Coming Back to Love
"Come back to love, my dear, come back to love!"
This is not a retreat about fixing yourself. There is nothing broken.
Coming Back to Love is a return — to the root, to the body, to what your heart already knows but your life may have buried. Over ten days in the Andean highlands, we will sit with Wachuma (San Pedro), walk sacred ground, and do the quiet, sometimes uncomfortable work of getting into right relationship: with your experience, your history, and the life that is asking to be lived through you.
We won't promise breakthroughs or final states. What we will offer is a container — honest, careful, held by experienced hands — in which love can resurface. Not as sentiment, but as orientation. Not as an answer, but as a way of standing in the question.
This retreat aims at a deep recognition: that life is not about you adapting to expectations. There is a very specific uniqueness about your makeup that is needed today. If that were not the case, you simply would not have won the game of being born. The right relationship reveals the multiplicity of your identity and uncovers the vision of your heart.
The subtitle says it: the mystical heart with the crack in the skull. The crack is where the light gets in. And the heart — that's what we're coming back to.
I came to Wachuma/San Pedro after years of searching — through different psychotechnolgies, ecologies of practices and philosophies. It wasn't the modalities that cracked something open; it was the medicine and the land. This retreat exists because I want others to have access to that same clarity — inside a container I trust completely.
- Turiyosho
The Temple of the Moon
The Temple complex near Cusco offers a ceremonial journey that mirrors our transformative process. We begin at the ancient Frog Temple for purification, then move through the Temple of the Moon — a sacred cave sanctuary where moonlight illuminates stone carvings of the serpent, condor, and puma. These symbols represent the three worlds of Incan cosmology:
Our journey culminates at the San Pedro Temple, where a monolithic structure rises from the earth, creating a balance with the feminine moon energies. This arrangement of sacred spaces — connected to the ancient Incan road network of Qapac Ñan and close to Sacsayhuaman — forms an ideal container for the Wachuma work. Here, the wisdom encoded in stone meets the modern quest for healing and transformation.
“San Pedro (Wachuma) is a sacred cactus, used in the Andes for healing for thousands of years, supporting emotional, physical and spiritual transformation and reconnecting us with ourselves and Pachamama. It is Heart medicine — giving a deep connection and working for raising consciousness.”
- Lesley Myburgh
The Arc of Ten Days
The retreat unfolds in a deliberate rhythm — arrival and grounding, three ceremonial deepenings each preceded by preparation and a walk to sacred sites, a middle pause in the Sacred Valley, and a closing Despacho that gathers what has been received.
This is a living structure, not a fixed schedule: we follow the needs of the group and the wisdom of the process.
1
Arrival in Cusco (3,400m) and transfer to the Mountain House at the Temple of the Moon. Lunch and dinner provided. Opening briefing circle — meeting the team, setting intentions, and orienting to the land and to one another.
2
Workshop day in preparation for the first San Pedro journey. Walk to the sacred sites surrounding the Mountain House. Briefing with Dr. Rubén Orellana — Andean cosmology and the wisdom of the land we are entering.
3
Full-day Wachuma ceremony. The opening journey — held in the sacred space of the Mountain House by the full team. Evening integration.
4
Workshop day in preparation for the second journey. Walk to the sacred sites. Integration of what has surfaced and what is still moving.
5
Full-day Wachuma ceremony. Deeper work, building on what the first journey opened. Evening integration in the warmth of the group.
6
A day of spaciousness and pilgrimage. Excursion to Pisac with stops along the way — the Sacred Valley, its archaeological sites, its markets, its living culture. A middle pause that lets the medicine settle in the body.
7
Workshop day in preparation for the third and final journey. Walk to the sacred sites. Gathering of what the work is asking to consolidate.
8
Full-day Wachuma ceremony. The closing journey — vision, consolidation, and the carrying forward. Evening integration.
9
Closing ceremony with Despacho — the traditional Andean offering that gathers gratitude, intention, and what is being released. Final dinner together, in celebration of what has been lived and shared.
10
Transfer to the airport — or beginning of the optional Machu Picchu extension for those continuing on.
Optional Extension
Machu Picchu — Three Days
10
Transfer through the Sacred Valley to Ollantaytambo. Train to Aguas Calientes. Overnight at the hotel. Evening briefing with the guide.
11
Early start to the citadel. Guided tour of Machu Picchu. Train and transport back to Cusco. Overnight in Cusco.
12
Transfer to the airport.
"Integration is the time between the ceremonies."
— The Wisdom TraditionsYour Guides
A team of four, in two arcs — those who hold and lead the journey, and those who receive it on the land.
The Facilitators
Holding and leading the journey
Turiyosho
Born in Germany with Yugoslavian roots. Began his path of deep self-exploration at twenty; nearly two decades later, the work has only deepened — ten years of which have been dedicated to plant medicine and embodiment practice, alongside ongoing engagement with psychotherapeutic and psychoanalytic methods, systems and constellation work, shadow work, and natural hygiene. His approach bridges Eastern philosophies, somatic practice, and principles found in the wisdom of the silk-road traditions. A father and dedicated practitioner who holds the balance between profound inner work and active engagement with the world. His retreats are built around “coming back to love” — ensuring every participant is supported before, during, and after.
Kannon
Dominican-born yogi and shaman, rooted in spiritual and mystical traditions since childhood. His path has moved through yoga, esoteric and hermetic studies, and a deep immersion in the Sufi tradition including the whirling dervish practice. His understanding of life and death has been shaped by his own near-death experiences — a passage that returned him to the body not as a project to perfect, but as the ground of the sacred. Kannon brings an embodied, devotional presence to ceremonial space: steady, attentive, and unhurried. He co-holds this retreat as the work of returning — together — to the one heart beneath all forms.
The Peru Team
Receiving the journey on the land
Lesley Myburgh
South African-born medicine woman, working with San Pedro since 1991. Over 30 years of experience guiding thousands worldwide. Apprenticed in Cusco for 2½ years, later trained with Credo Mutwa, Don Ruben, and Don Ignacio. Featured in The Hummingbird’s Journey to God and San Pedro — Cactus of Vision. Owner of Casa de la Gringa, where this retreat takes place.
Dr. Rubén Orellana
Peruvian shaman, anthropologist, and archaeologist. Former Head of Archaeology at Machu Picchu, where he discovered 44 new sites. Director of the Institute of Inka Research. Has led ceremonial work since 1976. Featured in Cactus of Mystery, Discovery Channel, and Gaia TV documentaries.
Is This for You?
This retreat is for people who are willing to go deep — not because they're looking for a fix, but because they sense that something true is waiting beneath the noise. You don't need prior experience with plant medicine, but you do need honesty: with yourself, with us, and with whatever arises.
You might feel called if you're longing for a genuine inquiry into love and right relationship — with yourself, your purpose, your life. If you're ready to be in silence, to do the work presented, to question your paradigm and sit with what emerges. If you can laugh and cry in the same day, and crack a joke about your own life while holding the gravity of it.
This is not spiritual tourism. It's not a vacation with ceremonies attached. It's real work — sometimes joyful, sometimes confronting, always held.
This is about Truth — and your truth will empower you.
If that resonates, you are welcome here. And if you're unsure, reach out — we'd rather have an honest conversation than a rushed decision.
Casa de la Gringa
Our home for these ten days is Lesley Myburgh's retreat center near Cusco — a peaceful sanctuary just minutes from the Temple of the Moon. For over 20 years, Casa de la Gringa has hosted thousands of seekers in San Pedro ceremonies and spiritual work. The property sits in the scenic hills above Cusco, offering views of the Andes while remaining easily accessible from the city.
The accommodation is shared rooms — clean, comfortable, and simple. This is a retreat center, not a luxury hotel. The focus is on inner work. Beautiful gardens and dedicated ceremony spaces provide the container for the journey. See the lodge and grounds →
Investment
This 11-day journey asks for a significant commitment — of time, presence, and resources. The investment covers everything needed for the full experience.
Sacred Journey to Machu Picchu
2 additional Days, Train, entry permits, accommodation, meals, and archaeological-spiritual teachings at the site included.
What's Included
Not included: international flights to Cusco, lunch meals (flexible for rest/fasting), travel insurance, Machu Picchu extension.
Installment plan: €800 deposit to reserve your place, followed by two monthly payments of €800 (Early Bird) or two payments of €900 (Standard).
Payment methods: Bank transfer or PayPal.
Cancellation: Cancellation: Your €800 deposit secures your place and is non-refundable — it reflects commitments we make to Casa de la Gringa and our team the moment you confirm. The remaining balance is refundable up to 90 days before the retreat begins. After that date, the full investment is non-refundable, as our venue, facilitator, and ceremonial costs are irrevocably committed. If life circumstances require you to withdraw, we will do what we can — where possible, transferring your place to a future retreat or to another approved applicant (requests must be made at least 30 days before the retreat). This is a good-faith commitment, not a guaranteed policy. We strongly recommend travel insurance covering cancellation for any reason — for a journey of this distance and investment, it is simply wise.
Group size: 10–15 participants, to maintain an intimate and supportive container.
Filling out the questionnaire is the first step. We will be in touch personally before confirming your place.
Health & Safety
This retreat is powerful and heart-opening, but it is not a substitute for psychotherapy or medical treatment. Participation requires an honest conversation about your physical and mental health, current medications, and important life circumstances. We take this seriously and will speak with you personally before confirming your place.
We strongly recommend a stable support network at home and, where appropriate, speaking with your doctor or therapist before attending.
Wachuma is contraindicated for:
- People currently taking SSRIs or MAOIs (must be off 6+ weeks with doctor approval)
- Serious heart conditions
- Pregnancy or breastfeeding
- History of psychosis or schizophrenia
- Severe mental health conditions without stable professional support
All medical information shared with us remains strictly confidential.
After the Retreat
The work doesn't end when you leave Cusco — the real work begins when you return home. How do we bring the vision and clarity we received into the world? How do we live from the heart in a society that barely remembers how?
Common Questions
Before You Apply
Safety
Logistics
During the Retreat
If Things Change
