TierraMitica: July 2012

The Altar at TierraMitica

We all offered something from the heart to our common altar right by Okopua at TierraMitica

personal items and wild flowers and seeds touch the heart

We all contributed to create our altar, a place of gratitude and meditation, right next to our home, Okopua. Under Gizmo's watchfull eye ( our otherworldly wooden mythical creature) and Curly (the neolithic stalactite sculpted head that we recovered and returned home to TierraMitica) our altar is thriving and reminds every day of the gratitude we all owe to mother Earth for all her gifts: for our breath, for our hearts, for our bodies and for all friends and gifts of the Universe. Soon it will be moved a few feet towards the little gorge by Okopua and will acquire a roof for its protection.

Every day our altar fills up with our offerings

Celestina, the most powerful of all the shamans blessing our altar

Life at TierraMitica

There are no words to express the beauty of life at TierraMitica- just enjoy some pics!!!!

Touching beauty

Crafting beauty- the staircase to the Yoga deck sculpted out of driftwood by hand

Seeing beauty

Relaxing in beauty- Benji and Asia

Cooking beauty- Barbecue on the cylinder by Mikis

Singing beauty- Ferd practicing the guitar by the firepit, Okopua at the back

Family and beauty- Jessica, Theo, Willie and the girls

Cool, refreshing beauty

Buzzing beauty

Super fresh beauty

Smiling beauty- Duende found an old sculpted guitar burried in the woods

Weird beauty

Sweet beauty- the cake for Benji's birthday

Wild beauty

Resting in beauty

Ultra slow beauty

Beauty in Art

Curious beauty

Divine beauty

Absolute beauty- Blue butterfly

The Yoga deck by the waterfall

The view from the deck

The wooden deck and the pathway and stairs down the first water fall are now finished. Alberto, our friend and master craftsman performed a miracle. He has now left us to go back home to Colombia but our hearts are with him- and he shall return for more miracles. The pathway and deck will serve many purposes: they give access to the first waterfall for bathing and allowing the power of the falling water to massage our backs; eventually they will give access to the second waterfall and the beauty of the gorge below; The deck, halfway down the waterfall is an amazingly beautiful place for yoga, meditation, rest, games and anything we can imagine. They give safe access down the Eye and through the most magical part of TierraMitica. We are so happy it is now part of our lives!!!

The Yoga deck, halfway down the first waterfall, almost ready

Right next to the waterfall, eternal music played by the waters

Benji and Sara resting during construction

Just before the final clean and varnish

The resting place on the staircase down to the deck- sculpted out of driftwood from the river

What a view!!!

Babushka, our first ceremonial site

Our wonderful first outdoor ceremonial site, Babushka

Proudly posing:Aroldo, Amelia, Teresa, Manuela, Juanita, Celestina and Reuben

Surrounded by lush forest and the full moon passing right above it shedding full light on our ceremonies, Babushka (named so because it has the shape of a Russian doll) is beautifully sculpted out of renewable tropical wood and decorated with fallen branches from the land. It has wooden seats all around, it has an elevated platform for the shamans, an outdoor toilet and beautiful natural paths leading to it. It will be joined by many more; a stone tiled one from the river in a place with a beautiful view of the mountains; an adobe terracota floored one with shipibo designs painted all over it near the North American Indian village with the Tipi, the Art Therapy school and workshop, the sweat Lodge, a traditional Temazcal built into the belly of Mother Earth and of course, our main moloca with the glass dodecagonal pyramid on top so we can have ceremony and watch the sky on rainy nights!!!

Aroldo happily dancing on the deck

Our shamans sanctified the place and gave it their blessing

The Shipibo Tambo

The shipibo Tambo, their home at TierraMItica is hidden in a beautiful spot in the jungle

The maestras looking at their brand new traditional kitchen- just the way they like it!!

The bathrooms under construction

Just at the last moment, Harry and his crew managed to finish the Sipibo Tambo. In a beautiful spot in the jungle just above Babushka, our wooden outdoor ceremonial space and a hundred yards from the site of our ceremonial maloca to be, passing a stream through a sculpted wooden bridge lies the Tambo:
A three room two bath wooden house with a traditional outdoor kitchen, it was designed especially with the needs of our Shipibo Shamans in mind: It has a big porch veranda, it is private yet central and just how they like it.

Amalia doing her art and handicraft happily on the Tambo Veranda

Relaxing, giving a massage or doing their art, plenty of space for everything

The Tambo under construction

Harry, the work crew captain in front of the bathrooms during construction

Our Shipibo maestras and maestros

Our Shamans arriving at TierraMItica for the first time

Enchanted at the gate while the main creators, Benji and Alberto look proudly at their Art

Fascinated by the symbolism and the Shipibo design at the bottom

The arrival of our Shipibo maestras and maestros, the angels that acompany and guide us in the Ayahuasca ceremonies with their exuberant Ikaros, the thousands of years old ceremonial songs and chants filled our hearts with joy. Seven came at first, Aroldo, Reuben, Amalia, Celestina, Juanita, Manuela and Teresa were the first to arrive but eventually we will have 10 permanently stationed at rotating at TierraMitica. Their ethereal symphonies will fill the ceremony nights with lovely healing energy!