Psychedelic tourism thrivesin Peru, despite killings
Sun, Jun 10, 2018
The deaths of at least 11 tourists over the past decade have not thwarted thousands of foreign ‘seekers’ from chasing ayahuasca’s reputedly all-consuming high
By Franklin Briceno / AP, NUEVO EGIPTO, Peru
Sitting on a mattress strewn across the floor with white sheets, Pamela Moronci closes her eyes while a traditional healer starts to chant in the indigenous Shipibo language.
In a straw hut, engulfed by the nighttime cacophony of the Amazon rain forest, a shaman inhales a potent tobacco from a pipe and blows smoke on Moronci’s head to cleanse her, before she takes her place in a sacred ayahuasca ceremony.
He offers the Italian woman a plastic cup with about 90 milliliters of a bitter, muddy brew made of psychedelic vines. Moronci drinks it, coughs and smiles, despite its unpleasant taste.
“There is a really strong energy here,” she said, before falling asleep, amid the chirping of crickets and thundering rain.
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