Day 2: Natural Remedies

After recovering from our exciting arrival in Cuzco, we set out for a full day of exploring the area surrounding the city. There are a few things to note about the state of our group before delving into any more detail about our day. Firstly, altitude sickness is a very real thing. Everyone in our group was experiencing it, with symptoms ranging from a light, dull headache or lightheadedness to vomiting. Needless to say it was not a pretty sight. In addition to altitude sickness, many of our group members were suffering from what the locals call the “Inca Revenge.” Use your imaginations; it is a terrible, terrible thing.

Regardless of our ailments, we intrepidly set off in our bus to visit sacred Inca sites called huacas and various other temples. As you can imagine, the roads outside of the city are not heavily traveled because the area is very remote, so there was a lot of tipping, bouncing, banging, flailing, etc. etc. We braved several hours of this, but we were rewarded with breathtaking panoramic views of the snow capped Andes mountains and the chance to interact with the local people.

Perhaps the highlight of our day is when we got to visit a national archaeological excavation site which was situated at about 3500m (about 11,000ft). In order to reach this site we had to hike for over an hour and travel 2000m (about 2 ½ miles round-trip). Clearly, the incline was quite steep, so for those of the group who were only experiencing mild altitude sickness, they were in for a surprise! After less than 5 minutes of hiking everyone was out of breath and our hearts were pounding. By the time we reached the top we were sweaty, breathless and worn out. It was at this point in our travels which we discovered the Andean black flies, which are apparently quite fond of American blood.

By now you must be asking yourself, what were we thinking? This sounds terrible! Of course it was hard, but the experience was unlike anything in the world. Sickness, being tired, getting eaten by bugs, it’s all taken in stride with a fantastic learning experience. Now, we must consider what we have learned from this experience. What we learned is that there are many native remedies from local plants to help all of our ailments. Probably the most prominent of these natural remedies is coca. Coca is the dried leaves of the coca plant and is typically ingested in one of two forms. Coca can either be used to make a very fragrant tea or the dried leaves can be chewed similarly to chewing gum. This helps altitude sickness, calming an upset stomach, and can also act as a mild oral anesthetic. For those of us not into chewing leaves to relieve altitude sickness, the pharmacy also sells sorojchi pills which are very concentrated aspirin and caffeine. Next, is yerbabuena or menta. This plant is a local variety of mint, which is slightly more citrusy and bitter than its American counterpart. We encountered this plant on the side of the mountain. To take yerbabuena you pick a spring and rub it in between your hands, hold them up to your face, and inhale deeply. This plant remedies headaches and calms your stomach. You can also chew yerbabuena, but since we were picking it off the side of a mountain where llamas were grazing, we decided against that option. Finally, we were introduced (a little too late) to a plant which you rub on your exposed skin to repel insects. Naturally, the guide told us this as were returning to the bus.

Clearly, there are many other native remedies besides the few mentioned here. These plants offer natural alternatives to the pills offered in the pharmacy or clinic, as well as providing the chance to learn about native culture and converse with the locals. For now, we are thankful to be feeling better in the altitude and are looking forward to tomorrow’s adventures!

Hasta pronto, Jane, Drew, and Kelsey