It's a Saturday in Charleston, South Carolina, and Tim Arlet is thinking about doing ayahuasca for the thirteenth time. He knows a Peruvian shaman who comes to the United States to hold ceremonies, so it's easy enough for him to sign up and go.
But two years ago, after Arlet heard about the drug on the podcast The Joe Rogan Experience, the only way for him to do it was on a trip to the Amazon. He decided to go.
Arlet and 27 other people flew from Lima, the capital of Peru, to Iquitos, a large city that often serves as a gateway into the jungle. From there, they were driven in a large van to the Amazon river. They then took a boat and walked about a mile and a half to a retreat center, where they stayed for two weeks. In fourteen days, they drank ayahuasca seven times.
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