Oddbean

I left on a trip to Ecuador that was supposed to last 3 months and now I've been traveling across Peru and adventuring through the mountains for almost 5 years. The most beautiful place I've visited is a sanctuary called Ampay above the city of Abancay in the province of Apurimac. The first time I went up over 5000m altitude to get to the snow, I did the entire trek barefoot and ended up camping out 7 days straight in a lake below the snow located at 3800m altitude. I hosted a number of Ayahuasca ceremonies by the lake during this first stay and went back to host several others over the following year culminating in 3 ceremonies where we drank ayahuasca I cooked myself with natives Awajun in Northern Peru (see picture with leaves crossed over strips of wood). Over the years I returned to this Sanctuary well over 50 times and began to explore it using shoes to be able to move around faster and see more. I began to find fossilized shells, corals, and even Herkimer diamonds (see picture of fossils). A friend from the city who joined me on many adventures began to find stone sculptures that the ancestors left in some of the highest peaks, along with pieces of actual seashells and bones that were worked by the ascended masters who lived in this mountain long ago. Many of the stone sculptures that were found were perfectly symmetrical stone rings, that Peruvians call macanas... which refers to the verb 'macay'- 'to hit' in the native language Quechua. What was subconsciously communicated to me by the ancestors of Ampay was that these stone rings were not used as weapons but rather as tools to start fires, that could be tied around the base of the stick that is spun to stabilize it and increase downward pressure. In addition to this, very detailed stone statues of alpacas and llamas were found that looked like little cups with a hole carved into their backs. We came to the conclusion that these stone sculptures were used to hold the top of the spun stick to further increase pressure and start fires as quick as possible. Using these stone tools in the way explained, and with a bow to spin the stick, smoke was generated within seconds. Consuming the pristine spring water that came down from the snow (unboiled) allowed the energy of the mountain and its previous inhabitants to flow through us. Consuming native plants and mushrooms from the mountain further increased our connection. The plant with little white flowers in the pictures is called muña, it's essential oils resemble mint. I use it to make teas, salads, and soups. The lake shown in the pictures is called Uspha Qocha which means 'ash lake' in Quechua. Locals often mention that the lake itself is thought to cover up a volcano that has been inactive for years. During the dry season, the lake becomes stagnant and fills with algae. As the lake begins to swell during the rain season, the fresh water mixes with the algae-filled water resulting in a beautiful turquoise colouration. During some of my most recent trips to Ampay, friends and I viewed a UFO fly across the peak of the mountain and over the lake shown in the pictures. The second night we viewed the UFO it flew very low, about 150m above our heads, moved in a zig-zag fashion with a bright white light as bright as the brightest stars, and when we flashed it in a synchronized manner 4 times with our flashlights, it flashed us back 4 times. We observed it for around a minute until it crossed over city and disappeared into the distance. #mountainadventures #wisdom #ancestral #nevado #ufo #ufosightings #realstories #otherworldly #andes #andino #ayahuasca #freedom #artifacts #wildherbs #livefree #keepmoving #introduction #traveling #mystory #alwayslearning #dowhatyoulove https://m.primal.net/MkdC.jpg https://m.primal.net/MkdD.jpg https://m.primal.net/MkdE.jpg https://m.primal.net/MkdG.jpg https://m.primal.net/MkdH.jpg https://m.primal.net/MkdI.jpg https://m.primal.net/MkdJ.jpg https://m.primal.net/MkdK.jpg https://m.primal.net/MkdL.jpg https://m.primal.net/MkeU.jpg https://m.primal.net/MkeV.jpg https://m.primal.net/MkeW.jpg https://m.primal.net/MkeX.jpg https://m.primal.net/MkeY.jpg https://m.primal.net/MkeZ.jpg https://m.primal.net/Mkea.jpg https://m.primal.net/Mkeb.jpg https://m.primal.net/Mked.jpg

I went a year and 5 months without ever using footwear and when I went back to using shoes it was like having super powers, running through mountains invincible. I have been able to explore much more since I went back to using shoes. I now live the hybrid life bouncing back between barefoot and shoe-wearer.

Awesome dude. That is a long time without shoes. I bet you have some interesting anecdotes and experience to share barefoot. What was the ‘break in’ like to barefoot. Callus? Blisters? Black nails and stubbed toes? I often prance around my land barefoot. The earth can feel rejuvenating. I’d like to give those earth shoes a try. Expensive though. You could potentially really benefit using a pair.

I walked barefoot often before starting the trip while gardening and walking in the forest. when I finally made it to Pucallpa and took part in a number of Ayahuasca ceremonies, I hadn't left the property where I was staying in over 2 weeks and had never put on shoes once. I decided to go to the market and meditate without shoes and continued barefoot without even really thinking anything of it for a month. when I decided I was going to leave Pucallpa and hitchhike all the way to Cusco in June 2020, I told myself I might as well do it barefoot cause the past month had been so easy. I ended up making it to Nazca and on the night of the full moon eclipse July 4, 2020 I used sandals to walk through the thorny deserts in the dark during a San Pedro experience. July 5th I took off the sandals and continued the barefoot trip making it all the way to Puno, Arequipa, back up to Iquitos before putting shoes back on for the first time on December 28, 2021 in Abancay.

If youre interested, I recently wrote and recorded an album called Plutonian... all songs can be streamed and lyrics read at https://plutonian747.bandcamp.com the first 9 songs are in English, followed by 3 in Spanish and the last in Quechua, the most widely spoken native language in Peru

Get started here: https://wavlake.com/studio Upload process is very similar to Bandcamp, only people can pay you over the Lightning Network. More info here: https://zine.wavlake.com/value-for-value-music-with-lightning-what-a-concept/