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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Graduating at the University of the World

This Graduating at the University of the World is written on Let's be Nomads.

I am almost reaching the end of my Masters, a year about love.

What did I learn? Am I giving every poor guy at the side of the street all of my love? Am I hugging trees everywhere I go? No, but I did find a certain balance in giving and receiving love. A balance between becoming more aware of the energy inside myself and becoming more aware of the energy I’m giving to the world.

Some days we lose sight of the energy we can give to others, those days we only care about our own happiness. We choose the things that give us instant gratification and see it as a priority above everything else.

Some days we just give all the energy we’ve got to other people. We do what makes them smile and don’t worry about receiving energy ourselves.

Some days we don’t feel like giving or receiving love. We block the energy we could give to others and we even choose to ignore the love that is given to us through a simple smile.

My favourite days are the ones where we don’t have to think about giving and receiving energy. When all the puzzle pieces fall into place and we feel a burst of adrenaline. The kind of energy we can’t ever imagine do disappear. Those moments are the ones created when we live in the present. When we not only feel and act according to our own level of energy but also synchronise effortlessly with others.

Even though this balance feels endless at some point the beautiful unison gets broken. We start to live in the past again; we regret decisions that have been made; let the past intervene with our future. Or we lost our balance on a personal level by not taking care of our bodies the way we should. We prefer the instant gratification and forget that our body is the vessel of our soul. We stop listening to the signals our body has been clearly giving to us and we forget to listen to our intuition. But, all we actually ignored is love. The love we should give ourselves by listening to our heart and doing what feels right. Or the love we should give to others, those who need our energy to find their balance. To those who get their life battery charged out of our smile. This love, given or received is endless; it’s waiting for us to trust it and most of all to be aware of how and where it presents itself.

I am now 23 and have been traveling the world for five years. My soulmate has been wandering along my side for almost three of these years. He joined me during my master, my most inspiring year yet in which I learned more than I ever could have imagined. I guess that’s what a master at university is supposed to be all about: getting to the core of the subject you’re mostly interested in; which for me is the subject love.

I started at the University of the world to find a cure for my restlessness, to explore the content of what I called the undiscovered world and to find answers to all of my questions.

I did not find all the answers I was searching for and some of my initial questions will probably stay unanswered for a while longer, but I did find answers to most of the questions that I started asking myself along the way.

As to the exploration of the undiscovered world I found out that the content is no more than our own perception of what is true and what is false.

I even found the cure to my restlessness; by accepting who I am I created a home within myself. A home that will go with me wherever my feet take me.

And what about love, the main subject of my master? As long as I trust my instincts, love will come in abundance. All I have to do is let my intuition guide me, let the journey of love unfold in front of my eyes and know that whenever I am in the present love will be at my side.

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How cheap can you walk the Camino? Eight tips to save money on the Camino de Santiago.

This How cheap can you walk the Camino? Eight tips to save money on the Camino de Santiago. is written on Let's be Nomads.

In our last post we talked about the amazing journey that is called: the Camino de Santiago (or the Way of Saint-James). In this post we want to share some valuable tips with you on keeping your costs as low as possible and how cheap you can actually walk the Camino. Earlier this year we managed to walk the 32 day Camino and stay within our budget of 9 euro per person per day and this is how we did it:

1. First of all, buy or borrow a tent, a good sleeping bag and a sleeping pad. If you are going to walk in the summer, you can skip all of the above and even sleep outside. If on the other hand you like some comfort, some good camping gear is highly recommended. The number one reason for sleeping in a tent is that in general, a night in an Albergue will cost around 5 euro pp, except for the Donativo Albergues where you can donate an amount of your liking. This means that in our case more than half of our budget would go to Albergues (hostels) and would leave us with only 4 euro per day to eat, which is possible, but hard and probably not the healthiest.


2. Use the Couchsurfing network, not only can you save money on sleeping costs, but a lot of the times the hosts will provide you with a dinner or show you around town to the best places to eat tapas. This won’t work in every village along the Way, but it is a very handy network, especially in the bigger cities like Burgos, Leon, Oviedo… The downside is that it drags you away from the “real” Camino experience: sleeping with other snoring pilgrims in old bunk beds. No, seriously, eating, sleeping and walking together with other Pilgrims is a very important part of the way.


3. Buy your food for the next stage at the supermarket the night before. A lot of the times you only pass by small villages without a supermarket and the only other option to get food is a bocadillo (sandwich) at 3 euro or more.


4. Buy local fresh fruit and vegetables, they are cheap and very tasty. We also bought some canned fish and local bread.


5. Knock on the door of the locals and ask if you can buy some food from them, most of the time they’ll give it to you for free or even invite you in their house for some coffee and cake in return for a nice chat.


6. Try to wash your clothes together with some other pilgrims. A washing costs about 4 euro, drying 2 euro. It is always nice to split the costs.


7. Don’t buy a pilgrims-direction-book; the way is overly documented with yellow arrows and shells. And if you want to read about the wonderful things you need to see, you can always borrow one from another pilgrim, everyone has one (except if every pilgrim would read this post of course).


8. The same goes for medicines and second skin, most of the pilgrims carry them around and are very happy to help out if you are in urgent need.

Buen Camino!

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