ETÈREO: A Safe, Soulful and Supportive Iboga Retreat (Baja, Mexico)
Nestled where the raw Baja desert meets the Pacific Ocean, ETÈREO offers an unforgettable environment for working with Iboga. Even in the undeniable beauty of its surroundings, it’s Team ETÈREO that really stands out.
This review is based on my April 2025 visit, where I took part in a traditional Bwiti Iboga retreat led by Paije Alexandra West and her team. This was part of a media exchange, and as always, all opinions expressed here are my own.
Highlights:
Two traditional Bwiti Iboga ceremonies supported by fire talks and Bwiti music
Support and facilitation by Paije and her team
Preparation guidance, medical vigilance, and integration support
A luxurious, detail-oriented retreat environment blending tradition with modern care
Nourishing and delicious meals prepared by Chef Paul
Overview:
Group Size: Small, intimate groups up to 7
Location: Baja California Sur, Mexico
Providers: Led by Paije Alexandra West, supported by a team including Fletcher Burdock and Ixchel
Includes: 2 Bwiti Iboga ceremonies, fire talks, integration days, a Bwiti spiritual shower at the ocean, on-site psychotherapeutic support, yoga, massage, and optional IV therapy
Providers: Paije Alexandra West, Fletcher Burdick and Ixchel Kinloch
Founders: Paije Alexandra West and Fletcher Burdick
Includes:
2 Bwiti Iboga ceremonies with fire talks
Integration workshops
Bwiti spiritual shower at the ocean
On-site psychotherapeutic and medical support
Optional: massage, IV therapy
The dream team that supported my deepest unravelling: Ixhcel, Paije, Fletcher, myself, and psychotherapist Violet
“Our approach integrates ancient wisdom with modern therapeutic practices, creating sustainable impact for both individuals and the environments we touch. Through our work, we cultivate spaces where people can reconnect with themselves, each other, and the natural world.”
What is Iboga?
Iboga is a lot of things. One thing it is not, is a joke: often called the “Mount Everest of psychedelics.” Originating from the root bark of the Tabernanthe iboga shrub native to Central West Africa, Iboga has been used for centuries in various branches of the Bwiti spiritual tradition. Unlike visionary plants such as Ayahuasca and mushrooms, Iboga is known for its direct, uncompromising nature. Iboga essentially works as a mirror, revealing suppressed truths, patterns, and traumas, while also guiding us toward clarity and alignment.
Sounds too goo to be true, right? Iboga can deliver big results, but not without your active participation. With Iboga, you will get what you put into it, and what you are ready for at the time. With some thoughtful preparation work, you can increase your bandwidth of readiness for truth and depth.
The Iboga experience is long and challenging. In a Western setting like this, one ride with Iboga can last 36+ hours and is both physically demanding and spiritually profound. It is not recreational—it is medicine for those ready to do deep inner work. Iboga must be skillfully navigated. Iboga should never be done alone or without a trained and well-experienced provider.
Why I Chose ETÈREO
After my first Iboga experience in 2022, I knew that Iboga would be a lifelong path for me. Years later, as challenging psychological content began to surface, I felt called to return and go deeper. My connection with Paije over the years made it clear that ETÈREO would be the place for my second work with Iboga. Her approach—merging reverence for Bwiti tradition with modern safety protocols in her own unique way—aligned with what I was seeking.
ETÈREO: Center for Truth
Ceremonies and workshops were held outside, kind of like in Gabon (the birthplace of Iboga).
The welcome package was both beautiful, and useful. I filled the ENTIRE journal during my retreat.
Paije and Fletcher are not just partners in life, but also in the medicine path. Together, they are actively building ETÈREO: Center for Truth in Elías Calles, Baja California Sur. Their vision is one of intentional transformational experiences—soulful and beautiful retreats designed to nurture body, mind, and spirit through sacred medicine ceremonies, rituals, holistic nourishment and skillful guidance.
While their legacy center is being developed, retreats are hosted in the greater Todos Santos area at luxury venues hand-selected for their beauty and comfort. ETÈREO is building something timeless and intentional—a space that honors the land, the medicine and its keepers, and the arc of transformational inner work.
Each retreat is curated to blend diverse healing modalities: personalized coaching, one-on-one and group processing sessions, bodywork, modern supplementation and nourishing meals. Journeyers are supported by a team of therapists, coaches, medical professionals, and skillful practitioners every step of the way. The delicately delivered support is what really stands out at ETÈREO.
Paije Alexandra West and Fletcher Burdick are the husband and wife team behind ETÈREO.
The Setting
Baja itself was breathtaking: a rugged, expansive desert meets the Pacific ocean and tropical palms. The retreat property carried an elevated sense of beauty and detail, from the thoughtful welcome gifts to the ceremony space. This balance of reverence and luxury enforced a sense of the safety and comfort as we set off to explore, heal and love our deepest depths.
Food and Accommodations
One of the most nourishing aspects of ETÈREO is the food and accommodations. Chef Paul prepared nutrient-rich, gut friendly meals that deeply supported the process of working with Iboga. Every dish was intentional, fresh, and made with love—aiming for zero waste, always creative and often inspired by the cuisine of Mexico. The food itself was also medicine, providing guests with grounding and nourishment between ceremonies. Meal time was exciting, sensual and community-focused.
Accommodations were selected with the same attention to detail. Beyond comfortable, serene, and rooted in the natural beauty of Baja, the environment supported deep rest, reflection and nervous system regulation. Every space—from the ceremonial alter to the communal dining area—was curated to encourage introspection, connection, and safety.
“Iboga is not just a psychedelic, but a master plant, a spiritual teacher, and a mirror for the soul.”
My Iboga Experience at ETÈREO:
Ceremony One: Gentle Beginnings
I was really nervous, but the first ceremony was unexpectedly gentle. Iboga met me where I was—nervous and resistant—and gave me a soft entry point. Looking back, I see how it mirrored the ways I've been distracting myself to avoid what’s been hiding underneath. The afterglow was one of fearlessness (I was excited for the second ceremony) and falling in love with the medicine all over again. It was a sweet reunion, that helped me lean into the second ceremony.
Integration Days
Between ceremonies, we had three days of recovery and integration. These included psychotherapeutic support as needed, gentle group sharing, journaling, yoga, and the Bwiti spiritual shower near the ocean. Baja’s landscape—driving through desert into palm-lined beaches—was unforgettable. These days gave me the clarity to sharpen my intentions and prepare for the deeper work ahead.
Ceremony Two: The Reckoning
The second ceremony was the hardest experience of my life. It confronted me with the part of myself I had been avoiding and ashamed of for decades. My resistance was fierce: I struggled to get down the raw Iboga root, whined like a child, and resisted going inwards. Yet once I finally surrendered, the medicine took me the deepest I’ve ever been. My body shook with energetic purges. At one point, I released three piercing howls—frightened screams that carried the shame of suppressed truth. This was Iboga in its purest form: the cleanest mirror, forcing me to face myself fully. By dawn, I was riddled in shame, and my work during integration would be to learn to love myself despite this shame.
It was brutal, raw, and utterly transformative.
Me on day 1, before Iboga. You can see the fear (of the unknown) weighing me down.
Me on Day 8, after two Iboga ceremonies, and after facing my demons. I felt like I could do anything after that.
My Integration Process & Transformation
Me on the beach in Baja, a few days after the retreat. It doesn’t look like it here, but I was shell-shocked on the inside.
Four months later I was in a completely different place. Here I am in Belgrade, Serbia, connecting with my roots and culture.
Integration began immediately with team ETÈREO. From psychotherapy and workshops to regulating presence of the staff, everything pointed toward making sense of the ineffable. The group circles held at the end helped me start bridging back into “real life” with this transformational experience behind me.
I write this six months after this retreat, and honestly? That’s not even that far out when it comes to Iboga. Iboga has a very long integration tail, and people often process and integrate iboga for years and years. My first Iboga experience three years ago only now makes more sense, after my second Iboga experience. The second was a direct continuation of the first.
When I returned home, I was pretty raw, tender and shell-shocked. It took a solid month to let the truth land. After that, I travelled back home to the Balkans, which is where I was born. Root medicine after root medicine: this was a deeply meaningful trip for me during this time.
At some point, I was able to start finding peace and synergy with the part of myself that I had uncovered during this experience. What was once shame is transforming into love and acceptance. This experience meant everything to me, and was the “capstone” of my six year medicine path arc. I truly truly have gotten to a place of self-love and acceptance that I was looking for. Life is really good, and I am so grateful for this experience at ETÈREO, and the team that made it possible. I can’t wait to see how integration continues to unfold.
To hear detailed sharing about this Iboga experience and ETÈREO, listen to the below podcast episodes:
Are you ready for Iboga and Truth?
Watch my Vlog on YouTube
Join me for an intimate, behind-the-scenes look at what it was really like to attend a week-long Iboga retreat. This was my second time sitting with this powerful medicine — and what began gently soon turned into a humbling reckoning with a long-suppressed truth about myself. This poetic, documentary-style vlog invites you into the beauty, depth, and emotional complexity of a true healing week at ETÉREO in Baja, Mexico.
