Road trip to Huautla, Oaxaca!

Travel Preparations

There is a lot of information online about entheogens these days, however, much of this information is outdated, or incomplete. As of 2015 Amsterdam Angels Trumpet Oaxaca Huautlais currently not a place you can legally buy magic mushrooms any longer. They do have Magic Truffles, however, I can see clearly that there is not any community support for such things, the closest thing I saw to any kind of support groups there are a crowd of hippies outside of a couple of the local coffee shops. The entire town is tourist based, and very expensive. If you didn’t arrive there with your own support network, there isn’t one there. Alternatively, many people are going to Peru recently, and giving Ayahuasca a try. This might be a little reckless for first timers, especially those going alone. Many of the people claiming to be shamans are not. Some of the brews they are giving people are made of a common flower that has powerful hallucinogenic effects called Angel Trumpets, and some of the travelers seeking enlightenment have ended up in shallow graves as a result. If you want to perhaps meet your creator, and live to tell about it, you need to know first hand exactly what you’re getting into. Ideally, you would want to go as a couple. There are insights you will be exposed to as a couple, that an individual will not.

Pilgrimage

A very affordable and safe alternative to the aforementioned places where you can make a safe pilgrimage is a little town called Huautla in the mountains of Oaxaca, Mexico. This is the little place where the Beatles, Members of the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan etc. came to make their pilgrimages. Huautla is the little town that kicked of the entire psychedelic era of the 1960’s due to an article in Time magazine called Seeking the Magic Mushroom written by Gordon Wasson that identified these people as a practicing modern age mushroom cult, and singled out an old lady who was very familiar with the mushrooms named María Sabina. The airfare from any major city in upper North America should be less than $400 USD to get to Oaxaca city international airport, if you cannot get a direct flight, then you can fly into Cancun, or Mexico city and connect easily from there. From there is a 5 hour van ride on the Maria Sabina transport Rivera Diamante Oaxaca Cityexpress. Any and every taxi driver in Oaxaca City knows where that is and how to get there. From the airport it costs about 70 MXN pesos, or $5 USD.

*note, I strongly suggest you leave out the details about Huautla when entering Mexico. Tell them only you are visiting Oaxaca City, and that’s all. You’re not meeting anyone here, (even if you are) and the address of the hotel your staying at is: Rivera Dimante20 de Noviembre 502 Centro Historico, 68000. Oaxaca, Oax. At one time, not so long ago, outside visitors were banned from this region.

If you are going to stay overnight in Oaxaca City, we always stay at the Rivera Dimante right downtown. This is a clean and affordable (450 MXN per night) centrally located hotel with WiFi. You can browse around the town from here, it is close to the main downtown playa, and the local tour office is just up the street if you wanted to go on some day tours while you’re there. You don’t need a reservation, but if you want to visit their site the phone number to do so is there.

You can take a taxi to autotransportes maria sabina Oaxaca HuautlaAUTOTRANSPORTES  MARÍA SABINA – Address: Huzares 213, Oaxaca City: tel. 951 127 28 62 or if your in HUAUTLA: Antonio Caso No.2 , tel. 045 236 102 05 11.

You can then pay your fee and wait for the next van to leave. They stop for a lunch or dinner depending upon the time of the trip at about the halfway point. They also do this on the way back as well. There are the usual little Mexican stores, and the cooks at the grill will make you up something vegan if that’s your preference. As I mentioned in the entheogen guide, it is a good idea to be vegan for at least a few days before a mushroom autotransportes maria sabina Oaxaca Huautla Schedulevelada. This journey by van is about 4 to 5 hours up a windy mountain road. It is a safe road, and it is entirely paved. I have never seen a washout in all my times up there.

I suggest to take a pillow and perhaps an iPod so you don’t get too bored or stiff. If you have personal dietary concerns, bring the things you need. The road to Huautla does not have any major stores on it, just a few gas stations and small convenience stores. This schedule is current as of 2015, and it hasn’t changed much over the years. If you have a little or a lot of luggage, it doesn’t matter, they will put any extra on top of the van and cover it with a plastic tarp.

New Arrivals

hotel San Julia Oaxaca HuautlaWhen you get to Huautla, it might be late depending upon the time you took the trip from Oaxaca. When you show up at the Huautla end of the line, there are the usual lineup of taxis there to greet you. If you get in any one of these cabs, and ask them to take you to the Hotel Santa Julia, on Calle Cuauhtémoc, they will charge you about 60 pesos to go around the block since it is a one way street. If you were instead to walk down the street the opposite way that the cars are pointed, and drag your luggage for just a couple of blocks, you will find the hotel on your left and you don’t need to pay a cab.

There are of course 2 hotels called Santa Julia, and you want to make sure you get the one downtown, not on the outskirts. Calle Cuauhtémoc is the correct street. This hotel has hot showers, and good water pressure. The lower rooms are a little warmer, depending upon what season it is, you might like a warmer room if your there in October or November. The cost for this hotel room is about 200 MXN per night. In the lobby you will find different photos of the local curandera’s and curandero’s glorifying themselves as the local Mazatec healers and posing with the Dali Lama and a shrine dedicated to the Virgin Mary etc.

There is a restaurant right inside this building if you don’t have a fussy diet. For those who are vegan, you can either go to the market just across the street and find nearly any fruit and veggie, fresh juice shops etc.

I recommend going to Rosita’s Restaurant just down the street a few shops on the same side as rositas restaurant Oaxaca Huautlathe hotel. These ladies have vegan beans, rice and other dishes they can make you from scratch. Hand made corn tortillas and old style vegan hot chocolate take you back some years when living was more simple. They have seating outside overlooking the mountains. This is a great way to break your fast and conclude your velada. If you have over enjoyed the local food, and you still have yet to take your mushrooms, don’t really worry about the fasting, you can take extra mushrooms if you have not remembered this detail. This will help you to remain at the peak of your experience for longer. The peak of this experience is when we get to speak to the Mushroom Goddess, and it is important to stay as long as you can in that state.

Hongos

So, you’re all set, you have your hotel room, you know where the food is, now time to find the mushrooms! I do not recommend finding your own and picking them. Some locals know what you’re doing, and might not want a bunch of hippies on their property. Also, the risk you take if you eat a look-a-like is not worth your life. So, here is how you make sure you and those you are with are going to enjoy your taxi Oaxaca Huautla velada safely. There are many taxis around, and all of them know where to get the mushrooms. The mushrooms are sold in a small banana leaf, and each little pouch is called a “ride”. Their word for this type of mushroom is Hongo, pronounced on-go.

I choose a younger taxi driver usually, because they are quite laid back, and they don’t mind taking you to a cool spot they know, or to the big waterfall if you ask them. They likely even know where to get you something to smoke as well. Marijuana is not legal there, but it is tolerated if kept out of sight. This is one of few other entheogens that is recommended to be used along in combination with the hongos. Marijuana will enhance the visualizations, and extend the peak time, but it is not required to go as far with the hongos as you like simply by taking higher doses. I don’t use them together much, but I have in the past, and I will again in the future. I have been more involved in the “conversation” rather than the visualizations recently.

You will find, most people there have done the hongos, and most people will not do them again. I have found that they are either afraid, or confused by what they see. The hongos provide a source of tourism, and the people sadly see this as the best use of this sacrament. Ask the people you meet there, they have either experienced or know someone who has experienced incredible things as a result of the hongo. The taxi driver will take you to a María Sabina shrine Oaxaca Huautlaplace, one of several, and explain that you are a tourist and you would like to buy hongos.

Usually, they will try to sell you a ceremony along with the “ride”. I strongly suggest you don’t bother; it’s only an act to draw money. This ceremony they offer is made up of Catholic and Mazatec superstitions, and Catholic idols and relics. You can find some copal for double the normal price at the market if you wanted to burn something such as incense in your own little ritual. You will need a copal burner or plate, because its tree sap, and it melts when you light it on fire. This stuff is the last thing you want to get on your hands when its ignited, you will get blisters anywhere it touches. In my opinion, you don’t require anything to offer them except your understanding and your attention. This is what They want from you.

María Sabina store Oaxaca Huautla If you would like to experience some of the places where the rock and roll legends make their pilgrimages, you might enjoy the old site of María Sabina’s out of town cottage. Her Grandson lives there with his family, and he is not too impressed with the whole affair. He inherited his grandmother’s disappointment with the idea that the entire town became rich upon her name, while they killed his father, and burned his grandmother’s home. In the end, she regretted including the foreign people, and that’s about where it sits with her surviving family now.

This grandson may or may not comment if you approach him acting like a tourist with a distinct lack of humility. Just be very respectful. They have preserved some of the buildings on the lot where the mushroom priestess relocated after her home was torched, including one of her homes and you will be permitted to tour one or two of the buildings dedicated to her shrine. There is now a store located upon the spot where her last home once stood, any taxi driver can take you to Maria’s place if you ask them, and just a few doors down is a place which sells hongos and candles made of bees wax, and copal incense.

The Ascent

If you were to walk just past María Sabina’s home, take the path to the immediate right, and walk up the hill. This will lead to the spot where some of the modern rock legends who have been there before took their mushrooms. There is a big iron cross on a grassy plateau on the way up, and its still quite public so not a good place for a ceremony so continue up, take the path to your right. If you walk the rest of the way upMaría Sabina shrine Oaxaca Huautla the mountain, you can find a secluded place known as the crows nest where you can see for miles. Please bring in advance a garbage bag to clean up the area on top of the mountain, it’s a good start to any ceremony. This area overlooks all of the other mountains and a couple of villages off in the distance. I have had some over helpful shamans try desperately to follow me up the mountain and include themselves in my ceremonies. I flat out refuse, and I explain that I am very familiar with this experience, and require my privacy so I can speak with the Spirit in person, and in private. At that point, they get it, and they don’t want to be a part of that kind of ceremony.

You can break down the different types of ceremonies into two groups, a puppet show, or Empty ceremony where the Spirit doesn’t step forward to communicate directly for a variety of reasons, and instead shows you different visualizations. The Teacher ceremony of connection, where the Spirits step forward and interact with you directly. To evoke the Teacher ceremony, you need to either have a real shaman, or go into this prepared for this kind of connection. Once the Spirit Teacher connects with you, They will always show up for your ceremonies after that, and teach you directly with no middle man. There is no middle man or shaman for the highest ceremonies, this is done personally, just you and Them. If you anger Them by mixing economics and deception with spiritual practice, you will experience the puppet show, or what is known as the bad trip. This is why the fake shamans don’t take the sacrament with you, they have been uninvited.

The clueless shamans that do continue to take the sacrament yet still plateau at a certain level and experience only the puppet show have been limited due to deception, poor intentions and or their ego. These one’s commonly brag about their doses. The first thing you need to understand about the ceremony, is it only comes up as high as the lowest member. Almost every time, as I have been told by the Spirit Herself, the lowest member of any ceremony is the shaman. There is nothing lower in this context than taking advantage of someone else while they are experiencing the medicine. So, let me be abundantly clear, if you want to experience the true divine connection, and not just a puppet show, get the medicine, and ditch the priest. You don’t need some human as a go between to meet with God. She takes personal care of Her own. If you do have a “guide, or shaman” present, they can assist you with a purification ritual in the beginning, advise you on dosage, then immediately retreat to the perimeter of your awareness simply to prevent others from crashing in on your space, or to make sure no one takes a tumble. Here is a list of ceremonial Ground (earth) Rules taught to me by the Great Spirit Herself, so you can at least have the basics, and not expose yourself or others to the reasons why these safeguards are in place prematurely.

Guided Tours

There is a small group of three of us who are willing to give guided tours during the peak season. The three of us have been in many ceremonies, and each of us has been connecting with the creator spirits many times. We would like to share this pilgrimage with some of you. If you are interested in having us guide you through Oaxaca and into a mushroom ceremony you can check out our tour schedule for the coming year. Book early so we can include everyone who would like to take part in our Huautla de Jiménez Mushroom Ceremony.

During one of our tours here, I recorded María’s Grandson telling us of his many experiences with the Magical Hongos. If you get a chance, a taxi can take you to the Maria Sabina museum, and if you are nice, he might recount some of his tales. He only speaks Spanish and Mazeteca BTW. For 20 pesos you can tour the María Sabina museum.

Árbol del Tule

Nearly every time I visit Oaxaca en route to the ancient Mazatec village of Huautla de Jimenez,  I like to take a tour from Oaxaca City, and visit this ancient tree some estimate is about 5000 years old. It has an estimated 1000 year old child just past it a bit as well. The locals María Sabina store Oaxaca Huautla give it over 1000 liters of water per day they say. The entire tree seems to take the form of a mammoth from a distance, and under its canopy, you can see many formations that seem to really be obviously animals, the lion, bear, elk etc. It really does seem to be watching, and even over the centuries reflecting some of what it has seen. However, it has likely not seen some of the animals it seems to represent, so if indeed this tree is representing its own zoo, it is also demonstrating that it has access to knowledge that it has not personally collected.

I’m quite certain the mushrooms have enhanced my ability to see the different patterns in the tree, but they are so well formed, everyone can see them. The children all circle around it in amazement and see how many animals they can discover. The locals call this the Tree of Life. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%81rbol_del_Tule

I have lived in many different places over the years, and Oaxaca is one of them. I used to live in Puerto Escondido for a time as well. The trees in this place are all different animals, and not just something they saw walk by. There is a great mammoth, tusks and all, a Tyrannosaurus Rex, alligators, birds, giraffe, etc. It is a hidden zoo. These are not sculpted, some are the size of three houses. In fact, I think most people don’t even notice, what is there. The stage one level of awareness that is brought upon by the medicine teaches you about the trees, and allows your mind to extrapolate more complex patterns than an ordinary awareness. As you go through this stage, you will begin to see, nature is not only alive, but aware, and it sees you too.

Points of interest

The places I like to visit in Oaxaca that are accessible by day tour from Oaxaca City include:

Budget at least 2 days if you would like to see all the points listed above, they are at opposite ends of the day tour radius.

See you in Oaxaca!

Beginners guide to entheogenic ceremony    https://www.secretofthevine.com/ground-rules/

Stage One expectations, insights and revelations   https://www.secretofthevine.com/stage-one/

Stage Two expectations, insights and revelations    https://www.secretofthevine.com/stage-two/

Stage Three expectations, insights and revelations   https://www.secretofthevine.com/stage-three/

Emergency psychic treatment for those who went too far too soon    https://www.secretofthevine.com/a-t-i-c/