Sipping Cocoa tea

Cusco - the launching point for visiting Machu Picchu - sits on a mountain top in the Andes at an average elevation of 11,000 feet. This is treeline in Colorado; by comparison, Leadville is some 1,000 feet lower.

All of the tourist information cautions that one should not fly directly into Cusco and expect to be able to immediately do active things - like walk, or breath. One should - the books suggest - take a day or so to acclimate before trying anything strenuous, like sitting up on the side of the bed. So how did we approach this part of our journey? Flew into Cusco on Saturday afternoon and climbed to Machu Picchu early the next morning.

The primary danger in suddenly finding oneself at this elevation is High Altitude Sickness. Headaches, nausea, flu-like symptoms. Ask our teammate Russell about HAS. The hotels even keep oxygen bottles around to revive their guests. They also have the native remedy for altitude-related problems. Cocoa tea. Just as soon as you get to the hotel, the staff begins pouring Cocoa tea down you. Or if you prefer, there's a bowl of Cocoa leaves you can chew on. The indigenous population swears by this remedy. And there's a reason for that; the stuff is... how shall I put this... addictive. I wonder what's in it?

Out for a stroll? Head for the Cocoa tea as soon as you get back. Going out to shop? Better have a cup before we go. Make that two cups. To give you an idea of just how appealing this stuff is, consider my spouse. The only other time I can remember her trying hot tea was in England and that was because she couldn't get anything else. She was not converted. But this?

"Tea, my love?"
"Thanks, don't mind if I do."
"May I have another cup, please?"
"Let's take a cup and go sit on the balcony; it's so relaxing."

You can take medicine to ward off HAS; we started on it prior to going to Cusco, but it makes your hands tingle - really, really tingle - and carbonated beverages taste like battery acid while you are on the meds. I had forgotten that was one of the side effects and ordered a bottled coke. I thought the wait staff was trying to poison me! Next time I think I'll skip the pills and go straight for the native cure.

You can buy Cocoa tea bags in the marketplace, and it was tempting, but I was reminded how much trouble I have with customs anyway, and I could just picture some stateside drug-sniffing dog turning back flips, so we sipped our last cups on the way to the airport.

I could really go for a hot cup of tea right now.