March 26, 2005

Colca Canyon, Altitude Sickness, and Mate de Coca

Yesterday was a hard day. I got up at 5:30 and was off to see Colca Canyon.

The region is very pretty...high in altitude, stepped for farming, very fertile....cut by the deepest canyon in the world surrounded by an altiplano desert.

The sky is a very deep, crisp blue at high altitude, but the canyon was hidden in the clouds. We rode above them on dirt roads perched on the side of mountains....every other village we passed had a story that included "destroyed by an earthquake" or landslide or the tunnel had to be built because the road kept sliding off into the canyon. The day was too crisp and beautiful to worry though. The altitude does weird things to your head anyway...so it was probably mostly that.

The canyon was too big to photograph, although I certainly tried. It is a shame...it was at least if not more impressive than the Grand Canyon (which apparantly isn't the deepest canyon in the world).

A big attraction for the tourists is the chance to see the condors ride the thermals up the canyon walls. A big deal is made of it....catching a glimpse of the condors.

I saw a few and even got a decent picture. I was told their wingspan can reach 9 feet. However, from the distance we saw them...they just looked like big birds...nothing to write home about.

Then there was the altitude sickness, something us lowlanders never think about.

There was no such thing as an online journal in 1998 when I trekked the Himalaya, but the same thing happened there...though not as bad. After 2500 meters there is a chance of altitude sickness. Thorong La, the height of the Annapurna Circuit trek is a staggering 5416 meters (17,769 feet). To put that in perspective, the peak of the Matterhorn in Europe is a paltry 4477 meters.

It is another story the effect that altitude had on me, but in any one day it was always bearable because we were walking...which meant the altitude never rose too dramatically in a 24 hour span. My body largely had time to acclimate.

However, in a bus you can reach extreme altitudes in one day. Then your body doesn't know what to do.

We were in T-shirts in the canyon; it started snowing on the way back when we were well above 4000 meters.

Altitude sickness can take various forms, from a mild headache, to death. I felt like I was going to die....but I guess I'm still here.

It starts with shortness of breath....you're out of breath even if you are sitting still and doing absolutely nothing. Your heart feels like it is going to beat out of your chest. You take a few deep breaths and it comes and goes like that.

Then you start feeling light-headed...a little euphoric. You get a mild headache at the back of your head. It can get a lot worse...until it is almost blinding. I had all that happen when I was in Nepal; the headaches were never that bad though.

Then you start to feel weak. You are flushed and feverish...a little sweaty even. The road seems to go on forever. It is snowing and the windshield wipers barely work. The terrain is dead...only lichens and rocks.

The road is unpaved and bumpy. We are probably going 15 miles an hour. Bump. I have to use the bathroom all the time (another effect of the altitude) so every bump we hit makes me feel I am going to pee in my pants.

Combine the bumpy road and the fever and I get dizzy with a blinding headache about to pee in my pants. Bump. Shit...this sucks.

I am sore too. I feel like the chair is going to bear through my legs and leave me crippled. I am breathing irregularly and thinking bad, outlandish thoughts....like dreaming when you have the flu. Bump. My legs hurt so bad I think I am going to have ask the driver stop....here on the side of the cliff, snowing. I decide against it when I realize stopping won't make my legs feel any better. Bump...and deep breath. I think I am hyperventilating....maybe??

I think I might have dengue fever....or malaria. I think the bus is going to fall off the cliff. People are around me but I don't really notice them. Maybe they are all sleeping? The tour guide is chewing on Coca leaves and has wild, glassy eyes. Has my bag been stolen (impossible since we are all still on the bus together and it is sitting at my feet)? Why am I here? I can't decide which hurts more...my legs or my head. I think I am going to pee in my pants. My head hurts every time we hit a bump. Bump.

We did finally arrive back in Arequipa, where the altitude is just above 2000 meters. I have no idea how long that trip down from the canyon actually lasted. It felt like a lifetime.

I had meant to go on to Puno that evening by overnight bus, but I couldn't manage. I went back to my hostel and got in an argument with the owner because I thought I had already paid my room.....but I think it was just a hallucination. I limped off to bed in a fever, thinking I would have to go to the hospital the next day if I didn't feel any better. The leg pains, the fever (which might have been imaginary....brought on by the lack of oxygen), and the headache made me wish I were home.

Of course I felt better the next day. Altitude sickness disappears if you descend. However, I did take the bus to Puno today. Puno is on the shores of Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable lake in the world....again above 4000 meters.

This time I was ready. I really didn't want to repeat yesterday....or else what is left of my brain would leak out my ears.

Coca is a plant that grows here naturally and the Peruvian natives that live in the altiplano (high plains) have always chewed the leaves to give them strength at high altitude. It wards off the effects of altitude sickness, hunger, and gives extra energy...which can be very useful for natives making long high-altitude journeys.

So today I chewed some in the hopes of avoiding another dizzy, feverish bus ride. It works really well I am happy to say. It has an effect much like a strong cup of coffee (caffeine), but less jittery, more focused. I also think that the previous two days at altitude probably helped a bit.

There is also a tea they make of the leaves called mate de coca that is very tasty and again, has an effect much like a cup of coffee.

For those of you wondering, Yes....Coca is the same plant used to make cocaine, which is why I don't think the yummy tea will ever make it to the US.

Posted by kelliottdykes at March 26, 2005 07:50 PM
Comments

El,

Glad you are having fun. No doubt its worth being dizzy and sore to see all those beautiful things.
I'm leaving Wednesday for New York City on my own little adventure. It's New York City, hustle, bustle and super sized everything. But even after all of that, as absurd as it seems compared to where you are,I am sure I will find it fascinating. I was reading some of your entries when we where in Spain together and started remembering the many tips you taught me to become a "savvy" traveler. I will be sure to take those with me on this trip. Because let's face it, it's a jungle out there, especially in New York City.

Love you,
Mere

Posted by: Mere Mere at March 27, 2005 08:58 PM

Pretty exciting trip. Looking forward to the photos of the canyon. Be careful.

Love,

Dad

Posted by: Dad at March 28, 2005 06:19 PM

I wonder if I would fail a drug test for the cocoa leaves?

Posted by: elliott at March 30, 2005 03:22 PM

Is it illegal to do the leaves?

Posted by: Dad at March 30, 2005 09:20 PM

Chewing the coca leaves is not illegal.

You can buy them on most street corners. People use them for headaches, upset stomach and altitude sickness. They serve the coca leaf tea at every restaurant in the country.

You can buy T-shirts that say "La hoja de coca no es una droga"....which means "The coca leaf is not a drug". Peruvians do not consider it as such.

The pure distillate of any substance can be dangerous. I'm sure if you could turn the caffeine from coffee beans into a snortable powder it would be addictive and bad for your health too.

In fact, I'm surprised no one has done that. If they did, would we then outlaw coffee?

Posted by: Elliott at March 31, 2005 11:17 AM

I found out why there is no caffeine powder distillate from coffee beans like there is with coca leaves.

If you snort caffeine it kills you.

If pure caffeine were less deadly, like coca leaves, no doubt there would be a drug attached to it, and coffee would be illegal.

Posted by: Elliott at April 1, 2005 02:18 PM

LOL....Titicaca....LOL...that always cracks me up!

Posted by: Josh at April 4, 2005 04:55 PM
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