I spent five nights at Dreamglade last month, and am already planning my return trip. The setting, aptly named Dreamglade, is the definition of tranquility, with a large maloka and private tambos surrounding a lake. The constant hum of the jungle underlies it all. There is a fairy tale like ambience that leaves you feeling like you’ve stepped into the pages of a jungle storybook.
You can see right away that a lot of heart and soul was poured into the making of Dreamglade, and the owner, Stace, is continuing his vision by the current additions that are in place. To come- a yoga center and music/entertainment space for guests. Another thing I loved about Dreamglade was the intimate, family-like atmosphere, with a small enough number of staff to get to know them, and not too large of a guest group.
I happen to be a huge animal lover and was thrilled to meet the resident cats and dogs. The dogs, Ella and Mo, will happily be your hiking companions. The kids of the staff members interacted with our group a lot, which added to the family atmosphere.
I unexpectedly had the first spiritual experience of my life at Dreamglade, and got so much more than I had dared to hope for when planning the trip. I believe this was due to the comfort I felt immediately with the setting and with Stace, Drew-the Retreat Assistant, and Estella and Ronnie-the curandero and her partner.
Stace and Drew are easy to relate to and both bring valuable gifts to their work. Stace is upfront and down to earth, with a way of setting you at ease by patiently explaining what will likely take place during ceremonies, giving you tools you might need if/when your experience gets really intense. He has a knack for picking out and reflecting on the most relevant aspects of people’s experiences during the group processing the next morning, asking you just the right questions to deepen your own understanding of your visions.
Drew has an incredibly peaceful presence and is an ideal person to have around during an experience as intense and that leaves you as vulnerable as ayahuasca. Both are also fun to talk to outside of the ceremonies, and seem like interesting people who have chosen a road that is not well-traveled by coming to Peru and devoting themselves to the healing of strangers. Both are unmistakably in their element, and their authenticity shines through to Dreamglade’s guests and creates the safety needed to go deeper and deeper during each ceremony. It is clear that they both genuinely care about the comfort and happiness of their guests. I appreciated their hands-off approaches towards the guests by not having structured activities during the days and enjoyed the down time between ceremonies to reflect and get insight on the visions and feelings brought up during the nights.
Estella’s powerful and sometimes melancholy voice still haunts me at times. Her partner, Ronnie, sang during our ceremonies and I appreciated the contrast of having both of them. Estella radiates quiet strength and I am still in awe at the magnitude of what she does during each ceremony. I feel so lucky to have found Dreamglade and can’t imagine ever going anywhere else to do ayahusaca ceremonies.
