Peyote, a trip into your mind

I guess you are never too old to experience something totally new, as long as you are willing to be open to it.

When we were in Guatemala a few months ago I heard a lot of people talking about a variety of traditional ceremonies performed by shamans and most of them were happening right here in Central America. I heard stories about cacao beans, ayahuasca and peyote; different sorts of natural substances used in ancient ceremonies to get in touch with the spiritual world, with the ability to cure all kinds of illnesses. I have always been very skeptical towards mind-altering substances, whether they are chemical or natural and have always had the feeling that I don’t need them in order to reach another level of reality. For example, hiking up a mountain with a few close friends and riding down the pure white snow definitely changes my perception of reality and fills my whole day with a enhanced sense of connection. And music played in the right setting also has the power to take me to another level, even without any extra mind-altering substances, including alcohol. Because, let’s face it, alcohol might be socially accepted, but it is a highly addictive drug and in a very high doses, it blacks out your reality instead of enhancing it.

The substance that came along our path is called Peyote, a small, spineless cactus mainly found in the centre of Mexico. Like alcohol, it is legal to use but with the restriction that it can only be used in a religious context and only by certified shamans who can grow, carry and transport it. And in contrast to alcohol it should enhance your reality. Welcome to my road to the world of mescaline.

A few weeks ago some friends of ours told us there would probably be a peyote ceremony happening in the near future and that we could join if we wanted to. This kind of hit me as shock and It took me a very long time to make my decision, but in the end I decided to go for it. Mainly because I always try to follow my instinct in life and also, when would I ever get another opportunity to attend an ancient ceremony under the guidance of a very experienced shaman with only a few close friends? When I finally made my decision I couldn’t help but think of one of my favourite songs by the Wombats: ‘Jump into the fog’, no words could better describe my sentiments at that precise moment.

We arrived at a secret location in the mountains near San Cristobal and the first thing we did was create a circle of comfortable beds around the altar of the shaman. Beds? You might ask. Yep, this kind of ceremony starts around 8-9 pm and lasts until the sun rises. And although I did not sleep at all, I was glad I had the opportunity to lay down from time to time. The whole night was filled with rituals. Before drinking the peyote, we cleansed the place by honouring the four wind directions, the sky and the earth.They all have their own specific symbolic meaning. Next, one by one, we were purified with a special ‘copal’ and offered tobacco to the holy fire. We also put a lot of delicious food (like home made lasagna) in front of the altar, which wasn’t to be touched till the ceremony had ended, because eating lessens the experience and the peyote spirit gets an assortment of food offerings in the morning.

Once the shaman offers you the peyote and you drink the beverage, the voyage starts after about 30 to 45 minutes later. Some people need to vomit almost immediately after drinking it (this is said to be a symbol for the release of negativity from your past). I found it quite easy to drink and digest, so I didn’t throw up. I have to say though that my stomach has been known for exceptional performances in the past, so it didn’t really come as a surprise to me. Just as a side note: If you would ever find yourself somewhere in centre of Mexico and come across some peyote cacti in the nature, don’t go off and start eating them straight away, because the effects are much stronger when you eat them! I would definitely recommend to take it in the presence of experienced shaman who knows what he is doing. Ps: He himself drank about 6 glasses with diluted peyote during the night, one was more than enough for us…

Peyote makes time slow down and at a certain point your whole perception of time vanishes, just because it is not important anymore. It is a very strange experience and I do believe this is one of the main reasons why many people call this a spiritual experience; realising that time is only an illusion is a regarded as a very advanced state of mind in many religions. The other extraordinary aspect of this experience was the singing of the shaman, every song had a different meaning and some of them seemed to last forever. My whole body shook with every note he sang and his voice definitely took me to a higher state. The musical climax was when the shaman used a traditional violin-like instrument to evoke an incredible intense connection to the music. It almost felt like he was playing to my soul. In between the songs the effects were a lot less stronger and at one point I decided to explore the nearby woods with Jenny, our English roommate. Everything I touched felt so real; every tree around me, the ground I walked on and the grass I laid on. We watched the stars and moon dance in the pitch black sky for what seemed to be an infinite time. This part was probably my favourite part of the whole night, being so close to nature. That and also the fun I had with Val, most of the evening we were laughing and having an amazing fun time, especially when we were looking at each others faces, which turned into different shapes and forms. Not once did I feel anything negative, this to the contrary of some fellow participants who were crying, letting go of their past or quietly searching for answers.

The biggest lesson I have learned out of this whole experience is that mind-expanding substances do exactly what their name entails: they expand your present state of mind. This makes the experience different for everyone at any given time and place, because your own self-perception changes every moment of your life.

While I am writing this down it almost is as if I am at that place again; I feel, see and hear everything in full detail, almost the exact way that it all happened that night. And this is the biggest difference with the other legal mind-altering beverage, alcohol: this particular night I will be able to recall forever in full HD!

The strangest thing probably was that the moment the sun rose and the shaman stopped singing, most of the effects were instantly gone and we entered the beautiful feeling, known as the afterglow.

The whole night we had been joking about how amazing the lasagne would taste, but we couldn’t touch it and when the ceremony had ended, the first one to eat according to tradition was the fire. You can imagine how we felt about that little extended sense deprivation! After we offered some food to the fire, the time had finally come to let our taste senses go wild and wild they went! I have never eaten a lasagna that tasted so good (thanks Chloe)! This was followed by cake, bread, tea, coffee, chocolate, sweets and fruits. You can imagine the feast! I have never seen so many happy faces!

The rest of day flew by, we sat in the sun, talked, laughed and enjoyed each others company. The shaman was exhausted, but there was a certain kind of glow around him, that is hard to describe. He sat silently against a tree and for some reason we were all drawn to him, so we joined him and had a glorious afternoon together.

The beauty about being around a real shaman is that you hardly notice him. He is the instigator, the driving force behind the scenes and will only talk when spoken to. He is the one who provides the blank canvas, which you can explore at your own pace.

I don’t know if I will do this ever again, but I do know now that it is not something to be afraid of, providing you are in the right place in your mind and body at the moment the opportunity present itself.

PS: Of course your body needs to recover from the whole endeavour, but I can tell you this: the moment your visit to the toilet isn’t a disappointment anymore because you couldn’t go, is the moment everything is physically back to where you started (normally this happens somewhere later in the day). Your mind, however, will probably never be the same (and this in a good way).

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Progress update

It has been only a couple of days since the campaign has ended and although we were (and are) super stoked on reaching our goal, there is still a lot left to be done.

These last couple of days we have been trying to figure out the practical side of getting to the bus in Tennessee, getting the bus to the port in Jacksonville and getting back home ourselves. All of this at the best price possible in a country where dogs are not allowed on public transport…

It hasn’t been easy, but as always we have come up with a solution.

We believe that everything happens for a reason and finding our bus in Tennessee was no different, the seller is one of the kindest people we have met during our world travels and is very understanding and willing to work with us to get the bus shipped, so he proposed to drive the bus to Jacksonville himself at the cost of the gas (normally that would have cost us a 1000 usd). His daughter has to play softball in Florida and he himself proposed to make a detour of 500km for us. We’ll rent a car and drive to Atlanta from Austin on the 9th-10th of June and he’ll pick us up at the airport in Atlanta, where we will drop off the car. We’ll join him on the bus and drive for about five hours to Jacksonville, which will actually be our first time on the bus. Can’t wait! His daughter will follow us in another car and once we have arrived there, they will continue their journey to Panama City, Florida.

We’ll arrive in the middle of the night on the 11th and will probably sleep for a couple of hours in the bus till the morning. When we wake up, I’ll have to find a way to get to the airport in Jacksonville and pick up another rental car, that will get us to Miami. We’ll have five days to get there, which gives us a chance to explore Florida, we’ll work our way down using couchsurfing and wild camping.

The main reason why we are not hitchhiking this whole adventure is that we still have Lewis’s big cage with us, for his flight back home and that we are on a tight time schedule to get back to Europe and that you almost can’t get anywhere in this huge country without a car.

The total transport cost for all of this will be:

- 450€: flight from Miami to Brussels for 2 people and our dog, long live Jetairfly and skyscanner.

- 360€: 7 days car rental and gas (2000km)

We are very happy to end our world travels with a bit of adventure and are also excited to get back to the mainland. Hope to see you all!

PS: We’ll be landing on the 17th of June, the bus will arrive on the 17th of July. We have started the production of the LbN T-shirts and Jackets. We’ll let you know when we are ready to ship them out to you.

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On our way to the bus

This picture shows a perfect example of what kind of bus we are looking for, we found this one in Mexico City.

A roller coaster! Every morning when I wake up I open my inbox full of excitement. Who is becoming a part of the project today? Who is declining? Who sees the value in our project, in our dream?

We are following our intuition and for the first time ever I’m working super hard from morning till evening without looking at the time. Doing what I truly love, with ups and downs and learning everything step by step.

Right now we’re literally on the way to find the right bus, with a stopover in Mexico city. I need to get a new passport which takes three weeks before we can fly to Texas to visit the Cook side of my family in Austin. Here we will start looking around for busses, drive them and learn everything that needs to be known before we will buy the one that will become our home for the next few years. From Austin we will make our way to Florida where we hope to find the perfect bus, so we can ship it to Belgium.

This, however, is just a look into the future. Right now our mind is focussed on two other things; designing a new website and creating a crowd funding campaign. We are doing this campaign mostly because we need help not just to create a hostel on wheels, but to create a hostel on wheels with a high quality sustainable off-the-grid system. A normal wood stove for example isn’t so much better for the environment than a gas stove and solar panels don’t do much good without the right generators. These systems are big investments and they will make sure we can provide our guests with not just a comfortable, but also a sustainable chalet on wheels.

Creating a crowd funding campaign isn’t easy. Should we go for the all or northing option or choose the flexible funding where you get what you raised even if you don’t reach the goal. What kind of perks are people interested in? Which media should we contact and how do we get them on board?

In the meantime the hard work and research is starting to payoff and we can proudly announce that eight independent brands (Faction, Darn Though, Love Inc. Snowboarding, Templar Skis, Idris Skis, Misguided Fools, LN Beanies and Sandbox) are going to sponsor the Nomads Bus with their amazing products. We explicitly contacted independent brands because we believe our journey through the European Alps is the perfect opportunity to show the ski/snowboard community the variety of great independent brands out there. Every single one of these companies creates their products with love for the sport, design, quality and creativity.

To all of our European friends, we can’t wait to be back home and start the conversion of the bus!

icon-skype

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San Pedro La Laguna – A home away from home

This San Pedro La Laguna – A home away from home is written on Let's be Nomads.

So far our Central American adventure can easily be divided into two parts: The first part was all about discovering Mexico/Belize and Guatemala moving rapidly from one place to the next. Rapidly is still relative though, we stayed for example for two weeks in Tulum and even for three weeks on the island of Caye Caulker. However, this is the way we travel; if a place feels right we tend to stay a tad bit longer than the average traveller. Even in the very beginning of our world travels (more than over a year ago), we stayed for three weeks in Balen, only 60km away from our hometown Antwerp just because of the positive vibes the people of the town gave us.

The second part of our adventure started the moment we entered a beautiful room on the top floor of Hotel Colibri in San Pedro La Laguna. We rarely felt such a good energy in an apartment and almost instantly decided to rent the place for a month. The price was 1700Q and fitted nicely into our budget.

The mix of Guatemalans and Western people creates a very nice atmosphere in this town. Every day there is a big local market to get fresh food, there are a million of Spanish schools, where locals can teach you to speak Spanish at very affordable prices (even for our budget) and at night you can chill/party in a variety of nice Western or local bars. Take this all into account and it might be easy to understand why one month quickly turned into two months and a half.

Now, our visa for the CA-4 (El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua) has ran out, so it is time to say goodbye. We are sure going to miss this place and at a certain point we were even considering extending our visa for another three months, but it is time to move on (also because our next project is more up North, but more on that later this month).

I want to end this post by giving you our top 10 of things to do on a small budget in San Pedro.

10. Fresh juice at the basketball court in the mornings at the market: 5Q (=0.70$)

9. Street food all over town: average of 10Q (=1.40$)

8. Chilling at Zoolas’ lounge and pool area: free

7. Walking the Finca road, after 30 min you are in the nature overlooking the beauty of the lake: free.

6. Jakuu: bar run by locals, they serve very nice coffee and Cuba Libres for 5Q

5. Staying a night in a hammock at the happy hippie hostel: 15Q

4. Fresh food at the local market: for example basil, mint, coriander: 1Q (0.14$), black corn tortillas: 1Q for four (=0.14$), fruits, veggies, meat…

3. Friendly quiz on Wednesday night in El Barrio: free, you can even win 800Q.

They serve excellent mojitos and fresh orange juices: both 10Q (=1.40$)

2. Private Spanish lessons at Mayab: 10 hours and two activities (Salsa, handy crafts): 300Q (42$)

1. All-you-can-eat brunch on Saturdays from 10am to 2pm in El Barrio: delicious omelettes, thee, coffee, fresh fruit, bacon, potatoes…: 40Q (=5.40$)

I sincerely hope you get the chance to visit this beautiful little part of our planet.

Mechico! Here we come!!

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San Pedro La Laguna – A home away from home

This San Pedro La Laguna – A home away from home is written on Let's be Nomads.

So far our Central American adventure can easily be divided into two parts: The first part was all about discovering Mexico/Belize and Guatemala moving rapidly from one place to the next. Rapidly is still relative though, we stayed for example for two weeks in Tulum and even for three weeks on the island of Caye Caulker. However, this is the way we travel; if a place feels right we tend to stay a tad bit longer than the average traveller. Even in the very beginning of our world travels (more than over a year ago), we stayed for three weeks in Balen, only 60km away from our hometown Antwerp just because of the positive vibes the people of the town gave us.

The second part of our adventure started the moment we entered a beautiful room on the top floor of Hotel Colibri in San Pedro La Laguna. We rarely felt such a good energy in an apartment and almost instantly decided to rent the place for a month. The price was 1700Q and fitted nicely into our budget.

The mix of Guatemalans and Western people creates a very nice atmosphere in this town. Every day there is a big local market to get fresh food, there are a million of Spanish schools, where locals can teach you to speak Spanish at very affordable prices (even for our budget) and at night you can chill/party in a variety of nice Western or local bars. Take this all into account and it might be easy to understand why one month quickly turned into two months and a half.

Now, our visa for the CA-4 (El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua) has ran out, so it is time to say goodbye. We are sure going to miss this place and at a certain point we were even considering extending our visa for another three months, but it is time to move on (also because our next project is more up North, but more on that later this month).

I want to end this post by giving you our top 10 of things to do on a small budget in San Pedro.

10. Fresh juice at the basketball court in the mornings at the market: 5Q (=0.70$)

9. Street food all over town: average of 10Q (=1.40$)

8. Chilling at Zoolas’ lounge and pool area: free

7. Walking the Finca road, after 30 min you are in the nature overlooking the beauty of the lake: free.

6. Jakuu: bar run by locals, they serve very nice coffee and Cuba Libres for 5Q

5. Staying a night in a hammock at the happy hippie hostel: 15Q

4. Fresh food at the local market: for example basil, mint, coriander: 1Q (0.14$), black corn tortillas: 1Q for four (=0.14$), fruits, veggies, meat…

3. Friendly quiz on Wednesday night in El Barrio: free, you can even win 800Q.

They serve excellent mojitos and fresh orange juices: both 10Q (=1.40$)

2. Private Spanish lessons at Mayab: 10 hours and two activities (Salsa, handy crafts): 300Q (42$)

1. All-you-can-eat brunch on Saturdays from 10am to 2pm in El Barrio: delicious omelettes, thee, coffee, fresh fruit, bacon, potatoes…: 40Q (=5.40$)

I sincerely hope you get the chance to visit this beautiful little part of our planet.

Mechico! Here we come!!

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J

On the way to the Bus

This On the way to the Bus is written on Let's be Nomads.

A roller coaster! Every morning when I wake up I open my inbox full of excitement. Who is becoming a part of the project today? Who is declining? Who sees the value in our project, in our dream?

We are following our intuition and for the first time ever I’m working super hard from morning till evening without looking at the time. Doing what I truly love, with ups and downs and learning everything step by step.

Right now we’re literally on the way to find the right bus, with a stopover in Mexico city. I need to get a new passport which takes three weeks before we can fly to Texas to visit the Cook side of my family in Austin. Here we will start looking around for busses, drive them and learn everything that needs to be known before we will buy the one that will become our home for the next few years. From Austin we will make our way to Florida where we hope to find the perfect bus, so we can ship it to Belgium.

This, however, is just a look into the future. Right now our mind is focussed on two other things; designing a new website and creating a crowd funding campaign. We are doing this campaign mostly because we need help not just to create a hostel on wheels, but to create a hostel on wheels with a high quality sustainable off-the-grid system. A normal wood stove for example isn’t so much better for the environment than a gas stove and solar panels don’t do much good without the right generators. These systems are big investments and they will make sure we can provide our guests with not just a comfortable, but also a sustainable chalet on wheels.

Creating a crowd funding campaign isn’t easy. Should we go for the all or northing option or choose the flexible funding where you get what you raised even if you don’t reach the goal. What kind of perks are people interested in? Which media should we contact and how do we get them on board?

In the meantime the hard work and research is starting to payoff and we can proudly announce that eight independent brands (Faction, Darn Though, Love Inc. Snowboarding, Templar Skis, Idris Skis, Misguided Fools, LN Beanies and Sandbox) are going to sponsor the Nomads Bus with their amazing products. We explicitly contacted independent brands because we believe our journey through the European Alps is the perfect opportunity to show the ski/snowboard community the variety of great independent brands out there. Every single one of these companies creates their products with love for the sport, design, quality and creativity.

To all of our European friends, we can’t wait to be back home and start the conversion of the bus!

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Why the Nomads Bus?

This Why the Nomads Bus? is written on Let's be Nomads.

Tim was sound asleep while I was going trough my Facebook newsfeed and clicked on the “Livin’ Tiny: A Quest For Powder” video my uncle sent me. While I was watching the video something clicked in my head, it felt like a puzzle piece just found its place. Watching the video reminded me of my favourite thing in the entire world, the only thing that gets me out of bed in the early hours, to stoked to sleep: fresh snow. A few weeks before I saw this inspiring video, we had come up with a plan to create a hostel on wheels and drive it through the Americas. So, my next thought was why not combine the two; a hostel on wheels and snow? Why not do what we love to do most?

To be honest, even though we do feel the need to have a home that we don’t have to carry on our backs all the time, we’re not ready to settle in one place just yet. Most of all because we have no idea where. I fell in love with Canada when I did my first winter season there, Tim feels his home is in Val Tho where he spent 10 winters, and we both feel that there are so many other options out there to be explored.

During our travels we are constantly confronted with pictures of friends riding pow on Facebook and try to watch all of the big snowboarding contests. We are having the time of our lives in Central-America, but whenever we can we choose to be in the colder mountains, away from the heat, preferably watching the Dew Tour and already dreaming about our next season in the snow.

Don’t get me wrong, I am having a blast during this whole journey, but I discovered my greatest passion by walking away from it. I discovered that I’m not a part of the hippy culture even though I love baggy pants and managed to get one (let’s keep it mellow) dread in my hear. I am, and am proudly to say so, part of the snowboarding culture.

Another thing I have learned during this journey is that a culture is like a family, it’s one of the many stickers we wear. Hippies for example, seen as the free people of this world, are also wearing a sticker, they might not be wearing fancy brands but they all have the same style, they love the same kind of music and they make each other happy. Because that’s what cultures are all about; no matter where you are in the world, when you meet someone who wears the same sticker there is an instant and real connection. You share the most important thing in the world: the same passion, whether it’s fighting for peace, riding the best lines of your lives or dancing around a bonfire like pirates with a bottle of rum, it doesn’t matter.

This is why we are creating the Nomads Bus and are more stoked than ever. Our original idea was to do our first winter tour in the US and Canada, cruising through the rockies and along the powder highway, but as Europeans this was very hard to realise, especially due to liability issues in the US and Canada. But to every downside, there is an upside and if it wasn’t for all the rules stopping us from realising our project in North America, we would have never thought about trying to get this off the ground in Europe. A change of plans that actually made us happy, it made us realise how much we loved the idea to be closer to our families and friends while still living a nomadic life and chasing pow.

Creating a project like this, feeling like an entrepreneur, has given me more motivation than any challenge I ever put up for myself. That night when the puzzle piece fell into place I knew that this is what I’m supposed to do, so challenges come get me, I am sure there are many of you to come, but I’ll conquer you one at a time. Nah.

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J

On the way to the Bus

This On the way to the Bus is written on Let's be Nomads.

A roller coaster! Every morning when I wake up I open my inbox full of excitement. Who is becoming a part of the project today? Who is declining? Who sees the value in our project, in our dream?

We are following our intuition and for the first time ever I’m working super hard from morning till evening without looking at the time. Doing what I truly love, with ups and downs and learning everything step by step.

Right now we’re literally on the way to find the right bus, with a stopover in Mexico city. I need to get a new passport which takes three weeks before we can fly to Texas to visit the Cook side of my family in Austin. Here we will start looking around for busses, drive them and learn everything that needs to be known before we will buy the one that will become our home for the next few years. From Austin we will make our way to Florida where we hope to find the perfect bus, so we can ship it to Belgium.

This, however, is just a look into the future. Right now our mind is focussed on two other things; designing a new website and creating a crowd funding campaign. We are doing this campaign mostly because we need help not just to create a hostel on wheels, but to create a hostel on wheels with a high quality sustainable off-the-grid system. A normal wood stove for example isn’t so much better for the environment than a gas stove and solar panels don’t do much good without the right generators. These systems are big investments and they will make sure we can provide our guests with not just a comfortable, but also a sustainable chalet on wheels.

Creating a crowd funding campaign isn’t easy. Should we go for the all or northing option or choose the flexible funding where you get what you raised even if you don’t reach the goal. What kind of perks are people interested in? Which media should we contact and how do we get them on board?

In the meantime the hard work and research is starting to payoff and we can proudly announce that eight independent brands (Faction, Darn Though, Love Inc. Snowboarding, Templar Skis, Idris Skis, Misguided Fools, LN Beanies and Sandbox) are going to sponsor the Nomads Bus with their amazing products. We explicitly contacted independent brands because we believe our journey through the European Alps is the perfect opportunity to show the ski/snowboard community the variety of great independent brands out there. Every single one of these companies creates their products with love for the sport, design, quality and creativity.

To all of our European friends, we can’t wait to be back home and start the conversion of the bus!

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Why the Nomads Bus?

This Why the Nomads Bus? is written on Let's be Nomads.

Tim was sound asleep while I was going trough my Facebook newsfeed and clicked on the “Livin’ Tiny: A Quest For Powder” video my uncle sent me. While I was watching the video something clicked in my head, it felt like a puzzle piece just found its place. Watching the video reminded me of my favourite thing in the entire world, the only thing that gets me out of bed in the early hours, to stoked to sleep: fresh snow. A few weeks before I saw this inspiring video, we had come up with a plan to create a hostel on wheels and drive it through the Americas. So, my next thought was why not combine the two; a hostel on wheels and snow? Why not do what we love to do most?

To be honest, even though we do feel the need to have a home that we don’t have to carry on our backs all the time, we’re not ready to settle in one place just yet. Most of all because we have no idea where. I fell in love with Canada when I did my first winter season there, Tim feels his home is in Val Tho where he spent 10 winters, and we both feel that there are so many other options out there to be explored.

During our travels we are constantly confronted with pictures of friends riding pow on Facebook and try to watch all of the big snowboarding contests. We are having the time of our lives in Central-America, but whenever we can we choose to be in the colder mountains, away from the heat, preferably watching the Dew Tour and already dreaming about our next season in the snow.

Don’t get me wrong, I am having a blast during this whole journey, but I discovered my greatest passion by walking away from it. I discovered that I’m not a part of the hippy culture even though I love baggy pants and managed to get one (let’s keep it mellow) dread in my hear. I am, and am proudly to say so, part of the snowboarding culture.

Another thing I have learned during this journey is that a culture is like a family, it’s one of the many stickers we wear. Hippies for example, seen as the free people of this world, are also wearing a sticker, they might not be wearing fancy brands but they all have the same style, they love the same kind of music and they make each other happy. Because that’s what cultures are all about; no matter where you are in the world, when you meet someone who wears the same sticker there is an instant and real connection. You share the most important thing in the world: the same passion, whether it’s fighting for peace, riding the best lines of your lives or dancing around a bonfire like pirates with a bottle of rum, it doesn’t matter.

This is why we are creating the Nomads Bus and are more stoked than ever. Our original idea was to do our first winter tour in the US and Canada, cruising through the rockies and along the powder highway, but as Europeans this was very hard to realise, especially due to liability issues in the US and Canada. But to every downside, there is an upside and if it wasn’t for all the rules stopping us from realising our project in North America, we would have never thought about trying to get this off the ground in Europe. A change of plans that actually made us happy, it made us realise how much we loved the idea to be closer to our families and friends while still living a nomadic life and chasing pow.

Creating a project like this, feeling like an entrepreneur, has given me more motivation than any challenge I ever put up for myself. That night when the puzzle piece fell into place I knew that this is what I’m supposed to do, so challenges come get me, I am sure there are many of you to come, but I’ll conquer you one at a time. Nah.

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Peyote, a trip into your mind

This Peyote, a trip into your mind is written on Let's be Nomads.

I guess you are never too old to experience something totally new, as long as you are willing to be open to it.

When we were in Guatemala a few months ago I heard a lot of people talking about a variety of traditional ceremonies performed by shamans and most of them were happening right here in Central America. I heard stories about cacao beans, ayahuasca and peyote; different sorts of natural substances used in ancient ceremonies to get in touch with the spiritual world, with the ability to cure all kinds of illnesses. I have always been very skeptical towards mind-altering substances, whether they are chemical or natural and have always had the feeling that I don’t need them in order to reach another level of reality. For example, hiking up a mountain with a few close friends and riding down the pure white snow definitely changes my perception of reality and fills my whole day with a enhanced sense of connection. And music played in the right setting also has the power to take me to another level, even without any extra mind-altering substances, including alcohol. Because, let’s face it, alcohol might be socially accepted, but it is a highly addictive drug and in a very high doses, it blacks out your reality instead of enhancing it.

The substance that came along our path is called Peyote, a small, spineless cactus mainly found in the centre of Mexico. Like alcohol, it is legal to use but with the restriction that it can only be used in a religious context and only by certified shamans who can grow, carry and transport it. And in contrast to alcohol it should enhance your reality. Welcome to my road to the world of mescaline.

A few weeks ago some friends of ours told us there would probably be a peyote ceremony happening in the near future and that we could join if we wanted to. This kind of hit me as shock and It took me a very long time to make my decision, but in the end I decided to go for it. Mainly because I always try to follow my instinct in life and also, when would I ever get another opportunity to attend an ancient ceremony under the guidance of a very experienced shaman with only a few close friends? When I finally made my decision I couldn’t help but think of one of my favourite songs by the Wombats: ‘Jump into the fog’, no words could better describe my sentiments at that precise moment.

We arrived at a secret location in the mountains near San Cristobal and the first thing we did was create a circle of comfortable beds around the altar of the shaman. Beds? You might ask. Yep, this kind of ceremony starts around 8-9 pm and lasts until the sun rises. And although I did not sleep at all, I was glad I had the opportunity to lay down from time to time. The whole night was filled with rituals. Before drinking the peyote, we cleansed the place by honouring the four wind directions, the sky and the earth.They all have their own specific symbolic meaning. Next, one by one, we were purified with a special ‘copal’ and offered tobacco to the holy fire. We also put a lot of delicious food (like home made lasagna) in front of the altar, which wasn’t to be touched till the ceremony had ended, because eating lessens the experience and the peyote spirit gets an assortment of food offerings in the morning.

Once the shaman offers you the peyote and you drink the beverage, the voyage starts after about 30 to 45 minutes later. Some people need to vomit almost immediately after drinking it (this is said to be a symbol for the release of negativity from your past). I found it quite easy to drink and digest, so I didn’t throw up. I have to say though that my stomach has been known for exceptional performances in the past, so it didn’t really come as a surprise to me. Just as a side note: If you would ever find yourself somewhere in centre of Mexico and come across some peyote cacti in the nature, don’t go off and start eating them straight away, because the effects are much stronger when you eat them! I would definitely recommend to take it in the presence of experienced shaman who knows what he is doing. Ps: He himself drank about 6 glasses with diluted peyote during the night, one was more than enough for us…

Peyote makes time slow down and at a certain point your whole perception of time vanishes, just because it is not important anymore. It is a very strange experience and I do believe this is one of the main reasons why many people call this a spiritual experience; realising that time is only an illusion is a regarded as a very advanced state of mind in many religions. The other extraordinary aspect of this experience was the singing of the shaman, every song had a different meaning and some of them seemed to last forever. My whole body shook with every note he sang and his voice definitely took me to a higher state. The musical climax was when the shaman used a traditional violin-like instrument to evoke an incredible intense connection to the music. It almost felt like he was playing to my soul. In between the songs the effects were a lot less stronger and at one point I decided to explore the nearby woods with Jenny, our English roommate. Everything I touched felt so real; every tree around me, the ground I walked on and the grass I laid on. We watched the stars and moon dance in the pitch black sky for what seemed to be an infinite time. This part was probably my favourite part of the whole night, being so close to nature. That and also the fun I had with Val, most of the evening we were laughing and having an amazing fun time, especially when we were looking at each others faces, which turned into different shapes and forms. Not once did I feel anything negative, this to the contrary of some fellow participants who were crying, letting go of their past or quietly searching for answers.

The biggest lesson I have learned out of this whole experience is that mind-expanding substances do exactly what their name entails: they expand your present state of mind. This makes the experience different for everyone at any given time and place, because your own self-perception changes every moment of your life.

While I am writing this down it almost is as if I am at that place again; I feel, see and hear everything in full detail, almost the exact way that it all happened that night. And this is the biggest difference with the other legal mind-altering beverage, alcohol: this particular night I will be able to recall forever in full HD!

The strangest thing probably was that the moment the sun rose and the shaman stopped singing, most of the effects were instantly gone and we entered the beautiful feeling, known as the afterglow.

The whole night we had been joking about how amazing the lasagne would taste, but we couldn’t touch it and when the ceremony had ended, the first one to eat according to tradition was the fire. You can imagine how we felt about that little extended sense deprivation! After we offered some food to the fire, the time had finally come to let our taste senses go wild and wild they went! I have never eaten a lasagna that tasted so good (thanks Chloe)! This was followed by cake, bread, tea, coffee, chocolate, sweets and fruits. You can imagine the feast! I have never seen so many happy faces!

The rest of day flew by, we sat in the sun, talked, laughed and enjoyed each others company. The shaman was exhausted, but there was a certain kind of glow around him, that is hard to describe. He sat silently against a tree and for some reason we were all drawn to him, so we joined him and had a glorious afternoon together.

The beauty about being around a real shaman is that you hardly notice him. He is the instigator, the driving force behind the scenes and will only talk when spoken to. He is the one who provides the blank canvas, which you can explore at your own pace.

I don’t know if I will do this ever again, but I do know now that it is not something to be afraid of, providing you are in the right place in your mind and body at the moment the opportunity present itself.

PS: Of course your body needs to recover from the whole endeavour, but I can tell you this: the moment your visit to the toilet isn’t a disappointment anymore because you couldn’t go, is the moment everything is physically back to where you started (normally this happens somewhere later in the day). Your mind, however, will probably never be the same (and this in a good way).

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Where I am from – Beau Devonshire

This Where I am from – Beau Devonshire is written on Let's be Nomads.

This morning, half asleep, I opened my inbox and was blessed to start my day with this beautiful poem. Written by Beau, an infinite traveler from Byron Bay who has been wandering the world for many years. An Australian with a big heart, a love for teaching, and a great passion for surfing. This is where he is from. Where are you from?

I am from canvas, poles pitched up beneath the universal wonders. I am from the grains of sand, as my toes gripped tenaciously to the artifacts of nature. I am from the gypsy lands of the Basque, a walk away from civilization into my own sacred dreams.

I am from spilt resin, fiberglass and foam, from the docks of alternative lovers. I’m from the pretentious; a town’s mist of greed once loved, nurtured and cared for. I’m from a body of atoms, connectivity in a spiritual essence, peaceful, grounded and diverse.

I’m from a soul mixed of fire and water, red dirt turning to ochre. From the tastes of culture, an almond like ‘witjuti’ grub, cooked in hot ashes.

With my shoes left behind, soul in tact, a connection with the unknown becomes present. I am from these moments that dwindle the fear and prosper to create an enhanced life- Mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually.

-Beau Devonshire

Livet Leker.

Check out his blog for more mind grenades: Just one moment

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The Let’s be Nomads manifesto

This The Let’s be Nomads manifesto is written on Let's be Nomads.

I was writing in my journal in the beautiful little garden of the authentic house we are renting in San Cristobal de las Casas, Mexico. Tim was sitting on a bench with his laptop on his lap and told me about an article describing the biggest regrets of dying people. The top three was:

1. I have not lived fully.

2. I have not loved well.

3. I have not made a difference.

When he told me this, I had just written in my journal about the flaws I had noticed about myself lately and really wanted to change. Small details that did not go according to the rules our society has put up for us, the ways of how we need to fit into the perfect picture.

But wait a minute. What had Tim just said? These people weren’t having regrets about the way they hadn’t fitted into the perfect picture. These people were having regrets about the way they way had not lived and loved well.

Earlier in my life, my dad once read me the biggest regrets of an old wise woman who had just celebrated her 99th birthday. The first one being ‘Not making enough mistakes.’ This woman actually wished she had flawed more.

And so I suddenly had found a new answer to the question I’ve often asked myself: ‘What is the purpose of life?’ We aren’t on this planet to worry about the little mistakes and the bad habits. We are here to live, love and contribute.

The thought made me happy; I was in the middle of the Mexican mountains, with amazing people around me from all over the world and an ambitious life-changing project in the making. I didn’t have to worry about what I was doing ‘wrong’ during the last week. I only had to ask myself if I had loved, if I had experienced joy and if I somehow had contributed to somebody else’s’ life or to our planet.

It felt like a puzzle piece falling in it’s place.

The Let’s be Nomads manifesto was born:

Live fully

Love well

Make a difference


Feel free to tag any of your related manifesto moments. #LbN

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San Pedro La Laguna – A home away from home

This San Pedro La Laguna – A home away from home is written on Let's be Nomads.

So far our Central American adventure can easily be divided into two parts: The first part was all about discovering Mexico/Belize and Guatemala moving rapidly from one place to the next. Rapidly is still relative though, we stayed for example for two weeks in Tulum and even for three weeks on the island of Caye Caulker. However, this is the way we travel; if a place feels right we tend to stay a tad bit longer than the average traveller. Even in the very beginning of our world travels (more than over a year ago), we stayed for three weeks in Balen, only 60km away from our hometown Antwerp just because of the positive vibes the people of the town gave us.

The second part of our adventure started the moment we entered a beautiful room on the top floor of Hotel Colibri in San Pedro La Laguna. We rarely felt such a good energy in an apartment and almost instantly decided to rent the place for a month. The price was 1700Q and fitted nicely into our budget.

The mix of Guatemalans and Western people creates a very nice atmosphere in this town. Every day there is a big local market to get fresh food, there are a million of Spanish schools, where locals can teach you to speak Spanish at very affordable prices (even for our budget) and at night you can chill/party in a variety of nice Western or local bars. Take this all into account and it might be easy to understand why one month quickly turned into two months and a half.

Now, our visa for the CA-4 (El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua) has ran out, so it is time to say goodbye. We are sure going to miss this place and at a certain point we were even considering extending our visa for another three months, but it is time to move on (also because our next project is more up North, but more on that later this month).

I want to end this post by giving you our top 10 of things to do on a small budget in San Pedro.

10. Fresh juice at the basketball court in the mornings at the market: 5Q (=0.70$)

9. Street food all over town: average of 10Q (=1.40$)

8. Chilling at Zoolas’ lounge and pool area: free

7. Walking the Finca road, after 30 min you are in the nature overlooking the beauty of the lake: free.

6. Jakuu: bar run by locals, they serve very nice coffee and Cuba Libres for 5Q

5. Staying a night in a hammock at the happy hippie hostel: 15Q

4. Fresh food at the local market: for example basil, mint, coriander: 1Q (0.14$), black corn tortillas: 1Q for four (=0.14$), fruits, veggies, meat…

3. Friendly quiz on Wednesday night in El Barrio: free, you can even win 800Q.

They serve excellent mojitos and fresh orange juices: both 10Q (=1.40$)

2. Private Spanish lessons at Mayab: 10 hours and two activities (Salsa, handy crafts): 300Q (42$)

1. All-you-can-eat brunch on Saturdays from 10am to 2pm in El Barrio: delicious omelettes, thee, coffee, fresh fruit, bacon, potatoes…: 40Q (=5.40$)

I sincerely hope you get the chance to visit this beautiful little part of our planet.

Mechico! Here we come!!

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