Questions & Answers

Getting There

• What to bring
  • Sandals, light weight hiking boots, shorts and t-shirts, light weight rain jacket, hat, sunglasses, one pair of long pants, towel, two single size sheets (Instead of two sheets, you may want to bring a light weight sleeping bag) , those wanting hammocks should purchase one here (cheaper), insect repellant, flashlight, camera. Some of the events will be held in the city of Iquitos so if you would like to bring some nice clothing, there will be the opportunity to use it.
    
    For those coming early or staying late or taking a tour either before or after the Conference, you must adjust your gear accordingly. Those continuing on to Cuzco-Machu Picchu-Sacred Valley we suggest you purchase warm weather clothing in Cuzco rather than carrying it with you. The alpaca sweaters are beautiful, cheap and warm.
• Vaccinations and pills?
  • It is our opinion that you should not take anti-malaria pills or yellow fever vaccinations.
• Plane tickets?
  • Mariella Noriega Pina (owner of Chinchilejo E. I.R.L. in Iquitos, Peru and wife of Alan Shoemaker) has a Travel Agency, SABRE equipped. If you would like to purchase your national flights via Chinchilejo, please contact Mariella at: chinchilejo@hotmail.com. Chinchilejo accepts Western Union (expensive), MoneyGram (inexpensive), Xoom and bank wire transfers. Chinchilejo also can accept Visa and Master but only in person, not over the phone or internet.
    
    Most often your travel agencies quote for flights within Peru are over-priced. Chinchilejo can arrange these flights for you.
• Purchasing your internal Peruvian flight:
  • Normally the travel agencies in the States, Europe, Canada and Australia, etc. only have listings for Lan Peru. There are 4 other airlines operating in Peru. Currently the price from Lima to Iquitos is around 80 USD's, If you wait till June to purchase, the prices will be from 110 to 150 USD's... If your travel agency is quoting you this price, that is correct.
    
    In order to assist you with your internal Peruvian flights, we need: Name as it appears on your passport, country of origin of your passport, passport number, time and date of your arrival into Lima and time of your departure from Lima when returning to your home country. We reserve the flights and you then have 24 hours to send the funds here via MoneyGram or Western Union to Mariella Noriega Pina, Morona 531, Iquitos - Peru. We then purchase the reservation and give you the ETICKET CODE via email.
    
    Note: Most all flights arrive too late into Lima for you to make a connection to Iquitos on the same day. You can take the 5:45am flight out to Iquitos (check-in time is at 3:45am) OR you can take a hotel in Lima and fly to Iquitos in the afternoon of the following day. Flight time to Iquitos from Lima is 1.5 hours. Your email to Chinchilejo@hotmail.com (this is the travel agency of Mariella Noriega de Shoemaker as well as her Tourism and Medicinal Plants company) should look like this:
    
    We arrive into Lima on:
    We would like to take the first flight out at... or We prefer to take a hotel and take the afternoon flight out to Iquitos. etc. etc. etc.
    
    Be as clean and clear as possible, giving the details and not a long letter that we have to decipher please. As much as I enjoy them... it's sometimes really difficult to determine exactly what you need.
    
• Staying in Lima
  • Las Palmas Hotel in the Miraflores section of Lima is one block off the JFK park and in a very safe area of Lima. Costs: $22.00 USD Taxi in from the airport: 35 Soles. The email for Hotel Las Palmas for making your reservation: palmasperu@hotmail.com They are bi-lingual (Spanish-English) and will confirm your reservation via e-mail.
    
• Staying in Iquitos
  • This year all the hotels will be contacted and we will negotiate the best prices for Conference attendees. Each person will be given a list of the hotels, their location and cost. When you choose your hotel, simply show them your ID from your Conference packet and they will hold the lower prices for you. You can choose to check out when you choose to be in a Ceremony or not, as you desire. For this reason, the Conference cost does not include the hotel-hostal.Prices of hotels range from about 5 dollars to 140 dollars and everything in between.
    
    See the Accomodationspage for more details.
• Arriving in Iquitos
  • Early Arrival (Before June 17th): The office of Chinchilejo (Dragonfly) is Morona 531, Iquitos-Peru. If you arrive early to Iquitos, you may choose to come by the office to pay the balance of the Conference fee and pick up your Conference packet.
    
    Late Arrival: If you arrive late to Iquitos, you can go to the office at Morona 531 until 1pm. After that, you should go directly to El Parthenon Hotel for your registeration. As per an idea on ayahuasca.com, conference attendees are suggested to wear a blue bandana somewhere visible on their body so that it makes it easier to meet those that are coming, find someone to share a hotel room with, share a cab, and in general make it easier to get to know others before the Conference begins.
    
• Communications when in Iquitos
  • Chinchilejo E.I.R.L. has cell phones that you can rent while you are here. Receiving national or international calls a free. Making long distance calls requires that you purchase time cards which range from 10 to 100 Soles. You simply scratch off to reveal the secret code to program into your cell phone.
    
• Money Exchange Rates
  • The exchange rate as of April 6th, 2008, 2.70 Soles to 1 USD
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• Exchanging Money upon arrival in the airport LIMA:
  • There is a kiosk in the airport. The exchange rate is generally lower in the airport so change only 20 USD or 20 Euros. Larger amounts can be exchanged on the street in Miraflores, just a block from Las Palmas Hotel. The desk clerk at the Hotel willl point you in the right direction. The official exchangers on the street wear vests denoting that they are money exchangers. Often you can exchange at the front desk of the Hotel as well. Remember to always recount your money after they have given it to you.
    
• Exchanging Money in Iquitos:
  • Travelers Checks are convenient but a hassle. Dollars or Euros can be easily exchanged on the streets. ATM machines are everywhere as well. Iquitos is very safe and friendly. We don't recommend you to spend more time in Lima than you absolutely have to. Remember to notify your bank that you will be in South America so they can program their computers so that you will not have any problems with your ATM card.
    
    Dollars: Please be sure and bring fresh, uncut and unblemished dollars. Slightly torn and worn bills can be exchanged but the exchange rate is quite a bit lower than if you had fresh crisp dollars.
    
    Euros: Euros can be also be exchanged in Iquitos but please bring nice ones. Notes other than USD's or Euros can not be exchanged in Iquitos.
    
• Security in Lima and in general:
  • The Lima airport has professional thieves working it. Do not set you camera gear of your small daypacks down unless you know it is secured.
    
• Arrival at the Lima airport?
  • Fill out the Visa information given to you on your flight, stand in line for your Visa stamp (90 days is standard), retrieve your baggage and walk toward customs. You will be told to push the button on the post and it will turn either red or green. Green means you and your luggage pass without inspection. Red means that you must put your baggage on the platform and it will be opened. (1 our of 10 times the light turns red).
    
• TAXI in Lima:
  • Outside of the international arrivals section, there are numerous taxi's awaiting you. Bargain for 35 Soles. Do not accept a taxi that has tinted windows or that does not have rear doors. Place your luggage in the trunk. For those that do not speak spanish, show the driver a card with Hotel Las Palmas (or another hotel if you prefer), Miraflores. The card could also note: 35 Soles, Hotel Las Palmas, Miraflores Please add in this address for Hotel Las Palmas: Calle Bellavista 320, Miraflores We can reserve a room for you if you let us know. Cost for one person: $22 USD's

The Conference

• Do I have to be a member of the Soga-Del-Alma Church?
  • Some people have tried to join the Church through the membership page in order to take part to the Conference. It is important to know that this is absolutely not necessary!!
• Is there a limit on the number of participants?
  • Please note that we physically can not accept more than 300 Conference participants.
    
• What is the cost of the conference?
  • The entire Shamanism Conference, Jul 19th-27th costs $612 USD's if paying by check or money order $627 USD's if paying by credit card, XOOM or Paypal.
• Paying the balance of the Conference fees:
  • Registration is on July 27th, 9am-2pm at El Parthenon Hotel, Pampa Chica-Iquitos, Peru where the Conference will be held.
• Dinners:
  • Initially we thought it would be best to just break from 5pm-7pm and Conference participants could simply take a three wheeled motortaxi into town to eat where and what they liked. However, it was nicely pointed out to me that the dinners were one of the few times when everyone was together and so there were ample opportunities to meet people, discuss Conference lectures and very importantly, share experiences they had had with various curandero(a)s (healers). Some prefer to diet during the entire Conference and some do not. All options will be available. So yes, the dinners will be at the Conference center and those are covered in the Conference fees.
• What are your refund policies?
  • Cancellation before May. 15th, 100% refund.
• About Deposits
  • Deposits (reservations for the Conference are being managed by Dr. Richard Grossman. Please follow the instructions on "Sign Up".
• What is included in the Conference price?
  • This price includes all Conference events - talks at the El Parthenon, Conference dinners: July 19th, 20th, 22nd, 23rd, 25th, 26th and transportation round trip to most of the Ceremonial locations. Ceremonies will be held on July 21st, 24th and 27th. Workshops will be held on the same days as the Ceremonies. These days are your free days to do with as you desire. For those choosing to stay at the Soga Del Alma Chapel instead of a hotel-hostal in Iquitos, It covers that expense as well.
• How much to partake in the ceremonies
  • For those who choose to participate in Ceremony with one of the many healers who have been invited, simply make your reservation with them during the Conference. The cost of the ceremonies varies with each healer but expect to pay around $35 dollars.
    
    Ceremonies are not a function of the Conference but we will do everything we can to assist you in your selections as well as your logistics.
• When do the ceremonies take place?
  • The Ceremonial evenings have been scheduled for July 21st, 24th and the 27th. The various healers (curanderos, cuanderas) will be at the Conference from the beginning and you will have ample time to meet them in order for you to make your decisions as to whom you will be in Ceremony with.
• I don't speak Spanish!
  • That's not a problem. During the Conference days and evenings, we have 15 people walking around with Conference T-Shirts on that speak English and Spanish, just waiting for you to wave at them so they can come to your assistance when needed.
• Extension Tours
  • Chinchilejo (Quechua for Dragonfly), owned and operated by Mariella Noriega de Shoemaker (wife of Alan Shoemaker) is offering a post-Conference Tour to Cuzco, Machu Picchu and the Sacred Valley for one week following the Conference.
    
    The Extension Tour to MPicchu, Cuzco and the Sacred Valley ends late afternoon on the 2nd of August. You can fly back to Lima on the 2nd of August if you like or you can stay over in Cuzco. We can arrange your tickets either way.
    
    Go here to read more about the Post conference tour.

About Ayahuasca

• What is Ayahuasca?
  • Ayahuasca is a psychoactive brew consumed throughout the entire Amazon region. The term is a Quechua compound word meaning "Vine of the Soul.". Depending on the region and the context of use, the brew is also known by a variety of other names; the most well-.known are caapi, yage, natem, cipo, mariri, Daime, hoasca, and vegetal. In the region of Peru known as Loreto, it is often referred to as "La Purga".. Typically, Ayahuasca induces powerful visions as well as hallucinations in all other perceptual modalities. Pronounced non-perceptual cognitive effects are also manifest. These include personal insights, intellectual ideations, affective reactions, and profound spiritual and mystical experiences. Moreover, Ayahuasca introduces those who partake of it to what are experienced as other realities. Those who consume the brew may feel that they are gaining access to new sources of knowledge and that the mysteries and ultimate truths of the universe are being revealed to them. All this is often coupled with what drinkers describe as an encounter with the Divine. In the vast region encompassing western Brazil and the eastern areas of Ecuador, Peru, and Colombia , as well as parts of the basin of the Orinoco, where Brazil and Venezuela meet, Ayahuasca has long been a key constituent of culture. Indeed, it appears that the indigenous peoples of this region have used the brew for millennia. In the past, Ayahuasaca was used in the making of all major decisions of a tribe, notably locating game for hunting and declaring war. It was also believed that the brew made it possible to see distant places and foretell the future. Even today, Ayahuasca is the basic instrument of shamans in the entire region. On the one hand, the brew is said to enable the shaman to see the inner constitution of his patients, and thus establish a diagnosis; on the other hand, it is said to bring the shaman in contact with wise beings and guiding entities that pass informaion to the shaman so that he knows how to perform the appropriate treatment. In addition, Ayahuasca is purported to allow the shaman to be in touch with the spirits, the beings of other worlds and the dead. For many, Ayahuasca is not merely a potion or a plant but also a being with special, unique qualities or even a deity. - by Benny Shannon with editing by Alan Shoemaker