Mexico 2007 - Day 6 - The Desert and Peyote
The area around Real de Catorce is sacred land for the Huichol Indians, that make the trek from their homeland several hundred miles away to a nearby mountain, El Quemado.
Central to their religion is the cactus Peyote, which is a hallucinogen.
As I had said before, in my early 20's I had read Carlos Castenedas books in which his teacher Don Juan had taken him on vision quests using peyote. I was never able to locate any peyote in the southwestern US, but in the deserts below Real de Catorce, it can be found.
Our original plan was to get up early and drive down to the desert where we would look for a guide that could take us into the desert to find some peyote.
However, everything changed at breakfast when we met a guy named Shaun from Austin, TX. It turned out that he had hired a guide and jeep that morning to take him and his friends on a rough trail down to the desert to get peyote.
Since Gabriel and Pascal were not interested in the experience, Shaun invited Kerry and I to join him as there were 2 seats left in his jeep. (The other guys missed out. This was one of the highlights of my trip)
The jeep we drove was built in 1956 and could give my 1989 Toyota 4Runner a run for its money.
The trail down was rough and rocky, with a sheer cliff to our side most of the way down.
It was wide enough for 1 vehicle but somehow we were able to pass oncoming vehicles.
Shaun had taken this road up in his Suburban (or Chevy Tahoe - i can't remember) accidentally at night when first arriving in Real De Catorce and he described it as nightmare. He had confused the road on his map with the main road that most vehicles use to reach the town.
Our driver assured us that only 1 person had ever died on this road.
Passing through a village...
Driving down to the desert from Real de Catorce. Our driver/peyote guide on the left; Shaun on the right. Sheer cliff to our left.
The rest of us were on benches in the back of the jeep. Brian on the left, Lisa on the right.
After getting down to the desert we parked next to the road and started hiking.
It only took us a few hundred yards before our guide found the first peyote buttons...
...which he carefully cut out of the ground, leaving the root intact so the cactus could grow back.
He showed us how to prepare the cactus by cutting off the skin...
He then led us to a lone tree a little deeper in the desert where we would ingest the cactus.
Kerry and Brian with their "buttons"
I noticed that the guide had brought us near the foot of El Quemado, the sacred mountain of the Huichol Indians. (On the right, the tallest mountain next to my head)
I had hiked up to El Quemado the year before from Real de Catorce and had seen the Indians performing a ceremony.
Before ingesting the cactus I went off for a few minutes to clear my head in meditation.
The cactus tasted bad, but was fine when chasing it down with a banana.
Hanging out at "camp.". The temperature was quite pleasant, in the low-mid 70's.
I was probably the first person to start noticing effects, after 30 minutes or so. The light began to soften and everything became mellow, though I was very much alert.
Everyone else began noticing the same thing a little bit later, with Kerry lagging way behind.
My creative awareness began to heighten and I started taking some pictures of the cactus.
Reality began to shift, but in a very subtle way. It was very relaxing, but I was a little nauseous from the cactus, which is a normal reaction. I needed to lay down though.
(Right: picture of the others experiencing the first effects of the cactus while I lay under the tree)
After spending a couple of hours in the desert our guide came back, this time driving up to us in the '56 jeep.
Shaun who had taken 4 buttons, thought that his experience had already peaked and was coming down. I felt the same way. It was a nice experience and my sensual perception was expanded, but it seemed like a little of a letdown after reading the Don Juan stories.
Little did we know, we were only experiencing the tip of the iceberg...
We loaded up into the jeep and began driving back. Our guide coached us in the event we were pulled over by the police that we say we were visiting Estacion Wadley, the next village down, and to definately NOT mention that we had been in the desert.
(Right: passing another '56 jeep loaded with literally about 20 people)
We stopped in a village along the way back and Shaun and Lisa took the "Sheriff's" picture.
At this point I still thought the experience was fading away and was thinking Kerry, Gabriel, Pascal and I could move on to the next destination in our itinerary that afternoon.
But that wasn't to be...
In the image 2 pictures above this one, the locals are standing on the rear gate of the jeep and holding on the back.
Lisa, Shaun and I decided to try it and it was some of the most exhilerating fun I've ever had winding through the canyon next to the sheer cliffs with the best views imaginable. It was like a roller coaster ride. Holding on to the top got tiring after awhile but it was well worth it.
Unfortunately, this crappy picture is the only one I have of the experience.
When we got back to Real de Catorce it finally hit us. It soon became apparant that everything was different. Our sense perception was significantly heightened and we could feel that sobriety was quickly leaving us behind.
The image above brings me back to what I was experiencing. The town was different, incredibly so. It was as if it had just come alive. Not as a hallucination but with an inherent sense of aliveness. Whereas before it was cold stone and mortor, now it was dynamic and flowing...
The others are starting to realize in their own worlds, as I did, that this experience had just begun.
The meaning of time began to lose its importance and somehow we gravitated toward a restaurant. I was hungry and not hungry at the same time. After looking at my watch I decided my body probably needed to eat with it being 2pm.
We ended up meeting Gabriel and Pascal there. Shaun and Gabriel ended up getting into a heated discussion about economics which was very fascinating to me.
Kerry soon went back to the hotel to lay down.and Lisa went over to the Cathedral, bored with the economics "discussion".
I followed Gabriel and Pascal through town as they took pictures in the late aftenoon.
My visual sense had never been so heightened in my life and I walked around in awe, either taking pictures or just observing and watching them take pictures of others..
I was full of energy yet my body was tired (weird peyote dichotomy) so I left Gabriel and Pascal after and hour or so??? to see what Kerry was up to.
I found him laying down in his room taking pictures. Our hotel rooms were incredible places to hang out during this experience!
Kerry told me he was finally experiencing what I was telling him an hour before or so. He wasn't able to sleep but was having an interesting time.
See me in the mirror?
Kerry decided to go out and take some pictures before sunset, so I went down to Gabriels room in the "Dungeon" to get some rest. (My room key was nowhere to be found). I spent a very entertaining hour or more down there by myself, including spacing out for 15 minutes in the bathroom.
After awhile I found Pascal and we went up to our room where I needed to lay down. My body was exhausted but my mind was awake and clear.
Our room became an amazing experience, just lying there.
Kerry joined us after awhile (on the couch in the background) while Pascal meditated.
I think the experience peaked while in my room. The big stones in the walls began to bulge and look like they were going to pop out.
As we only took 3 cactus buttons each, we didn't have any full blown hallucinations, which I am glad for. The experience I did have was about as far as I would want to take it without a shaman guiding me through.
After a little while Gabriel showed up and we went to dinner, still very much under the influence. (Right: Gabriel outside our hotel)
Back to our restaurant - we ate at the same place every meal except for one while in Real.
Right: Kerry, with a mixture of peyote and pyrotechnic visions with Gabriel, Pascal watching.
This place was a trip. Even the art on the wall behind Gabriels head had to have been designed by an Indian using peyote.
Our last dinner in Real was marked by plenty of inappropriate humor.
