What happens here
Ceremony is a big word that covers very different things. At Portal de Paz it means two specific practices, each led by one named person who you talk to before you come. Neither is a show and neither needs experience, but they are not alike: a cacao circle is gentle and social, and kambo is short, physical and hard work.
Cacao circles with Monica
A small group sits in a circle in the bamboo hall and drinks a cup of ceremonial cacao, slowly, with an intention for the gathering. Monica guides it with breathwork, meditation and sound, and the circle runs 60 to 90 minutes. Cacao is a mild stimulant, not a psychedelic. It is also a fitting thing to drink in Ecuador, where the oldest domesticated cacao ever found was dug up.
Kambo with Michelle
Kambo is the secretion of the giant monkey frog of the Amazon, applied to a few small points on the skin. The effect is intense and usually over in under half an hour. Michelle, the space's co-founder and a kambo facilitator certified in Ecuador, gives it one person at a time in a private room, with time to rest afterwards.
Before and after a ceremony
Monica offers one-to-one preparation and integration sessions: before, to get clear on why you are going and what you need to feel safe; after, to put what happened into words and decide what to do with it. They are for any intense experience, a ceremony, a retreat or a hard stretch of life, wherever it took place.
What Portal de Paz does not offer
Portal de Paz does not provide ancestral plant medicines. Now and then an independent facilitator holds a private ceremony in the space. When that happens, the facilitator runs it and is responsible for the people taking part and for any permits it needs. You arrange it with them directly, through their profile.
Questions to ask any ceremony leader
Whoever you sit with, here or anywhere else in Ecuador, these are fair questions to ask before you agree to anything:
- Where and with whom did you learn this, and for how long?
- What will you ask me about my health and medication, and what would make you say no?
- What exactly happens, from arrival to leaving, and how long does it take?
- What do you do if someone has a bad reaction, and how far is the nearest clinic?
- What support is there afterwards?
A leader who welcomes these questions is a good sign. One who brushes them off is the answer.