Oxygen is Underrated

The first four days of our trek to Peru were spent in the Amazon rainforest. Look for a post coming on that part of our trip, where I talk about the abundance of plant life, animal life and....oxygen in full supply.

Arequipa

The Road to Colca Canyon

During our approach to the airport, we flew over areas surrounded by massive volcanos rising out of an arid, lunar-like appearance. At an elevation of 8,000 feet Arequipa has the second largest population of cities in Peru at just over one million people. The metropolitan area is surrounded by mountains, but the city of Arequipa is dominated by Mount Misti, a 19,000 foot stratovolcano that towers over it like a monolith

Geographically, Peru is divided into three regions:

• Costa - the coastal arid lowlands that border the Pacific Ocean to the west. Lima, with a population of eleven million, is situated in this region. There is lots of oxygen here.

• Amazonia - a massive rainforest covers more than half of the country and is bordered by Brazil, Colombia and Bolivia. Huge rivers move enormous amounts of water through a complex system of rivers, lakes, marshes and tributaries that eventually drain into the Atlantic. Lots of jungle = lots of oxygen here, too.

• Sierra - The Andes mountains - oxygen not so much

As we drove to the hotel, I was already starting to feel the effects of the altitude, I think. Being a world-class hypochondriac, if I know there is the potential symptom, my brain will somehow think about it so much, that I actually experience that symptom.

The typical symptoms; shortness of breath, dizziness and rapid heartbeat are caused not by a lack of oxygen molecules, but by the atmospheric pressure changes that make oxygen exchange in the lungs more difficult. This can result in all sorts of nasty symptoms like nausea, vomiting, cramps, confusion, headache, dizziness, reduced cognitive ability and motor skills, and if it gets really bad: death. As someone explained to me, it's like telling someone to breathe underwater just because there is plenty of oxygen in the water.

With altitude, the body eventually adapts, but until it does, you're likely going to feel like shit.

We stayed at the Costa del Sol Arequipa, a grand hotel within walking distance to the old city center. After we checked in, we were offered a cup of coca tea, which consists of dry coca leaves steeping in hot water. The Inca discovered that chewing or drinking coca tea (macha) reduced the effects of altitude sickness, acted as a mild stimulant, suppressed hunger, thirst and pain. Coca lozenges are very popular in Peru. These are similar to a cough drop imbued with coca extract. I found these candies to be a life saver (pun intended.)

Chewing a coca leaf wasn't appetizing, easy or attractive. I had the constant do I have spinach in my teeth self-consciousness. Plus it tasted like grass. Coca tea wasn't available everywhere (not on Starbucks‘ menu), so a clever Peruvian invented coca candies, a great alternative.

We toured the city of Arequipa, visited cathedrals and a convent, which I found surprisingly interesting. Sisters still live in parts of the convent and make a delicious caramel candy with coca extract, which we bought en masse (thank you nuns). It can't be wrong if nuns are selling it, right? As we walked around, I'd get a little winded climbing stairs, but otherwise I was mastering this lack of oxygen thing, popping a coca candy into my mouth when needed.

Patapampa Pass

The morning we set out on our trip to the Colca Canyon we were warned that there would be a general strike/political protest across most of Peru. Our tour company had called the night before to inform us that we would be departing about three hours earlier, so we could avoid the masses of people protesting and any hooliganism that may ensue.

I was not feeling in top shape that morning. I got about 30 minutes of sleep (overdosed on coca candy I think,) had a splitting headache and generally felt like crap - most likely due to acclimatization. It was cold and dark when we left in our Mercedes Sprinter van along with two other families. Once we got out of the city, we started to make the climb, which didn't feel like a climb. The thing to remember about Peru is that all the mountains don't go from sea level to their summits. Our starting point was already almost two miles above sea level, so the visual image I had of us driving over Mt Everest didn't quite add up to reality.

We slowly climbed up a two lane highway as the landscape became more and more desolate. We passed impossibly slow trucks. Vicuna, a smaller relative of the llama and alpaca, ruled at this altitude. They were everywhere and resembled antelope from afar.

We were now at 11,000 feet and this is where I started to feel the altitude like never before. I was pretty sure this was the highest altitude I'd ever experienced on land. By now, people were ready for a rest stop so we found one that happened to be at an altitude of 14,000 feet. When we stopped to get out, my head felt like it was not working right. My oldest son got out before me and I tried to follow but couldn't find the coordination to make my legs work. It was the oddest feeling, almost like my limbs were not controlled automatically by my brain, I had to consciously think about how to walk. It was below freezing outside, which added to the surreal experience, so I hobbled into the restaurant and ordered, you guessed it, a coca tea and one for the road.

We got back into the van and kept climbing. Joe offered coca candies to the tour guide and driver. I closed my eyes, tired and nauseous, and tried to think of other, more sea-levelish things. We hit 15,000 feet. I turned around and noticed that everyone in the van was asleep or passed out. (Or dead) When we finally hit the apex of our trip, the altitude registered 16,000 feet (4,910m) above sea level. The van stopped so we could get out. (Nobody was dead, luckily) The landscape was covered in patches of ice and snow. One of my sons got off the bus and promptly threw up. It was a bizarre feeling - like my head was in outer space but my body was in water. One of our fellow passengers claimed that her Apple Watch detected less than 80% oxygen in her bloodstream. It was real and surreal, and I was ready to get the hell back down to earth.

When we crested the pass, the view of the valley below showed me how high up we had been. We snaked down through a series of switchbacks, the decline of the road much steeper than our incline up. Each minute of our decline I felt (or imagined) that it was easier to breathe.

We stayed overnight in Chivas and then headed to Colca Canyon the next day. I imagined the canyon to be similar to canyons I'd seen elsewhere in the world, but Colca is a different breed. It is one of the deepest canyons in the world, plunging from 11,500 feet to 6000 feet. Imagine the floor of the canyon is still a mile above sea level. That's Peru!

Colca is also different because the canyon was not glaciated and its sides were steep and angular. The valley below was narrow, the Colca River looking like a stream from our altitude. The Gran Canyon in Arizona is wide and majestic, carved by the Colorado River and scooped out by years of erosion. Colca, by contrast, looks like a giant dagger sliced the land, leaving a deep, narrow gash behind.

The one attraction people spoke about were the Andean Condors, the world's largest flying bird, that soars through the canyon. I had never seen a condor, so really looked forward to this part of the trip. We arrived at the viewing spot around 8:30am. Condors are not always visible, and at some points of the year, not even there.

Finally, I saw this massive bird soaring over the canyon, riding the wind and catching thermals, not once flapping their nine foot wingspan. They just glided along - as if they were putting on a show for us. We counted over twenty of these birds, some that flew overhead, casting their large shadows upon us like a giant dragon would.

By the end of our trip to Colca Canyon and the four hour drive back to Arequipa, I was pretty much acclimated to the altitude. My limbs worked and my head no longer felt like it was filled with jello.

For most people, the adjustment to these higher altitudes can take 2-3 days with varying symptoms. While I expected the shortness of breath, I didn't expect the fuzzy head and my body's slower, more tentative movements. Some people have no symptoms and others have much worse ones. I learned that many of the larger hotels have oxygen tanks should a tourist need assistance, and doctors on standby to help. My coca candies got me through most of it.

Peru is all about altitude, and to experience Peru, you've got to deal with altitude. Like other challenges while traveling, it’s one of those you just power through.

I did learn to appreciate oxygen, which is not something I normally think about at my 600 feet above sea level home.

photos captured by: Nico Podojil Schlesinger