Amazon Immersion
Last Chance
Amazon Immersion
Via Misahuali, Ecuador
Up to 14 in group
September 18 - 26, 2025
A preparation course valued at $109 is included with the retreat at no extra cost
Retreat Highlights
- Plant immersion
- Land Stewardship practices
- Nervous System recalibration
- Cellular imprinting
- Collective care
- Mutual Aid
- Ancestral Connection
About this Retreat
Don Luis Andi, 73, is a Kichwa Napusamai Community elder yachak (in the Kichwa Napusamai language, "the one who knows"). Since birth, he has been prepared by his father, also a renowned and powerful yachak, to become a ‘shaman’. For over 40 years, Don Luis has practiced the use of medicinal plants from the forest, specifically to purify the blood for treating diseases and to cleanse spiritual energy with special ceremonies working with the essences derived from Amazonian plants.
Juan Andi Vargas, 52, is the son of Don Luis. He has been working with plant medicines since birth, mentored by his father and other esteemed maestros. A respected leader in the Kichwa Napusamai Community, Juan has dedicated over 30 years to ecotourism and organizing retreats focused on ancestral knowledge and the use of medicinal plants. Together, with wise teachers and yachak healers Don Luis Andi and Don Santiago Grefa, he applies this deep-rooted wisdom and ensures that each participant receives individual attention during retreats. His efforts extend beyond teaching; he also aims to protect biodiversity. Through his initiatives, he has reforested over 30 hectares (~74 acres) with medicinal plants, investing in the preservation and enrichment of the Ecuadorian Amazon.
Doña Ines Vargas, 75, is the heart of the healing process and the wife of Don Luis. With deep ancestral knowledge, she serves as a bridge between the plants and each individual's energy, carefully administering the sacred Ayahuasca brew with profound intuition and care. Beyond Ayahuasca, Doña Ines is a guardian of traditional plant wisdom, skillfully selecting and using medicinal plants to cleanse, protect, and support deep healing. Her nurturing presence and expertise are essential to the sacred ceremonies, offering guidance throughout the process.
Juan is assisted by his wife, Irene Cerda Grefa, 42, who also prepares the medicine. Irene is a powerful medicine woman and a wisdom keeper. She comes from a long line of Indigenous Elders in the Napo Region, caring for and preparing plant medicines alongside the women of the community. With the support of community members, Irene creates the container for sacred ceremonies. A multi-faceted woman, she also manages retreat logistics, develops new projects, and coordinates cultural activities such as dance presentations, artisanal handcrafts, and healing foods for retreats on their ancestral land.
Born in the Bronx with Dominican, Mexican, and Puerto Rican ancestry rooted in Mayan and Taíno lineages, and with over 20 years in corporate leadership (including nearly a decade at Marvel), Niza bridges worlds. She is the founder of Meraki Path, a steward of ancestral land in the Dominican Republic and has traveled across nearly 50 countries, learning directly from lineage keepers and elders. In 2017, she was called to the Kichwa Kuyaloma community in the Ecuadorian Amazon, where she has been in study and reciprocity ever since. Trained in ancestral practices and entrusted by wisdom keepers, she offers living, breathing invitations into embodied connection, ancestral reverence, and reciprocal healing.
Carlene Kanellis is a somatic healer, Breathwork practitioner and spiritual guide devoted to creating spaces where people can remember their own medicine. Rooted in Celtic and Nordic lineage and shaped by the wisdom of Mayan and Native traditions, her work bridges ancient ritual with modern healing. Through ritual, breath and ceremony, Carlene offers grounded, soulful guidance for people longing to be seen, held, and reconnected to their power.
Known for her down-to-earth presence and reverent approach, Carlene weaves together nervous system healing, spiritual practice, and honest conversation. Her spaces are tender and real, where grief and joy, mystery and mess, laughter and tears are all welcome. This is more than her work; it’s her living prayer.
Details of this retreat
Join us in the Ecuadorian Amazon this Autumn Equinox (Sept 18–26) for deep work with the Kichwa Napusamai community.
You’re invited into:
Plant immersion & land stewardship
Nervous system recalibration methods
Cellular imprinting practices
Collective care & mutual aid
Ancestral connection
You’re invited into:
Plant immersion & land stewardship
Nervous system recalibration methods
Cellular imprinting practices
Collective care & mutual aid
Ancestral connection
Schedule
Day 1 - Arrival, land blessing, traditional sauna
Day 2- Planting practice, altar making, river mud bath
Day 3- Ayahuasca Ceremony
Day 4- Traditional face painting, sacred site visit
Day 5- Guayusa ceremony, Temazcal, Ayahuasca Ceremony
Day 6- Traditional sauna, explore jungle, artisanal market with community
Day 7- Sound journey, breathwork, Ayahuasca Ceremony
Day 8- Cultural dance, Cacao
Day 9- Closing and Departure
Day 2- Planting practice, altar making, river mud bath
Day 3- Ayahuasca Ceremony
Day 4- Traditional face painting, sacred site visit
Day 5- Guayusa ceremony, Temazcal, Ayahuasca Ceremony
Day 6- Traditional sauna, explore jungle, artisanal market with community
Day 7- Sound journey, breathwork, Ayahuasca Ceremony
Day 8- Cultural dance, Cacao
Day 9- Closing and Departure
Note: Schedule is approximate and may change
Getting Here
Meraki Path, Via Misahuali, Ecuador
Directions
We will arrange pick up and transportation from Quito on the first day.
Accommodation
Rustic wooden cabins with private bathrooms Double or single occupancy with window screens and mosquito nets Fresh linens and towels provided
Program Price - payment plans available after initial deposit is paid
Venue & Amenities
A/C in Rooms
Free Wifi
Spa
Sauna
Pool
Towels
Free Parking
Kitchen
Tour Assistance
Hot Tub
Coffee/Tea
Cafe
Restaurant
Fitness Center
Yoga Studio
Housekeeping
Bicycles For Rent
Nestled in the lush Napo region, Napusamai sits on a protected reserve stewarded by the Andi-Vargas family for generations.
A 4-hour journey from Quito, it borders the Los Llanganates National Reserve, home to sacred sites, healing waters, and deeply rooted in ancestral heritage.
A 4-hour journey from Quito, it borders the Los Llanganates National Reserve, home to sacred sites, healing waters, and deeply rooted in ancestral heritage.
Meals
Menu Types
Vegan
Vegetarian
Pescetarian
Ayurvedic
Includes Meat
Organic
Gluten Free
Dairy Free
Nut Free
Meals include grains, legumes, cooked vegetables, occassional fish, eggs. Nutrition accommodations available.
What's Included
- 8-Nights in wood cabin accommodations
- Daily breakfast, lunch & dinner direct from family garden and local market (no dinner on ceremony nights)
- 3x Sacred Ayahuasca Ceremonies
- Traditional saunas
- Sacred site visits
- Breathwork
- Sound journey
- Land stewardship practices
- Temazcal
- Medicinal baths
- Nervous system regulation techniques
- AND MORE
What's Not Included
- Airfare
- Accommodation prior and post retreat
- Meals and other expenses prior and post retreat
- Special 1-1 healings not in the itinerary
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