical experts to a young guy who'd never led a tour before but lived deeper in the Amazonian waterways, had an uncle who was a "shaman" and was eager to put us up with his extended family. We chose that option and had an incredible time.

So it can be done with planning and epertise. And we never even considered ayahuasca tour packages. PuhLEASE!

I agree with Gayle. If you want to immerse yourself with the people especially those intact in their bloodline from the Incas, the people in Ecuador are highly recommended. What a stunning country too! A truly beautiful place. As well as Peru.

The reason that I specifically mention that many indigenous communities in Ecuador have community-based ecotourism operations is that these communities have, as communities, made the decision to receive and welcome and share their culture with foreigners and organize this so that it benefits the community in some way. It is a different situation from when some tour guide from the outside tromps into a village uninvited with a group of camera-wielding tourists treating them like zoo animals and then leaving, which used to be the prevailing situation. Communities who have made the decision to receive visitors are willing to share their way of life, plant knowledge, and culture, etc., which happens to include Ayahuasca if you are interested.

Just walking into some village has an impact on things there. If the village has made the choice to receive visitors, that means that they are trying to figure out ways to make the impact a positive one. I should add that in my experience, Indians throughout the Ecuadorean Amazon view gringos (which in Ecuador is a non-derogatory word for any European-looking foreigner) as their allies in their struggles to save their forest, because almost all the gringos they meet are ecological-minded save-the-rainforest folks. Without the support of such folks, their struggles against the petroleum companies and other destructive forces would have gotten nowhere.

Think about ways to make your visit beneficial to the community you stay with.

I can put you in touch with a Highlands indigenous tribe.

Knowing Spanish an being proficient in conversational Spanish is a MUST!

Ouch! That's harsh Wancho.

Warning someone against the "vast majority" is a little bit out there. Do you actually personally know the vast majority of the shamans in the entire country? Even if you do, it's always a bit tricky to accuse folks when you run a business that competes with them.

Cops need robbers to justify their job, armies need perceived enemies to have their wars and so on. What does a healing retreat center need.
Maybe it needs folks interested in healing, but maybe it doesn't need folks scared to go somewhere else.

Last month I spent 10 days with Wancho and Don Lucho, who is an extraordinary shaman. His medicine was very powerful. Wancho is a kind, generous and very serious student of the medicine. I have been a student of ayahuasca since December 2000, primarily in Peru. I trust Wancho and I urge anyone interested in the medicine to contact Wancho directly. Don Lucho is a dynamic shaman and spent a great deal of time healing each participant. Don Lucho's retreat is not a "spa" and not for those who are only interested in a resort-style experience. Don Lucho is authentic and not a corrupt shaman.