Coca leaves

Chivay, Peru

The Patapampa Pass is the drive we took from Arequipa to Colca Canyon on a guided overnight excursion. We saw sights we’ve never seen before, eaten foods we’d never eaten, and experienced sensations we’ve never experienced: steaming volcanoes, alpaca ribs, and altitude sickness. The drive reaches over 4800m above sea level at its highest, so we were relieved to descend back to 3600m to Chivay for the night.

Peruvian people have been chewing coca leaves for centuries to reduce the effects of altitude sickness, so that’s what we did, too. Coca leaves make your heart pump faster (“nature’s Red Bull”) which gets more oxygen-rich blood to your system. Take 6 or 7 coca leaves, roll them up with an activator (a small stone, or in our case, some hardened honey), and stick it in between your molars. Chew for 15-20 minutes, only swallowing your spit, not the leaves. Coca tea, coca gummy candy, and coca toffee all helped soothe our headaches, nausea, and shortness of breath due to high elevation.

According to our tour guide, coca leaves contain 14 different alkaloids, including cocaine. Coca grows in the jungle and requires kilos and kilos, mixed with bleach, gasoline, and other additives including uric acid (read: pee) to make street cocaine. Don’t even try it.

Trivia: The highest settlement in the world is in Peru, not far from us. At 16,732 feet (about 3 miles) above sea level, the town of La Rinconada with 50,000 inhabitants sits above Lake Titicaca.