I was fortunate enough to attend Casa del Maestro years ago, under the original owner. Originally, it was a quiet, inexpensive, and what I considered a very authentic experience. There were only a couple of people at each retreat, the maloca was still under construction, and everyone was very considerate of one another.

This is no longer that place.

The prices have skyrocketed, living quarters are cramped, and the retreat changed management. It is now run by the same people who ran the retreat where Maestro Alberto worked a few years ago (I’m not going to say the name, but it is not held in high regard). They are more into witchcraft (literally), sorcery, and blaming heterosexual white men for all of the problems of the world than the “authentic Amazonian Medicine” advertised.

If you are not in their inner circle (i.e. a fellow “Medicine Woman”/yoga instructor from Austin or Toronto), you will be treated like a second class citizen and be miserable for the entire experience. The witch who manages the guests knows that if she crams her ass in yoga pants and shakes her ass, bats her big blue eyes at you, and shoves enough ayahuasca down your throat you’ll fall in love with her and give her a nice tip and keep coming back for more abuse.

It went from Pura Medicina to Brujas y Prostitutas de la Medicina.

It’s disgusting.

Note: This review was edited for over capitalization, but has otherwise been left in its original form.