El Purguero is an Ayahuasca Camp situated 23 km from the jungle city of Iquitos, Peru. It is owned and operated by The Gringo Shaman, Ronald Joe Wheelock. Ron has been serving the community as an ayahuascaro for over 16 years. As his reputation as a strong healer and expert brewer has strengthened the need for more space prompted Ron to buy land at km 23 and build El Purguero. The camp has been opened since November 2012 and hosted it’s first private group of 30 people in December 2012.
El Purguero is dedicated to healing and training. We serve the best ayahuasca, cooked by Ron, and offer quaterly workshops as well as plant diets for healing and teaching. The camp is set in lush jungle with natural streams and an abundance of fruit and medicinal plants.
Accommodation is provided in a communal bunkhouse or jungle huts that sleep one or two. We serve fresh local produce and clean drinking water. We support the community by employing local people and buying local produce. The camp is maintained by Isidoro & Amber, with their daughter Kina, who have excellent knowledge of medicinal plants. Ceremonies and dieta’s are supervised Ron Wheelock. Ron’s partner, Karina Maria Diaz Parades, has a small shop at the camp that provides local artisans a place to display their crafts. We work as a team to offer a safe, supportive environment in which to heal either physically, emotionally or spiritually, a place to learn about plant medicines and a place to learn how better to live on the face of this earth.
If you are interested in one of our Workshops or dieting with Ron please contact us for dates and availability.
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Ramteen
April 30, 2017 at 4:52 amReview and Recommendation: El Purguero, Iquitos, Peru
If you are after some of the strongest (If not the strongest) brew and looking for a good healer, I can’t recommend El Purguero enough.
Place is run by the shaman “Ron Wheerlock”. Amazing man and a true healer.
I’v been to a few ayahuasca retreats and with a few shamans and none has given me what I needed the way Ron’s work did. I’m so grateful for being there and getting his help.
Also check London Real podcast: My Heart Of Darkness about someone’s journey at Ron’s retreat
Salute
jeanaewhite
August 25, 2016 at 1:08 amRon is an amazing person and an incredible shaman. I have experienced ayahuasca many times and have always had the most profound experiences with Ron. His Icaros are unique, and you can tell he has a real passion and natural ability in his work. I highly recommend anyone looking for a reputable environment to go to El Purguero.
Imported Review
January 14, 2014 at 12:00 amThere are many westerners flying to Iquitos, Peru for a shamanic experience. Because of this, their has been a shamanic boom in people who claim to be shamans. Ayahuasca tourism has skyrocketed. In my opinion, I?m not exactly sure why anyone else you would fly to Iquitos, unless it were for a jungle excursion.
Because of the influx of westerners, seeking truths, there are many new risks that are accompanied with shamanism.
Ron Wheelock was actually the shaman that I was recommended to see, before I heard about the Amazon Convergence. When I spoke with locals, they had nothing but good things to say about his healing center. This statement was even backed up by another healing center owner, whom shares the same lawyer as Ron.
I get a kick out of the fact that shamans now have lawyers?
From what I heard, his property is beautiful. His staff really makes guests feel welcomed. When you?re about to embark on an ayahuasca journey?or any psychedelic experience?it is always important to have the proper setting. The setting is comprised of the people around you, the setting of the physical property (noise, lighting and comfort) and safety. It has been said that Ron?s property has all of the above; he even harvests the medicinal plants and food from his property!
As you can see from the videos, Ron certainly practices an authentic Shamanic approach toward his ceremonies. Even though he may be from Kansas, he certainly acts like a native Shipibo shaman of the Amazon. During his ceremonies, you can hear him playing his drum and playing with the shakers, while chanting and blowing tobacco smoke?all to rid the bad.
According to Matthew Vincent, Ron Wheelock moved to the Amazon in the 1990?s to study shamanism. From what it looks like, Ron is a ?vegetalismo,? whom shares the Shipibo practices of maintaining a plant diet, known as ?Dieta,? for is guests. The dieta is thought to be even more important than the drinking of ayahuasca alone. It?s a strict diet that cancels red meat, pork, citrus fruits, alcohol, sex, sugars, salt, spices, anything fermented and processed (to name a few) from the diet. It is thought that this dieta will detoxify and lighten up users, to clear out any bad blockages.
Written on the ?Ron Wheelock?s ? El Purguero? Facebook page, and in an interview with Rak Razam, it is said that Ron has studied under legendary currandero?s such as Don Jose Coral Mori and Don Agustin Rivas Vasquez. Because of this, he has a vast array of knowledge for rainforest medicine. His brew is known to be strong, that include several additives, which may be the one thing that he isn?t very traditional about (from a Shipibo standpoint). His recipe includes: Ayahuasca, Wambisa Chacruna (known as Chagropanga), To