I’m not really a stranger to altitude. I’ve spent quite a bit of time in Colorado taking hiking trips into the Rockies and, other than shortness of breath, I’ve never really had any ill-effects. At the beginning of this trip when we arrived in Arequipa (2,380m) I felt absolutely fine while Alan had to spend several days in bed feeling utterly wiped. My grace period, however, must have ended because I have now experienced the full power of altitude sickness.
At the start of the bus ride to Huaraz
We travelled to Huaraz (3,052m) from Trujillo (0m) on an overnight bus. That kind of jump is quite likely to make anyone feel the effects but combined with seven hours of twisty mountain roads and no sleep we arrived feeling terrible. Sam didn’t make it out of the bus terminal without needing to run to the toilets to be sick while Alan and I assumed we’d be fine after our experience in Arequipa. We were able to check in as soon as we arrived at our hostel, despite it being 7am, and we all got straight into bed to try and get some sleep so that we could make the most of the day.
Having barely slept the night before, I quickly fell into a deep sleep. Excellent.
The next awareness I have is of being hot. Unbearably hot. I throw the blankets to one side but don’t feel any better. Instead, my skin feels as though it’s burning. I open my eyes and try to focus on the room which appears to swing wildly from side to side. At the same time, my head feels as though it’s been smacked with a brick. I drag myself out of bed and run for the toilet. Thank goodness we have a private room with en-suite.
Coca Tea - Our saviour
The room spins around me as I try and work out if I’m going to be sick. My skin is continuing to burn and trying to take off my fleece and sweater becomes my top priority (quite a feat in my current state.). The floor of the bathroom is tiled and is blissfully cool which I discover when I realise I can no longer sit up. Without my many layers and with the aid of the bathroom floor my temperature starts to fall. I’m start to realise where I am as Sam calls through the door to me to make sure I’m still alive. I am, but it feels like only just. I narrowly make it out the door and to my bed without fainting and that is where I stay for the next 36 hours.
Luckily, while Sam and I spent a day and a half feeling close to death, Alan was absolutely fine. This meant he was able to be our knight in shining armour and take very patient care of us. The poor boy ran around the shops trying to find us drinks and snacks to calm our unhappy stomachs and set us up with enough episodes of Glee to get us through the day. I absolutely don’t know what we would have done without him.
I started to feel better the next day and Sam the day after. About time, frankly, because we were starting to consider a trip back to sea-level just to feel human again. The one silver lining to the whole experience is how much money we’ve saved on our food budget for the last three days!
Sam celebrates leaving the hostel for the first time in 3 days
So, these are the tips we have learnt for dealing with Altitude Sickness:
- Try to avoid a massive jump in altitude. If possible make a stop of at least one day at a lower altitude.
- Keep yourself hydrated. One of the reasons you can feel so ill is that you dehydrate far faster at altitude. This is what can lead to the feeling of having a really bad hangover. Get hydrated before you ascend and keep drinking far more water than you usually would.
- Consume coca in any form available. This folk remedy is widely regarded as an effective treatment. And quite frankly, when you feel the way we did you’d be willing to try llama’s testicles if you thought it might help. It’s available in teas, the leaves are chewable and you can even get boiled coca sweets.
- Avoid alcohol. The last thing you need is any extra dehydration, not to mention the fact that you become intoxicated faster the higher you are.
- Avoid strenuous activity. Yet another way to speedily dehydrate yourself. Just spend time resting.
- Eat small meals. Your digestion can also be affected, yet another fun symptom, so you can make life easier on yourself by sticking to small, simple meals.
From here we head to Cusco (3,400m) where we hope to be absolutely fine after nearly 6 days acclimatising. Alan’s Mum is due to join us and we’re very much hoping she is one of the lucky few who remains unaffected. For now, we continue to feel out of breath while brushing our teeth, climbing the stairs and eating our dinner.
Have you experienced altitude sickness? Where has it affected you the most? What remedies have you found to be effective?
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I thankfully managed to avoid the altitude sickness when I visited Cuzco and Arequipa. But then again, I was pretty much overdosing on the coca leaves/tea just in case
We did the jump directly from Lima to Cuzco, and sure I was pretty much out of breath for few days, but nothing worse than that thankfully.
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I’m so happy for people that don’t experience the altitude sickness, but boy can it be frustrating. It makes me feel like a real wimp! The big bonus is that, despite being in Cusco now, we’re not suffering any ill effects. Phew!
We lucked out and didn’t experience any altitude related illness when we went to Lima to Huaraz. Sorry to hear about your experience but hopefully that means Cuzco will present to problems whatsoever to your team.
Btw – we’re still in Cuzco! Would be cool to get together. Let us know when you get here.
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I’ll add one extra tip: DON’T SMOKE! When I jumped from Lima to Cuzco I felt perfectly fine… until I lit up a cigarette, inhaled it and lost my breath.
Can’t wait to continue reading more about your adventures!
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As a non smoker, this hadn’t occurred to me but I suppose it makes sense! Sorry to hear it had you feeling awful though!