For those of you who climb mountains, or travel to places with thin air – take note! This is the only way to truly survive high altitudes.
I’m usually good up in the mountains – okay fine, there may be a bout or fifteen with HAF*, but nothing a few GasX won’t cure – but holy hell was I not prepared for what was about to happen in Peru or Chile.
High Altitude Sickness kicked in the first time for me in Peru. I was in Cusco at the market – not the big tourist one but the one waaaaay down the hill where the locals go – haggling my ass off over some alpaca skins when suddenly I wanted to die. As in crawl in the ground and call it a day. I got nauseous, light headed, dizzy and blacked out thinking, “THIS is how it’s gonna go down? Here?” I woke up to the guy I was haggling with standing over me and shoving what looked like bay leaves in my mouth.
My first thought was, “What in the sam hell is this guy doing?” and just as I was thinking, “Is he trying to drug me – cuz dude, I’m already down,” a miracle happened. Not only did I feel 150% better – I felt like I could move mountains. I popped back up, finished haggling and left with three pelts (two of which I later lined with cashmere and gave out as the best Christmas gifts ever) and a bag of coca leaves. And that is how I discovered the wonderful coca leaf.
Now, I know the US government wants to bomb all coca leaves from the face the face of the planet, but I disagree. I should also note I DON’T DO DRUGS – at least not drugs that can’t be bought legally and over the counter (as in, anywhere, not just the US. I am clearly a fan of the international OTC market). The native people of South America have all been chomping on the leaves for thousands of years and without the coca leaf I would’ve, at the very least, had a crappy time in Peru and never made it to Macchu Picchu. And I never would’ve made it to the geyser fields in the Chilean Atacama Desert.
Last summer, at the ripe old age of (record scratch), I learned how to ski. In August. In Chile. Afterwards, with the help of Santiago Adventures I did a tour of the wine country before heading up to stay at the insanely chic Alto Atacama Resort in the highest desert in the world. While I acclimated for three days before I was allowed to even attempt to go to the Geyser Fields which are up at 14,000 ft above sea level – I saw things like this:
I also did a Star Safari (You’re so close to the sky you can see all of Saturn’s rings and the entire Milky Way through a telescope – not kidding). And tromped through the world’s highest wetlands. But the biggest draw were the El Tatio geyser fields. And frankly, I would’ve had to give them a miss if i hadn’t made friends with Julio and Ana at the hotel who, on the 4 am bus up to the geyser fields (you have to get there for sunrise when everything really blows up) helpfully handed me a wad of coca leaves to eradicate my pounding headache. Seriously, it felt like my brain had been taken over by a room full of angry, drunken elephants who were about start sumo wrestling.
I helpfully videotaped myself chomping on said leaves for your enjoyment. Note, I have no pupils. Enjoy!
http://youtu.be/IUAasmVW2lM
*High Altitude Flatulence – the scourge of the skies. Just ask any stewardess. They’ve all crop dusted a few passengers in their day. Trust.