Nectar of the Heart · The Story Behind Our retreat experience

Jaymilli, from Puerto Rico, and Nico, from England, met here in Ecuador during a yoga teacher training in 2019. We have both been living in this land for the past seven years, and in 2022, we welcomed our daughter into the world in Cotacachi, a place where we have found peace and a deep alignment with the values and vision we hold for our lives and family. Ecuador is our home and our daughters.

For the past ten years, we have been walking together on the Red Road, learning from traditional teachings and deepening our relationship with the sacred. For the past three years, we have also been serving together in temazcal and ceremonies. Nico received his blessing to serve and hold the medicine of temazcal from Taita Alejo of Zhuracpamba, a meaningful part of his journey and commitment to this path.

For the past five years, we have also been working alongside Aldo, Nico’s godfather and someone we consider a member of our family. Our relationship goes beyond the work we share; it is rooted in trust, love, and a deep connection. Aldo has even traveled to Puerto Rico to share the medicine of San Pedro and traditional ceremony with Jaymilli’s community.

Good things take time.

This year marks the fourth year of Nectar of the Heart. Over these years, we have transformed not only as human beings and facilitators, but also as a couple and family. Like the seasons, our journey has had its own cycles of growth, change, and becoming.

After years of searching, growing, and listening, we have finally found our place in Cotacachi. And there is another place that has been calling us for much longer: the Valley of Intag, which first began to call to our hearts when we were expecting our daughter in 2022.

Intag is a truly special place. There is something ancient, deeply feminine, and profoundly alive in this valley. It carries a sacredness that reminds us of the Sacred Valley of Peru, while holding its own unique spirit and essence.

Over time, we have been privileged to meet local people who are the guardians and custodians of this land and its sacred places, including the Gualimán Pyramid Temple. Building relationships with the people who belong to this territory is an essential part of how we approach these retreats. We come not only to visit, but to listen, learn, connect, and honor the place that welcomes us.

For this fourth year of Nectar of the Heart, we will gather at Willka, a name that means sacred. Nestled in the heart of Intag, 1hr and 30min from Cotacachi,Willka is a magical place that has touched us with its healing energy and profound connection to nature. It is also a place where we have the privilege of serving temazcal.

María Belén, the owner and a local woman, has welcomed us with an open heart, embracing us as family. Her excitement about receiving everyone for this retreat fills us with gratitude and makes this gathering even more meaningful.

Nectar of the Heart is more than a retreat. It is a gathering shaped by years of walking together, by the relationships we have nurtured, by the transformations we have lived, and by the places that have called us home.

As we prepare to welcome you into this fourth year, we do so with humble hearts, deep gratitude, and the feeling that everything has unfolded in its own time.

We look forward to welcoming you to the Valley of Intag, to Willka, and to another chapter of Nectar of the Heart.

this retreat includes:

• 3 meals a day + snacks (vegan/vegetarian)

• accommodation for 5 night and 6 days

• daily yoga, meditation, and breathwork

• 3 Temazcal ceremony

• ceremonies, workshops, and daily activities

• tobacco reading and cleansing

• cacao and chakra dance

• Plants cleansing flower bath harmonization

• Despacho pachamama offering

• sharing circles

• Visit to Gualiman Temple Piramides

• Visit to Campo Colibri

• Visit to Waterfalls and Termal Baths

• San Pedro ceremony guided by Curiquingue

• Integration call after retreat