The Trip: THE SAN PEDRO TRIP

• 20 January 2010 at 00:16
• Traveling

Before I tell all my stories in Huaraz, I have to talk about San Pedro.

In Huanchaco and in Huaraz, we could visit Huaca de la Luna, from the Moche civilisation, and the Chavin ruins. These two civilisations, like most pre-columbian civilisations, used San Pedro, a cactus able to produce mescaline, a powerful hallucinogenic substance, on divinatory purposes.

Everywhere around, San Pedro can be found. It just grows like this, in nature and it's completely legal here. By the way, guides refer to it as a medicina, supposed to cleanse the mind.

We decided we should get some, curious about the effects of this substance venerated by so many peoples. We had already bought some in Trujillo market and we took the rest in the neighbour's garden.

I won't tell how we cooked the cactus as I don't know if it's legal. I can tell you that you can find online recipes to prepare the potion in 4 hours instead of 24. The magic word is: blender!

The thing was that we had to prepare many doses, and we were not only 5, we also had the french couple we met in the hostel. We asked Mariella if we could use the TV room for our ceremony and she agreed. I arranged the room, put candles, then we put mattresses, everything to feel comfortable. The french couple lent us speakers and we could put on music.

We started the ceremony by giving each one their dose, by cheering and drinking. We had to go slowly as it can be dangerous. The San Pedro smell is close to artichoke but the taste is absolutely disgusting. I nearly puked several times and it made us feel ill-at-ease. The start was rather harsh. But then Manue started laughing...

And then, I mixed the thing with apple juice, chocolate milk, honey, coca cola, inca kola... And then...

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