The Flight of An Eagle

JAN/FEB 2009 specific date -TBD

Soar to higher levels of consciousness as you raise your awareness through intimate study with the Yachaks of the Andes (Birdpeople Shaman) and the Naporunas of the Amazon. The Quichua people, descendants of the Incan, are spread throughout the various regions of Ecuador, from the mountains to the jungles. We will have the opportunity to receive teachings from both cultures; the highlands and the Amazon. The elders will share sacred ceremonies, healings and teachings to open our hearts and minds to learn the new flight of the Eagle, alongside the Condor.

Join us in the Valley of the Dawn, a powerful vortex in the heart of Ecuador's sacred Andean volcanoes, for an extraordinary opportunity. Learn the art of finding the path of light from some of the worlds most powerful Master Yachaks. Don Esteban and Jorge Tamayo will lead you into the ecstatic world of the Yachaks as they fulfill the prophecy of the Eagle and the Condor through their teachings. Intimate time with the shamans and their community, amidst the sacred volcanoes that infuse them with their power, will open your own unique path to self-healing and aid your vision for how to facilitate shapeshifts in your own life, family and community. Perform ceremony at sacred springs, learn about sacred plants and medicines, replenish in natural volcanic fed hot springs, journey into the cloud forests, enjoy Ecuador's most colorful open market place in Otavalo. Open deeply to your own healing process and your ability to serve Pachamama (mother earth).

In the Jungle our hosts for this journey are a community of Lowland Quichua, or Naporunas, the elder shaman; Don Augustin Grefa is renowned for his knowledge of all the healing medicines of the jungle. His teachers were the spirits of the forest, who taught him, as a young boy escaping slavery from Peru, how to utilize her riches for his survival. He carries this powerful vision quest of his own into his work as a shaman and with outside communities to help us to discover our own path of heart through vision work. We will travel into a very rich area of the jungle called Istandi a magical place filled with wildlife and mystical spirits. Don Augustin will share the stories of his people, this land and their many myths that shape their culture and beliefs. The area we visit holds ancient petroglyphs, rock carvings from the lowland Quichua dated from 3000BC. Don Augustin shares his rich knowledge of the stories of these carvings. Hikes will take us deep into Primal Forest filled with sacred waterfalls, mystical caves and powerful rivers. One night is spent camping in a forest cave in ceremony.

Cost: $2,300 (includes all expenses except airfare to Ecuador and personal healings with the Shaman)

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DAY 1
Arrive Quito by 10pm, transport to Hacienda Guachala

Day 2-3
Opening Ceremony at the Hacienda, bus transfer to the Andes. In this Journey we will be bridging different shamanic cultures within Ecuador. We will be high in the Andes with the Quechua in a village known as the Valley of the Dawn. Here we will have first hand experience with the fire-blowing Yachaks. The people of this area are warm and generous, always joyful and laughing. Do not be surprised if the children run and play while the chickens cross your path during healing ceremonies. Life for the Yachaks is spiritual in every event and every moment, they are not so easily distracted, as we westerners, by these natural life happenings. We may take time to make a pilgrimage to one of the sacred lakes that the shamans are closely in relationship with. The Elder Yachaks, through their deep connection with the spirits of the land will decide which mountain, if any, the group should visit and what our purpose will be. Individual healing ceremonies will be available.

Day 3-4
Following our work with the Yachaks we will continue onto do deep cleansing in the thermal hot springs of Papallacta. These thermals are located in the delicate ecosystem of the cloud forests. Here one can find rare orchids and powerful mountain peaks. We rest and take in the cleansing as we prepare for our journey into the lowlands of the Quechua people in the area of Tena and Archidona to meet Don Augustin Grefa in his Amazonian community.

Day 5-9
Once we have entered into the Amazon basin we will meet with Don Augustin and hike to ancient petroglyphs dated from 300BC where we will stay at local haciendas near the petroglyphs areas alongside the River Tena. Our other nights will be at camp in the area known as Istandi, along the river Hollin, we will spend one night in ceremony and learn more about following our visions from those who work with dreamtime as a way of life. During our time in Istandi we will hike to sacred waterfalls, mystical caves and learn many of the healing plants of the Amazon, the traditions and ceremonies of the Amazonian people. As we leave the Amazon we once again return to the thermal hot springs of Papallacta.

Day 10
We leave Papallacta by bus and travel to Quito we will have a short afternoon in Quito for last minute shopping, sightseeing or rest at the hotel. We will have closing ceremony and a farewell dinner in Quito that evening.

Day 11
Transfer to the airport is provided for the morning flights. After that time you can take a taxi to the airport ($5 fare).

For Questions – Contact Joyce
More Trip Information
Joyce Kendall Shamanic Bio
View A List of Items to Bring on this Journey
View the Photo Gallery for this Expedition
Contact Past Trip Participants