La Cascada Hola Vida SACRED WATERFALL

There is a distinct magic to Sacha Wasi. It is located on a small island in the Puyo River and accessed by canoe. I came here because I wanted an authentic, rustic experience not a "gated community" with all the bells and whistles. The sound of the river is always with you as are the calls of the various birds dwelling in the lush canopy. Accommodation is surprisingly comfortable and, as long as there is power, the internet and hot water work well. Ecuador is very dependent on hydro electricity so the more it rains, the more power there is.
The Kichwa are an incredibly friendly and gentle people who always greet you with a smile whilst their little children will jump up for a hug or play games with you. Spanish is the common tongue and a translator is available for the integration sessions.
Food is both plentiful and nutritious and served three times a day with a smile. The extra curricular activities are nearby and great fun and, for me, the afternoon trip into the heart of the jungle was a highlight and the abundance and variety of food producing plants was amazing. Pineapple, papaya, sugar cane, bananas, yuca, cacao, all growing in close proximity to each other.
Jungle time is "slow" and you will have ample time to relax and digest the fascinating internal experience that occurs as you dive into the plant medicines.
It is a matter of "trusting the process" as the plants link naturally together. Ayahuasca allows an inner "cleansing" to take place before one's heart opens to the world of spirit. For me, at 70, it was an experience like no other as years of "set patterns of thought and beliefs" loosened up and I looked into the mirror at who I was. The space created allowed for new light to shine and each day brought fresh epiphanies. In between "plant ceremonies" there was always a rest day and through journaling and contemplation a different way of being emerged for me and when the day came to leave I felt refreshed, rejuvenated and with a clear path forward for my 8th decade!.
Sacha Wasi is not a "spa".....it is the home of deeply spiritual, indigenous, people who are committed to the sharing of their wisdom regarding natural plant medicines. If you are ready to be vulnerable, to "work on yourself" and explore your inner world then I would strongly recommend making your way to this little gem in the Ecuadorean jungle. Jesus, Byron, Michelle, Andrea, Jessica and many others make you feel at home right away and are always available if you need anything while you are there. Namaste, Charles
PS If you fly into Quito I suggest that you get Andres to pick you up and transport you to Sacha Wasi. A delightful, soulful, young man who is full of interesting information on the local culture and a pleasure to spend time with.

Highly recommended, but also some things what were not ok and A LOT OF FUSTRATION:

Zoom-meeting beforehand was almost completely missed, because of unclear things. This is Sacha Wasi is Ecuadorian, but somehow organized from the United States. US is not mentioned anywhere, but they used US time zones for meeting, despite this supposed to be located in Ecuador. I was frustrated, because i was in Ecuador. Not anyhow though that i should adjust my brain to think as an American ( I am from Europe).

I was already quite close to the jungle and asked if i could catch along the way that same taxi, as rest of my group was using for transportation from the airport. Driver was Sacha Wasi's own Andrea. He said that it was ok, but in the last moment he asked me 20$ extra. I refused, because driver was already paid to do that trip. I wanted to share the costs with other participant which was in the taxi, but driver refused. Then he said that if i take my own taxi from Puyo, it costs 25$. He was scamming.
Michelle, the volunteer said that they have fixed price 13$ from Puyo and driver knows that. I told that to the driver and then he told that 13$ is ok for him. It was nonsense, because he was already paid! I felt totally scammed and took my own taxi with 10$ from Puyo bus station. When taxi go me there, suddenly he asked me to pay 15$ and was very angry. I felt insecure so i paid that after a while i tried to negotiate. Anyway, Sacha Wasi drivers are not official taxis. Some of them, including Andrea seems to be about 18 year old boys, not very experienced drivers by age.

Not by any means good start for the retreat.

Then, if you wanted to purchase something extra from the community, everything was extremely overpriced compared to what is normal in Ecuador. I guess that they can charge whatever they want, because they interact only with "rich gringos". And yes, surprisingly they did not accept card payments on site, even though we were informed beforehand, that card is possible.

Then the seremonies:
First Ayahuasca session was super amazing experience. They used many instruments to play gentle music through the night and there were a lot of staff.

On the second session, i was expecting the same but almost all the staff left immediately after the start and we were left in the silence. I did not liked it at all, because music was so important to make the trip deeper. We were told afterwards, that it was planned to make experience different. For me it felt like their laziness especially, because i was so suprised in the beginning of the trip when i noticed this arrangement.

Somebody also had changed the wifi passwords and i was unable to connect wifi. Daily schedules were sent by whatsapp during the weekend so i was unable to receive these. Somehow, we ended to wait multiple times 15-40 min part of the group because not everybody was aware that they should be somewhere.

Afterall, staff was super nice, and you can read other reviews to look why this place is highly recommended and perfect for the first timer.

I had the honor to stay at Sacha Wasi for 10 days. The Kichwa people were all so friendly and treated me like a brother. Byron, Jesus, Marlene, and Mitchell were all adept at providing support for all the guests during the various plant medicine journeys. I had the opportunity to do Aya, Kambo, Ongos, San Pedro, as well as a Limpia and then a beautiful cacao ceremony.

There was also very good support during integrations the day following plant medicine. Whenever there was free time, we had the opportunity to go to a beautiful waterfall, hike to a view, get Kichwa face paint, dance Kichwa dance, plant ayahuasca, the list goes on. Food was good and appropriate for plant medicine journeys.

During my stay, Dr Scott Irwin entered the non physical realm. He will be missed as a person, mentor, and leader. Prayers remain active with all those that knew him. ❤️

Please feel free to reach out privately if you have any specific questions. 🙏🏼

While there were some issues due to the only two English speaking members of the team not being there, I had an overall good experience.

Pros include:
People. The Sacha Wasi locals are really lovely and caring.
Food. Great vegetarian food and they catered for gluten free. The kitchen needed reminding as different families may be taking turns to cook.
Accommodation. Casita 5, Eagle, where I stayed was comfortable and had a shower with hot water and great water pressure.
Activities. Nice activities between plant medicine ceremonies like hike and swim at a waterfall, walk up to a Mirador/ lookout with a great swing, planting coca, Ayahuasca, San Pedro.
Communication. WiFi and use of WhatsApp groups to communicate agenda.

Cons included:
Unfortunately Dr Scott was very ill and in hospital and the lady looking after guests was away in the USA which meant:
No translator for most of our time there.
Integration sessions weren't effective.
Almost daily wrong agendas. One thing would be messaged by someone and it would be different to what Sacha Wasi would have us doing.
A lot of drama over expectations from some people unsuccessfully pushing for partial refunds which gave a few days of negative atmosphere which was not conducive for a good trips.
After being told a bag/basket of laundry is $10, they tried to charge $20.

I can’t say enough about Dr. Scott, the yachacks and all those who are responsible for running Sacha Wasi. A secluded, natural and primitive location, you’re surrounded by nature and its sounds. It’s very one on one because of the small sizes of the groups which makes the ceremonies and following integration sessions all the more special, unique, and personal.
I see much more coming from this place. It’s magical. Everyone works together to provide a great experience full of their contributing knowledge, which is a lot! As a twice cancer survivor, I was taken care of just the way I needed to be. Although not a Gerson Institute, they follow Gerson protocol for those with a history of cancer who are needing a break from all the prep work, or continuing that alternative treatment program, or for those who want to learn more about it. A great reset for the physical body as well as emotional, spiritual and psychological. This place and what everyone is doing here means so much. It brings hope. Much more than that, I’m leaving here with a future.