Abby in Peru

Follow my journey in Lima & Iquitos
from September 1-15, 2026

Abby Kojola waiting at SFO before flying to Peru

September 1 — The Journey Back to Peru

Sept. 1 — Today was a full travel day! My first flight left SFO at 7:13 a.m. I set my alarm for 3 a.m. so that I could be ready to leave for the airport at 4 a.m. I worked until 1:30 a.m. and then lay in my bed for 90 minutes waiting for my…

Cup of tea with a small blue sand timer on the table at Ché Chá in Miraflores

September 2 — Getting Lost and Finding My Way in Lima

Sept. 2 — I slept until about 9 a.m. this morning, which meant I got around eight hours of sleep. I really needed it. I think I had been awake for close to 40 hours between getting ready to leave, traveling all day, and arriving in Lima so late last night. I woke up feeling…

Wide view of Lima's coastline on a hazy day: a curving gray beach, coastal highway, tall eroded cliffs, and high-rise buildings with a construction crane

September 3 — Walking with the ocean in Lima

The Symphony of Lima, the Beauty Way, and My Late-Night Insecurities I’m sitting out on my little 5th floor balcony this morning having my tea. I’m surrendering to the sound healing of a Lima morning. It’s SO lifey. There’s so much noise, but it’s like a symphony. Cars are driving by, so many motorbikes, people…

Bowl of steaming milk dusted with cinnamon in a black-and-white patterned ceramic cup, on a leaf-shaped wooden plate with a branch-like wooden spoon and a wrapped cacao bar beside it

September 4 — My Cacao Pilgrimage, Barranco, and Tea with New Friends

It’s Friday, September 4th. I had a good adventure today. I woke up at about six this morning, but I didn’t get out of bed until eight. I had my tea and ate breakfast here. I finished that strawberry kefir that was so good. I wish I had more of that. I ate my last…

Plate of yellow rice with shrimp and salsa criolla at the DoubleTree Iquitos restaurant bar

September 5 — Arriving in Iquitos: Tears on the Tarmac and a King Bed

The destination is the king bed Sept. 5 — Three alarms and a 5 am driver My flight to Iquitos was at 8 am today, with a 6 am airport arrival time and 7:10 boarding. I woke up at 3:55 am. I had set three alarms, for 3:55, 4:00 and 4:05, because that is what…

Enormous ceiba tree with pale bare branches spreading above the jungle canopy near Iquitos Peru

September 6 — Belén Market, Pink Dolphins and a Ceiba Tree in Iquitos

Coca tea and a working ATM I woke up at 7 this morning after setting my alarm for 6:45, and went downstairs for the breakfast buffet that is included with my room at the DoubleTree. I had delicious scrambled eggs, some strawberry yogurt and granola, and a couple of pieces of plantain. My stomach was…

Blue morpho butterfly resting on green leaves in the Peruvian Amazon

September 7 — Arriving at Blue Morpho

Monday morning I woke up pretty early, I think around 6:45, and went downstairs for breakfast at the DoubleTree Hilton. I had scrambled eggs, strawberry yogurt with granola and coca tea. Then I went back to my room and packed everything up and checked out. Segundo’s friend met me in the lobby with the motocarro…

Magenta bougainvillea flowering beside a brick path at Blue Morpho in the Peruvian Amazon

September 8 — Anger, Judgment and a Sky Full of Stars

I don’t know how much I slept Monday night, but Tuesday morning I got up, took a shower, and made it to breakfast by 8. Breakfast, Integration and an Incredible Massage The meals we are eating are very clean and satisfying. I had eggs, fruit, some oatmeal and lemongrass tea. I’m pleasantly surprised by how…

Large twisting vine looping between trees in the Peruvian Amazon jungle

September 9 — Into the Jungle

Wednesday was our day off from ceremony, which felt really needed after how intense Tuesday night had been. I woke up still thinking about everything that had happened and still trying to understand what part of my reaction was about what had actually happened in the room and what part was about me, my own…

Thatched-roof Lake House beside a jungle pond at Blue Morpho retreat in Peru

September 10 — The Lake, Love and the Third Ceremony

I slept really well Wednesday night, finally. I went to bed around 9:30 and slept until about 6:30 in the morning, which felt amazing after the first couple of nights of being hot and restless and still so activated after ceremony. By Thursday morning I felt much more rested, and it was also our last…

Blue Morpho retreat group gathered beside the pool with thatched jungle lodges behind them

September 11 — San Pedro and the Last Full Day at Blue Morpho

Friday was our San Pedro ceremony and our last full day at Blue Morpho. By this point I had done three ayahuasca ceremonies in four nights, barely slept the first couple of nights, sweated constantly, gotten covered in bug bites, had more cold showers than I could count, and had so much information and emotion…

September 12 — Leaving the Jungle and Landing Back in the World

Leaving Blue Morpho It was really strange waking up knowing that we were leaving Blue Morpho. Somehow, in the space of five days, the retreat had become my whole reality. There was the maloca, the jungle, the lake, the paths between everything, the sounds at night, the meals, the ceremonies, the same group of people…

Orange sunset over the Pacific Ocean and apartment buildings in Lima, Peru

September 13 — It’s Safe for Me to Love

Sunday Morning in Lima I woke up early Sunday morning in my apartment in Barranco, and I was still very much in that strange space between the retreat and regular life. I had some coca tea, yogurt and water, dealt with more laundry, checked my email, and was generally trying to get myself situated. Having…

Palm tree silhouetted against the Pacific sunset in Barranco, Lima

September 14 — Getting the Hang of Lima Just as It Was Time to Leave

My Last Full Day in Peru I slept in until around 8 on Monday morning, which wasn’t particularly late, but it felt late compared with how early I had been waking up for most of the trip. I had stayed up later than I meant to the night before working on my blog, and then…

Aerial view of Lima, Peru and the Pacific coastline from an airplane

September 15 — Coming Home

Last Morning in Lima I woke up at 6 because I had set my alarm for 6, and for a little while I had this very disorienting moment where my phone said it was 6:38 but the clock in the apartment said 8:08, and my taxi was supposed to come at 8:30. I knew logically…

Large ceiba tree with vines and deep roots in the Peruvian Amazon

What I Asked For, and What I Was Shown

Before both of my Peru retreats, I wrote about what I hoped to explore and what I wanted to heal. I hadn’t really thought about comparing the two years until recently, but when I went back and read what I wrote before my first retreat in 2025 and then what I wrote before going back…

Abby Kojola smiling at the camera, long wavy gray-and-brown hair, wearing a dark embroidered top, with green hillside plantings behind her

What I’ve Been Learning in Mystery School

I went back through the Mystery School notes I’ve taken over the last year, or at least the weeks when I actually took notes, and there is a lot there. Some of them are almost impossible for anyone but me to read because I was trying to capture what Maestro Hamilton was saying as quickly…

Two people sit on a wooden bench under a slatted pergola, facing a sunset over the sea with distant islands on the horizon.

Everyone seemed to stop for a few minutes and watch the Pacific sunset.

Silhouette of a tall palm tree against a sunset over the calm sea, with people along a coastal walkway.

One last Pacific sunset from Barranco before leaving Peru.

Plate with grilled chicken, white rice, and a side salad of lettuce and sliced tomatoes with avocado on top, in a restaurant setting.

Dinner at La Mueller in Barranco on My Last Day in Lima

Yellow building wall with tall barred windows and potted cacti on the sidewalk in front of it

One of the little scenes I noticed while wandering through Barranco on my last full day in Peru.

Breakfast plate with two fried eggs, toasted bread, and green avocado topping with tomatoes on a wooden table; a glass of pink juice beside it.

My last-day breakfast in Barranco: eggs, toast, avocado and fresh juice.

Watching the sun set over the Pacific while talking to my mom from my apartment in Barranco.

Interior of UKAW in Barranco with wooden tables, plants and deep pink doors

Inside UKAW, where I stopped for ceremonial cacao and lunch while wandering through Barranco.

Paiche with avocado, tomatoes, broccoli and greens at UKAW in Barranco

My beautiful paiche lunch at UKAW, with avocado, tomatoes, broccoli, greens and nuts.

Ceremonial cacao in a patterned bowl at UKAW in Barranco, Lima

Ceremonial cacao at UKAW during my Sunday afternoon wandering through Barranco.

View of the Amazon River and rainforest from Las Terrazas in Iquitos, Peru

One last view over the Amazon before flying back to Lima.

Two people smiling together on the terrace at Blue Morpho retreat in the Peruvian Amazon

Abby & Maestro at Blue Morpho

Three Blue Morpho retreat participants smiling together beside the pool in the Peruvian Amazon

A sweet photo together at Blue Morpho as our week in the jungle was coming to an end.

Clouds and jungle trees reflected in the brown water of the lake at Blue Morpho

The lake was brown and murky, but the reflections of the sky and jungle were beautiful.

The Lake House, where I spent part of Thursday afternoon sitting by the water before our final ayahuasca ceremony.

Small pineapple growing on a plant at Blue Morpho in the Peruvian Amazon

A tiny pineapple growing right on the retreat grounds.

Long seed pods hanging among tropical leaves and banana plants at Blue Morpho in the Peruvian Amazon

Long seed pods hanging among the tropical plants near the lake at Blue Morpho.

Quiet jungle lake surrounded by palms and tropical vegetation at Blue Morpho in Peru

The jungle came right up to the edge of the water.

Small red and yellow flowers growing directly from a tree trunk in the Peruvian Amazon

I loved finding these tiny red and yellow flowers growing right out of the trunk.

Tiny bright red berries among green plants and fallen leaves on the Amazon forest floor

Tiny flashes of red stood out against all the green and brown of the forest floor.

Spiny palm roots covered in sharp thorns in the Peruvian Amazon jungle

Definitely not a tree I wanted to accidentally grab for balance.

Knobby brown growth along a vine surrounded by green jungle plants in the Peruvian Amazon

Another strange little detail Jorge pointed out along the trail.

Camouflaged long-legged creature resting on a tree trunk in the Peruvian Amazon

It was amazing how easily animals and insects disappeared into the colors and textures of the jungle.

Broad-leaved plants, small palms, fallen leaves and other understory vegetation cover the forest floor during our hike near Blue Morpho.

The leaves used for ceremonial chakapas

Ayahuasca vines wrapped, climbed and curved through the jungle in every direction.

Large tropical tree with massive buttress roots in the Peruvian Amazon rainforest

One of the enormous trees we encountered on our walk through the jungle.

Tree with long exposed roots spreading around its trunk in the Peruvian Amazon

The roots and trees in the jungle seemed to have their own architecture.

White fuzzy fungal growths on a tree trunk in the Peruvian Amazon jungle

So many strange and beautiful things were growing directly from the trees.

Blue arrow trail marker on the forest floor during a jungle hike in the Peruvian Amazon

A blue arrow pointing us deeper into the jungle.

Dark jungle creek surrounded by dense tropical vegetation in the Peruvian Amazon

One of the little waterways we passed during our hike through the jungle.

Tree and thatched-roof bunkhouse on the Blue Morpho retreat grounds near Iquitos, Peru

The retreat buildings almost disappear into the trees surrounding them.

Green bananas and purple banana flower growing on a banana plant at Blue Morpho in Peru

Bananas growing right on the retreat grounds, with the enormous flower still hanging beneath the fruit.

Palm trees surrounding a pond on the Blue Morpho retreat grounds in the Peruvian Amazon

The view across the water and palms on the Blue Morpho grounds.

Thatched-roof building surrounded by tall jungle trees at Blue Morpho in the Peruvian Amazon

One of the thatched buildings tucked into the trees at Blue Morpho.

Brick steps leading to the Lake House among palm trees at Blue Morpho retreat in Peru

The path up toward the Lake House at Blue Morpho.

Pink tropical flowers blooming beneath tall jungle trees at Blue Morpho in Peru

So much of the Blue Morpho property was filled with flowers growing right against the edge of the jungle.

Bright bougainvillea spilling over one of the paths through the Blue Morpho grounds.

Thatched-roof bunkhouse and brick walkway at Blue Morpho retreat in the Peruvian Amazon

One of the large thatched-roof buildings at Blue Morpho, surrounded by the Amazon jungle.

Small tree and dense tropical vegetation at Blue Morpho retreat in the Peruvian Amazon

The jungle surrounding Blue Morpho.

Stacks of fresh banana and bijao leaves for sale at Belén Market Iquitos

I love seeing all the banana leaves.

Carachama Catfish

Man selling banana-leaf-wrapped juanes and eggs at a Belén Market table in Iquitos

The one thing I would have tried under different circumstances.

Turtle soup cooking inside turtle shells over a charcoal grill in Belén Market

Turtle soup cooked inside the shell over fire.

Produce stall with long beans, eggs, tomatoes, and cocona under red umbrellas at Belén Market

Familiar things alongside things completely outside anything I know.

Stacks of hand-rolled mapacho cigarettes at a tobacco stall in Belén Market

A woman rolling mapacho cigarettes.

Vendor filleting striped Amazon catfish under a red canopy at Belén Market

Filleting Catfish

Caiman meat and skin for sale at a fish and game stall in Belén Market Iquitos

Alligator meat at the Market

Woman cleaning fish at a Belén Market stall with river fish and caiman tail on the table

Fish everywhere, being cut and cleaned right there.

Caiman tails and striped Amazon catfish on orange trays at a market stall in Iquitos

Caiman Tails and Catfish

Smiling vendor standing behind whole dressed chickens at Belén Market

There were roosters and chickens

Rows of fresh river fish and large catfish on trays at a Belén Market fish stall

River Fish, Belén Market

Turtle meat and turtle eggs for sale on a red table at Belén Market Iquitos

Turtle Meat and Eggs

Smoked bushmeat on a cardboard-covered market table with a machete in Belén Market

Smoked Meat Table

Skewers of grilled suri palm grubs and fish wrapped in banana leaf at a Belén Market food stall

There were worms -suri (palm weevil larvae)-on skewers.

Woman grilling whole fish and plantains over an open grill at Belén Market

Fish on the grill, plantains alongside, banana leaves everywhere.

Vendor arranging herbs at a plant medicine stall under red umbrellas in Belén Market

Much calmer and less crowded than the rest of the market, and everything displayed so beautifully.

Colorful stall of bottled traditional medicines and tinctures at Belén Market Iquitos

So much of the medicine was just stored in ordinary plastic bottles. Not presented preciously. Just medicine being sold in the market.

San Pedro cactus, bobinsana, chuchuhuasi bark, and other Amazonian plant medicines on a market table

San Pedro, bobinsana, chuchuhuasi. So many things I had no idea how to identify.

Medicinal plant stall at Belén Market in Iquitos with bark, roots, coca leaves, marigolds, and bottled remedies

The area where the shamans shop. Bark, roots, coca, flowers, and bottles and bottles of medicine.

Salmon fillet topped with shaved hearts of palm, cherry tomatoes, and spinach on a blue plate at the DoubleTree Iquitos

Salmon Dinner at the DoubleTree

Mural of an Indigenous man with face paint holding a jaguar with a plant leaf, Iquitos street art

Jaguar Mural in Iquitos

Massive buttress roots of a ceiba tree spreading across the forest floor near Iquitos

Your roots go this deep.

Looking straight up the trunk of a giant ceiba tree with a painted anaconda on the bark

You are this strong, this tall, this grounded.

Ceiba Tree, King of the Forest

Tall ceiba tree rising above the surrounding forest canopy along a dirt path near Iquitos

The king of the forest, from a distance.

Giant Victoria Regia water lily pads with a white flower opening among them in the Amazon

Enormous Victoria Regia lily pads, with white flowers beginning to come up among them.

Pond covered in Victoria Regia lily pads with a red-roofed hut and trees reflected in the water at Fundo Pedrito

Walking into Fundo Pedrito. Suddenly it felt much more like the jungle.

Long narrow passenger boat pulling up to a wooden dock on the brown water of the Nanay River near Iquitos

Fast boat or slow boat? Fast.

Plate of green cilantro rice topped with pieces of roasted duck, a slice of orange squash, and a pile of sliced red onion, with a gourd bowl of fermented corn drink beside it in a busy restaurant

Arroz con pato

White plate of sea bass ceviche piled with thinly sliced red onion, served with white beans and boiled yuca, next to a fermented corn drink in a carved gourd bowl

Ceviche the northern Peru way, with beans and yuca. For Jen Saxer.

Five brightly colored recycling bins in a row — green, yellow, red, blue, and white — labeled vidrio, metales, elementos orgánicos, papel y cartón, and plástico, with palm trees and a park behind them

Cute Recycling bins in Barranco

Colorful mural on a green wall in the style of the Beatles' Yellow Submarine cartoon, showing two musicians carrying a shoeshine kit, with painted rows of shoes above, next to a wooden door and an old white stove used as a plant stand

A doorway in Barranco. I have questions and I love it.

The ceremonial cacao. Warm milk, cinnamon, a cacao bar, and a spoon that looks like a little branch. I felt it in my heart.

Café interior with a large mural of a smiling girl in a red and yellow blouse holding a chocolate bar, woven pendant lamps hanging from a high ceiling, and a pastry case full of chocolate desserts below

Ukaw in Barranco. The food looked incredible and I was jealous of everything everyone else was eating.

White statue of the Virgin Mary with a red heart on her chest and open hands, surrounded by pink oleander and palm trees, with a bouquet of orange, yellow, and purple flowers tied to the iron fence below her

Someone left her flowers. Things that caught my attention on the way to Barranco.

Grilled turkey and avocado pita cut in half on a white plate, with a bright green smoothie and a jar of napkins labeled La Baguette on a blue speckled counter

Turkey avocado pita at La Baguette

Tall crystal glass of deep purple chicha morada topped with white foam and a white paper straw, on a marble table in a warmly lit restaurant

Incredible mocktail with Chicha Morada (purple corn), cinnamon and infused vanilla foam

Plate of sliced raw fish in a bright orange sauce with radish slices, dill, crisp crackers, and the word Nina piped in sauce, with a layered purple drink behind

The sea bass dish. Everything at Nina felt like someone had really thought about it.

White building entrance with large green tropical-leaf mural and the words DE LA PAZ above glass doors, with a green living wall inside

The most beautiful public bathroom I've ever seen, exactly where I needed it.

Lima coastline from the cliffs

Branch of pink bougainvillea silhouetted against a pale gray sky, with the Pacific Ocean and a breakwater far below

Bougainvillea and the Pacific

Colorful three-dimensional letters spelling MIRAFLORES on a plaza, with a Peruvian flag flying on a tall pole and a blue tubular bridge structure behind trees under gray skies

MIRAFLORES sign and Puente de la Paz

Steep wall built of stacked perforated black geocell containers filled with soil and bark, with vines and yellow-flowering plants growing over it, next to a streetlamp

Geocell wall holding up the cliff - Holding the hillside up by planting it.

Tall yellow aloe flower spikes rising from spiky green plants, with flowering shrubs, trees, and tall apartment towers under an overcast sky

Cactuses, aloe, flowers, high-rises. All of it at once.

Single red hibiscus flower on a hedge, with terraced hillsides of pink, magenta, and red bougainvillea and apartment buildings behind

Hibiscus at Parque Bicentenario

Bright red and yellow canna lily flowers in the foreground, with a green slope, a multi-lane road, and modern buildings including UTEC beyond

Cannas above Bajada Armendáriz

Straw broom leaning against a dark post beside a slope of green ground cover with pink and red geraniums

People are very into sweeping here. There'll be more tomorrow, and it's not a race.

Abby Kojola on the Malecón

Tall sculpture of a bear wearing a long navy-blue coat, standing next to a green suitcase outside a tiled hotel entrance at night

Bear in a coat, Miraflores

Large black-and-white mural of a long-haired woman holding a bouquet of flowers, her skirt filled with stars and blossoms, painted on a building above colorful graffiti, seen at night through a tangle of power lines

Lima street mural at night

Yellow-orange flowers blooming among green leaves on a tree in Miraflores, Lima

One of the beautiful flowering trees I kept noticing as I walked around Miraflores. I think this may be a Tipuana tipu, or tipa tree.

My tea at Ché Chá came with a tiny sand timer for steeping. I've never made tea this way before, and now I always want a sand timer with my tea.

California coastline and Pacific Ocean seen from the plane after leaving SFO

Leaving California behind and watching the coastline disappear beneath the clouds.

At SFO, about to begin the journey back to Peru.

October 2025 Peru Trip

October 15, 2025

My First Day in Peru I woke up at 7 AM on the 15th, the day of my flight, and it was so nice to not have to leave for the airport at the crack of dawn. I had my last cup of green tea and snuggled with each of the cats for a little…

October 16, 2025

First Day in Cusco When I arrived in Cusco, it was so interesting. The infrastructure here is so different from what I’m used to. It’s a very small airport, and everything was easy — my bag arrived, I met my taxi driver easily, and it’s only about 15 minutes to where I’m staying. I was…

October 17, 2025

Day 2 in Cusco: Altitude, Art, and Unexpected Adventures Today, on my second day in Cusco, I somehow ended up walking over 12,500 steps and climbing from 11,200 feet to 11,900 feet. I did a lot more than I planned, but it turned out to be a really full, beautiful day — even though I…

October 18, 2025

Day 3 in Peru Today was a very full day of a lot of travel, but it’s 9:11 and I’m in bed showered and ready to go to sleep. But this morning, I was in Cuzco and I packed in a way where I could leave my big suitcase in Ollantayambo and just take my…

October 19,2025

Day 4 – Machu Picchu So today, I woke up in Aguas Calientes at 5:30 a.m. and had diarrhea probably three different times before my alarm went off at six. My guide was coming to pick me up at 7 a.m. to go to Machu Picchu, and I just decided there was no way I…

October 20, 2025

Day 5 – First Ceremony at Munay Sonqo Today I woke up in Ollantaytambo, and last night it rained a lot. It rained pretty hard, and I could hear the rain on the kind of tin corrugated roof because the house I was staying in was open to the outside, so I could hear the…

October 21, 2025

Day 6 – San Pedro Ceremony Last night, I woke up around 2:30 and again at 4:30, but I actually slept pretty well considering it was the night after the ayahuasca ceremony. This morning there wasn’t breakfast, but there was tea at seven. Around 7:30, I went to get some coca tea, and the San…

October 22, 2025

Asking for a Dream Last night, in the middle of the night, I asked the ayahuasca and Gaia to help me dream.I didn’t feel like I slept very well, but I did have some dreams. In one, I was in Marin, walking past two women. I felt drawn to them — curious — and then…

October 23, 2025

The Second Ayahuasca Ceremony: Learning to Stay Present Through the Intensity Arriving with Caution and Intention The second ayahuasca ceremony began at 5 p.m., and I was nervous — mostly about the possibility of peeing my pants again while throwing up. This time, I was careful. I ate a light lunch, drank less water, and…

October 25, 2025

Cusco Return, Gifts, and Early Flight Morning: Breakfast & Goodbyes at Monesanco On the morning of October 25th, I had a last breakfast with the group at Munay Sonqo. We took a group photo and we got to take individual photos with Maestro Hamilton. And somebody started a WhatsApp group and we all joined. And…

October 26, 2025

Early taxi, Cusco check-in quirks, long LIM layover, LAX customs/recheck, delayed hop to SFO—and a few hard-won tips for smoother connections.