How our Spiritual Retreat in Perú Came to Life 

Deciding

The idea for our Spiritual Retreat Peru was born when my Peruvian friend, Milagros, came to visit me just as I was in the early stages of giving birth to Del Mar Adventures – the project meant to redirect so many years dedicated to creating surf experiences for women to creating life-changing journeys. 

I was considering destinations and had even been invited on a scouting trip to Chile already when Milagros came in with a categorical “No. Let’s go to Peru. You’ll love it”. 

I didn’t want to become one more of many retreats in Peru, but her enthusiasm and local knowledge quickly convinced me. She began sharing different places where we could host the retreat, and everything she described simply felt right. It created a sense of trust that allowed me to let go and start dreaming about this new possibility. She would be in Peru in October and warmly invited me to come see it for myself. 

I said yes.

Then, a thought crossed my mind: What if Erika, who has been inspiring Movement and Holistic Wellness in the Costa Rica community for years, came to the Spiritual Retreat in Peru, too? It felt almost too perfect. I reached out to her and shared what had been unfolding in my life: my personal transformation, my journey into self-love and respect, and my desire to open myself to new, healthier pathways as I reinvent my life through Del Mar Adventures. 

Erika Sánchez is a Costa Rican healer and teacher whom I deeply admire. With more than 30 years of experience in holistic wellness, she has dedicated her life to helping people reconnect with themselves. Through her beautiful blend of Pilates, Gyrotonic®, yoga, and sound healing, she gently guides others back to balance between body, mind, and spirit. 

She listened to me with an open heart and simply said, “I’d love to know more.” A month later, we were on a plane to Lima, beginning the adventure together.

Arriving

Erika and I arrived in Lima and took an easy flight to Cusco, where Milagros, who had already warned us about the city’s altitude effect, was already waiting for us. My two companions had never met before this moment, but in my heart I felt confident that they would hit it off.  

They didn’t. At first! But while I simply felt like I was floating and had to adjust my pace to a slower motion, Erika fell round sick. She needed a 24-hour reset to get back on her feet, all the while she questioned her motives to be there at all. Had we made a mistake?

One way or the other, our first lesson was learned: we don’t start the retreat in Cusco. Nope! We understood that we needed to go directly to the Sacred Valley, as the altitude is not so drastic there. 

Coca Leaves Reading 

The generosity of the Peruvian people quickly started to captivate us. Our first taxi driver, Cristina, shared some almond cookies with us that were unreal. We loved them so much that we ended up buying more for the rest of the trip.

Our second taxi driver, Yerner, whom we hired for the next four days, had many stories to share. He carried a quiet wisdom and spirituality that perfectly matched the vibe of the Sacred Valley. In one of his stories, his mamita—his mother—stood out. She was well known for reading cards. 

It took only a second for the three of us to look at each other and ask, “Can we do it?”

“She’s going to Brazil,” he said.

We insisted.

Later that night, we were visiting her. We patiently waited for our turn. Next to her humble little house, there was, quite casually, a small massage room. Naturally, we didn’t waste the opportunity and got massages while we waited. To our surprise, the masseuses were local women who worked at Willka Tika, the retreat center we were planning to use for our future group.

At that moment, I thought to myself: nothing is a coincidence around here.

The reading was done with coca leaves. It was fascinating how she guided us to reflect on our family lineage and ancestors. Some of the messages were not easy to hear, but we stayed until the end. On the way back to our Airbnb, we were quiet, exhausted, and a bit confused. It was a lot of personal information to process—so much to digest and slowly unpack. 

Somehow, the spiritual retreat in Peru had started for us! 

Temazcal – Purification lodge 

I woke up the next day feeling excited; so far, I was getting a hint of the kind, soft, gentle, and wonderful local people who would sustain the dream retreat. 

The landscape from where we were staying was majestic.

We had a fast-moving morning, as we had to go meet Yuri and his beautiful center, “Villa Mágica,” for a purification lodge. 

I thought: To start by purifying yourself before you open up to soak in all that this magical place has to offer was “a must”.  

For some reason, it was hard to believe that Yuri directed us on a similar path to the one the coca-leaf-reading lady opened for us the night before. I told the girls very seriously, “ I think they know each other, and they talked.” Every single thing he said was aligned with what we heard the night before. How could it be? 

We were so moved, we simply prayed, cried, and held each other during the entire ceremony. At this moment, I kept asking myself if Perú wanted us to work deeply in our ancestral family line. This is all I could think of. It was powerful, emotional, draining, purifying, but overall, a release of emotions. 

After the lodge, they fed us amazing, delicious food. What a blessing! 

We waited for the next person on our list. “Wait a minute! There is more? Today?” Oh yes! 

Aleyda

The door opened, and we saw a woman with long black hair, captivating eyes, a warm hug, a big smile, and a soft yet powerful energy. Aleyda… My God. Another gift from Peru.

She came to teach us about ofrendas. 

We sat on the grass in a circle as she explained how Andean culture blesses the land, asks permission to enter sacred places, speaks to the Apus—the sacred mountains—and prays, feels, and honors the spirits of nature. With three coca leaves, called kintus, we made our prayers and offered our gratitude.

We gave sweets to the Pachamama, along with many other elements that we carefully arranged into a small work of art. It was folded and offered to the earth. We buried it, and just like that, we closed the ceremony—and a full day of letting go, believing, sweating, singing, crying, praying, laughing, learning, and ultimately falling in love with the Sacred Valley, its intention, its purpose, and its magic.

The following days continued to mesmerize us with beauty, sacred visits, local markets, and comforting, delicious meals. It all felt like a dream. Each day brought new teachings, new people who touched our hearts, and new ways of understanding life more deeply.

Willka Tika 

We finally made it to Wilkka Tika to spend one night. This was truly the cherry on top of the cake! 

The gardens, the staff, the food, and spaces to hold movement and meditate were the perfect place to feel at home and at peace, to gather what so deeply had moved within us, and give the trip a conscious close. 

This experience, which was supposed to be merely a scouting trip, ended up being the most transformative experience of our lives. We realized that if we were going to embark on this adventure of creating retreats in Peru, we would try to emulate what we had gone through: Gratitude, Grounding, and Connection with nature. No other place I had ever been to holds you and sheds all tags and etiquette; you are just you, there, in connection with your surroundings.

The Retreat – Sacred Gathering

After all these experiences, the name for our spiritual retreat in Peru became clear: Sacred Gathering. With it came a deep sense of clarity about what we wanted to share with our group and the kind of journey we wanted to create together.

This scouting trip also confirmed our beautiful team and the offerings we will bring to this experience:

  • 7 nights at the beautiful Willka Tika Retreat Center, a peaceful sanctuary surrounded by nature and sacred gardens.
  • Nourishing meals throughout the retreat: a daily buffet breakfast and a three-course organic vegetarian dinner at Willka Tika, with lunches enjoyed at local restaurants in the Sacred Valley.
  • Fresh herbal teas from the retreat’s organic gardens, available throughout the day.
  • Erika Sánchez — guiding our daily movement and integration practices, including Gyrokinesis, Pilates, meditation, and sound journeys. Her work helps reconnect body, mind, and spirit.
  • Yuri, our spiritual guide, will lead the purification lodge ceremony, a powerful ancestral ritual for release and renewal.
  • Milagros, bringing her local wisdom and heart, offers Qigong practices and an ancestral clay workshop connecting us to Andean traditions.
  • Aleyda, our magical guide through the ancient ceremonial and archaeological sites of the Sacred Valley.
  • Amaru, an Inka priest and Andean Q’ero, will open and close our journey with traditional Andean ceremonies, anchoring our retreat in sacred tradition.
  • A special Herbal Flower Bath experience, a small gift from us to you.
  • Maria del Mar — holding the vision and storytelling behind Del Mar Adventures, guiding this experience that once began as a simple dream.
  • Complimentary airport shuttle from Cusco to Willka Tika to make your arrival smooth and easy.

This is only a glimpse of what you will experience October 10–17 in Cusco, Peru. Sacred Gathering is a journey into ancestral knowledge, movement, healing, and connection—held in one of the most magical places on Earth. We strive to establish a meaningful dialogue with the natural wisdom that the place we are going to has to offer, to return home, truly transformed.

If your heart feels the call, perhaps this journey is meant for you.