First Stop: Aguas Calientes

"You're crazy, you will be flying for two days, just to spend a week in Peru" - was the reaction from most people after I told them I had decided to go to Peru for a week. For the record, it would be five days of annual leave, three days of flying/transiting, six days in Peru and 36 hours in Los Angeles. I couldn't think of a better way to spend ten days away from work.

Friday 29th - 12:55 pm: I board the flight in Hong Kong and start the 14 hour leg to LAX. Here. We. Go.

Friday 29th - 10:50 am: Arrive in LA, I didn't really sleep on the flight. Mental note, do not order the Oriental Vegetarian meal again. I check the clock, it's currently 4:50 am in Hong Kong, I've been awake for 21 hours. Is my timezone math even correct? I retrieve my luggage, grab a burrito and wait for my flight to Lima.

Friday 29th - 14:00 pm: I have been awake for 24 hours, I board the LATAM flight in LAX and start the 8 hour and 30 min flight to Lima. Drats. Middle seat, I finally dooze off.

Saturday 30th - 00:45 am: Arrive in Lima, retrieve my luggage and check into the connecting flight, charge my phone, waiting for the last leg.

Saturday 30th - 05:00 am: Board the flight to Cusco

Saturday 30th - 06:10 am: Cusco. I can't believe I'm here.

Touchdown! I retrieve my luggage (for the last time) and find myself exiting the arrival area only to be met by a sea of tour operators waving signs in my face.I scan the ocean of signs looking for my name. "Derek?" I see a Peruvian lady motion towards me. I wonder how she knows that it's me. Oh right, I'm the only Asian guy in the arrivals area.

We hop into a car and she gives me a run down of the next 48 hours. She leaves me with the driver and I start my adventure from Cusco, through to Urubamba, finally at Ollantaytambo. There's a lot of awkward Spanish/English conversation. Immediately I'm floored by the beauty of the country side, as we stop along the way for the odd commentary and photo opportunity. The driver bids farewell and I wait for the train to Aquas Calientes. Not being able to communicate with the driver makes you feel, this big. Next time I do this, I need to make sure I take a one month crash course in Spanish.

I think I've been sitting down for too long - my lower back hurts. Actually, now that I think about it, in the last 48 hours I've probably been sitting down for at least 45 of those hours. Meanwhile, the train ride is absolutely stunning, snow capped peaks, lush greenery, I am really growing found of trains. Choo Choo!

Saturday 30th - 5 pm: First destination. Aguas Calientes, I have an early dinner followed by a much needed massage.

Saturday 30th - 7 pm: I sleep. My hotel room has a Jacuzzi.

Pre-ceremony Prep

If you take pills, recreational drugs, or medications (including asthma inhalers or other non-oral medications) of any kind, please stop taking them at least 3 days before your Ayahuasca retreat starts. If you are on prescription medication (including over the counter medications like allergy pills, cold medication, pain relievers or fever reducers), anti-altitude sickness pills, or herbal supplements please advise us immediately of the names and doses so that we can determine if they are required to be stopped more than 3 days in advance. More details you can find in the dietary information sheet.

In addition to the different ceremonies we also provide a complementary medical volcanic water cleanse (detox), the day before your retreat starts, at your Cusco hostel/hotel normally in the morning at around 9:30 am. and you will be fasting from all food and liquids other than water and herbal teas until after your cleanse has completed. You may drink herbal teas and water up to the time of your cleanse to help with any hunger pangs but try not to drink too much as performing the cleanse on a stomach full of liquid can be uncomfortable and could lengthen the amount of time required for your cleanse.

The volcanic water is special from the local region of Cusco, and is sourced from volcanoes in the Andes. Aside from the health benefits renowned in the region, this cleanse has proven to be very effective for flushing out additional toxins prior to the ceremony. This in turn reduces the amount of usual purging required during an Ayahuasca ceremony, therefore giving everyone a more connected, focused ceremony.

- Healing Tree

Semester 2: Done

I have taken a different view to school this semester. I am less obsessed with trying to get excellent grades (sure that's always a bonus), but the stress and the extra amount of work is not conducive to work, school, life balance. Whenever I tell people I have post graduate exams, there almost always seems to be two responses, "Why are you doing that?" and "Do marks even matter in a Master's?". 

Both valid questions, but it's the second question that has allowed me to approach this semester with a different mindset. I'm here to learn, not to be a straight A student. This simple phrase has allowed me to be less fastidious with study and better with time management (although my final grades will be interesting). There's a sense of relief after the final exam, and suddenly, my calendar opens up. Going from having no spare time, to all the time in the world is an adjustment I still haven't gotten used to. Summer break.

Currently Reading: "The Subtle Knife"

Please wait until 11 pm until you're back online

There's always a moment of panic when you wake up on a work day and the bedroom is slightly brighter than usual. It suggests that the sun is in a different position to when you normally wake up. The internal thought process usually goes along these lines.

1. That's unusual, why is it so bright?
2. What time is it?
3. Wait, it's Friday, why am I not at work
4. Wait, where's my phone? 

It's at dialog point #4 when you realise the reason that you missed your alarm is because your phone (ie: your alarm clock) is missing.

I log into the "Find My Device" feature - The phone is still online, the location shows somewhere deep in LKF. At least it wasn't stolen. It's probably lying somewhere under a sofa or table. I go into the office and call the bar "Sorry, you'll have to wait until the club opens and ask the lost and found department". 

Now I just need to wait until 11 pm for the bar to re-open to collect my phone. I embrace the feeling of not being bound to a smart phone. Technology and social freedom.

Easter

My approach to annual leave has changed since embarking on the post graduate degree. I feel like I have too much excess leave. Any break from school or work is an excuse to return to Sydney. Easter was another excuse to head home for a recharge. First stop Bankstown.

10 years of blogging. Or rather, 10 years since I moved out from home and left Sydney. Time has moved neither fast, nor slow. It feels like a long time ago. It sounds like a long time ago. I wonder if it's even worth continuing with the blog updates. I mean, who reads this?

There is something romantic about the idea of re-reading this blog on my deathbed - The final audit of my life. That got dark, quick.

Currently reading "The Three Body Problem"

John Legend

The year is 2004. It's the year that I hear about John Legend. The Get Lifted LP was on repeat. I had the Ordinary People sheet music and was trying to learn how to play it on keyboard. The first time I saw him perform live was at Metro Theatre on George Street. He performed to a small, intimate, 300 plus crowd. The crowd sang along to the majority of his songs. He was of course an up-and-comer at the time with a smaller discography.

Fourteen years later, he's performing in Hong Kong. I'm always apprehensive about Hong Kong concerts. Majority of the crowds (in my experience) are at these events to say that they were at the event versus being there for the music. Dilettantes of culture, as opposed to fans of the artist. Or perhaps things are just different in Hong Kong. The irony is, I had stopped listening to his music and wasn't familiar with his latest work. I am part of the problem.

My plus one had been hospitalised and an SOS was sent out by a friend to find me a last minute plus one. Mr Stephens still puts on a show, he belted out his big hits, dipped heavily into Get Lifted and the songs he collaborated on as well as the off cover. The last minute plus-one knew the lyrics and it was one of the better concerts I've been to in recent times. The man still knows how to put on a show!

"How can I blame you; For taking over my daydreams?" - John Legend

Lessons in Mindfulness

The tenant of mindfulness is that it can be applied to the most benign activities: Walking, brushing your teeth, even eating. Today, as I ate at my desk, I accidentally bit a fork and chipped my front tooth. The sound was jarring and my desk was littered with small fragments of tooth.

The dentist charged me 400 USD to have it patched up. Note, biting a fork while eating a salad is not a practise in mindfulness.