Back to civilization, its bursting and diversite social life. There is nothing like hitch hiking to get some fresh air. A Night over at ramirio who gives me a much appreciated hot shower ( the water heater is fueled by wood) and offered me a handmade pottery glass. Then I find myself in Zacatecas where Alex invited me to his family. Before leaving , I prepared them a winter french meal:” beef bourguignon”(beef slowly cooked overnigh in red wine) but I do not feel that they really appreciated the wine sauce !

The next day , I linked Zacatecas – Puebla in a 16h day riding with truckers.

Finally arrived : Huautla is proudly settled in the middle of the Sierra Mazatec of Oaxaca , hanging on mountainsides. His character don’tleaves people indifferent. Coated flowers and exotic plants, winding streets and shortcuts going in every direction, the whole place hanging between mountains and clouds . Regularly, the mist invades town, usually at sunset, and brings a feeling of ghost town. Passengers cling to the vans that take us to the nearby waterfall or cave. People are smiling, greet you , ask you questions . But what made ​​the reputation of the place is a very different thing. The town icon , Maria Sabina , has an outstanding reputation for its healing ceremony with the sacred mushrooms . Discovered by the American mychologue Wasson who made his reputation , she saw loads of gringos coming to meet “God.” Its popularity attracted the media , rumors of drug trafficking etc. which put her in a difficult situation regarding the local community . They eventually burned down her house. Long gone, she continues to feed the local tourism: most of us are not there by chance. Many healers still offer ceremonies, or just mushrooms if that’s what you want .

I got my contact from a friend of jimmie : Agustina Garcia, living above the church, apparently apprentice of Maria Sabina (who died there 30 years) . Everyone knows her and I quickly find her at the top of the village. She speaks a very average spanish . Her sons manage the ” buisness ” and do the translations . She has that deep and shiny look like we often see with shamans or people of higher knowledge. Even if the buisness is lucrative , I feel a respect and a real attention that conforts me .

You  got the picture, I decided to participate in a ceremony with the sacred mushrooms of the Sierra . We took the time to talk and I explained my general anxiety due to a very bad trip on mushrooms 10 years ago . She reassures me instantly , saying that there is nothing to fear , that everything always goes well with Augustina . I expect no less!

I set up the time for a morning ceremony, unlike most people preferring the night time. Early morning, I do a little jogging on the heights of the city , zigzagging between lanes and plantations , to better immerse myself in the atmosphere of such a particular place . Its a paradise for trail runners, a maze of paths can take you all through the Sierra if that is your wish.

Back at the place, I take a cool shower followed by a short meditation to remove the last bits of anxiety. The morning is beautiful as are my confidance and motivation. I join agustina in the ceremony room . Two beds are installed by the walls. There is a sacred hotel where more than twenty crosses , figurines , photos, candles etc are placed together. So many different saints . Copal incense is used and take over the room giving it a magical essence. The ceremony begins with the purification and ingestion of the sacred mushrooms . Then I am left alone for some time , may be 45 minutes , until the effects take place. Agustina returns and began his ceremony. She sings , recites an incredible number of saints and prays for me as it seems from the outside ( upper world shamanism? ) . I feel elevated, she takes me into a really comfortable zone. At observing the intensity, the concentration and energy she radiates when praying and singing for you , just for you, conveys a sense of love and deep compassion. I’m sitting on a bed , leaning against the wall while Agustina has its own chair. What puzzles me is that there are two chairs, the other one being empty … She regularly cleans the bad energy that clings on me , caresses my body down with a bunch of plants that she throws down after use. I feel good , really good and I regularly giggle. I play with my emotions and perception of the world they undertake . It’s just amazing . I can look at an object , anything , and according to the emotion , the object appears to change shape , though its physical form remains the same: it is the power of emotions! (eg a person with a phobia of dogs , doesn’t perceives dogs the same manner as others do) . The only small problem , the noise of daily activities regularly come to bother me and sometimes prevents me from enjoying the trip. In the end, I came out with a huge sense of freshness, confidence , enhanced personal power , a new vitality , enthusiasm and with real commitments . I feel reborn. The world , life, forms and colors have a new depth . A feeling that is lost gradually but is easy to recall. But something in me a switched, changed.

I spend the rest of my stay to discover the area , interact with the locals and enjoy the local cafe. Huautla undeniably possesses a unique vibe that reflects the doors of perception opened by the fungi, a plants like no other ones.