According to the legends of the indigenous population, the energies of the highest peaks of the Himalayas have been transferred to the Andes. It’s these mountains that won’t let us go. We decide for a tour to the Andes region of Bolivia – more precisely to the Altiplano, a huge mountain plateau at 3000 to 4000 meters (10.000 to 13.000 ft).
Before driving into the mountains, the descendants of the Incas ask the mountain spirits for protection. They sacrifice Coca, high-proof alcohol and sometimes llamas. We also prepare ourselves – but in a slightly different way. Before our tour we stay at almost 3000 meters altitude for several days, go hiking every day and do sports. We intend to enjoy the four days after all and not torture ourselves with vomiting and headaches.
Finally the tour starts. Early in the morning we board a jeep together with our driver and guide Willy, our cook Norma and two French. And from almost 3000 meters we quickly ascend. Then down again, then uphill again. And with many curves. That’s not for people prone to motion sickness. We are well equipped and can help Fanny and Raffael, our French fellow travelers, with our first-aid kit. It has struck the two in particular, because motion sickness meets diarrhea. They return the favor with Coca leaves against altitude sickness. Because above 4000 meters we notice slight headaches and feel a little dizzy, without any exertion, only by sitting in a jeep. If we go again under 4000 meters, we feel better again. To counter the altitude our guide brought special oil to smell, tiger balm and the tip to breathe more through the nose to pump less air into the stomach. On the first day we reach 4900 meters (16.000 ft) altitude at a viewpoint and stay overnight at 4160 meters (13.600 ft). We sleep restlessly and have nightmares.
The next morning the journey continues very early and without a shower. It will be the most beautiful day for us with magnificent green, blue and multi-colored lakes, flamingos, llamas, camel-like vicunas and hot springs to warm up. Because even when the sun is shining, there is an ice-cold wind. From -10 degrees at night to 20 degrees during the day we constantly change our clothes and put layers on and off. The animals in the Andes have adapted to these daily changes. The vicunas for example have a very fine, dense fur and always give birth during the day so that newborns can dry in the sun. At night and wet the young would freeze to death.
Our bodies also adapt surprisingly quickly. On the second day we only get dizzy at 4500 meters and above. The Coca leaves help a big deal. They are dried leaves of the Coca bush from which cocaine is made as well. You take a dried leaf, chew it on briefly and then place it on the inside of the cheek mucosa. In this spot, the mucosa becomes a little numb and the stimulating effect can be felt quite quickly afterwards. The focus increases and also euphoria. Not bad at a tour. Coca is also said to improve oxygen absorption in the blood at higher altitudes and even suppress the feeling of hunger. For me the leaves are gone in no time, Matthias chews longer. We consume about 10 leaves a day. Don’t worry, you don’t get addicted to that amounts of cocaine.
On the third day we slowly return to deeper regions. Deeper means: only about 4000 meters. We climb small rocks and walk a bit through the barren landscapes. This time we see a black lagoon. We don’t even notice the altitude anymore. We even feel magnificent enough to try a cactus beer and a Coca beer. Yummy. Both are very tasty. We spend our last night in a hostel made of salt with salt beds and salt walls.
In the morning the alarm clock rings at 4.45 am. It’s freezing in the room and outside, luckily we had a shower the night before. Three of us had hot water, for Raffael the supply was not sufficient. “It was the worst shower of my life.” he comments. But now we have to go, because we want to be in the biggest salt desert on earth by sunrise. At dawn our driver Willy is racing over the salt desert at 110 kph (68 mph). In between he always switches off the headlights to find the direction of travel to the island in the salt lake. And since we are very close to the volcano Tunupa, we ask Willy for an extra after sunrise. We would like to climb up the volcano to see the salt desert in all its spread. Willy is happy to do us the favor. And so we drive the jeep up to 4000 meters. Norma, the cook, asks the mountain spirits for protection at the beginning of the trek and places Coca leaves along the way. Because that’s what Coca is for, too. Yes, Bolivians love their Coca. It is also said to help not only with altitude sickness, but also with rheumatism and with all kinds of pain. Shampoo, whitener, lipstick, pomade, beer, rum and biscuits are also available with Coca in Bolivia. And Coca-Cola, but it’s without Coca.
The ascent to the volcano is quite steep, now we notice that the energies of the Himalayas have truly found their way into the Andes. We don’t have a headache, we don’t feel weak. But we’re panting while Willy, our guide, is jogging up the mountain. And laughs at it. He’s extremely adapted to the altitude, I’d like to know how thick his blood is. The vicunas have a lot of red blood cells and a large heart to distribute the blood well. The Andean hummingbirds have also adapted. They do not drink the nectar of the flowers in flight, but sit on a branch. The thin air and the fast wing beat would consume too much energy. At an altitude of almost 4500 meters, we reach the viewpoint at the volcano. We can see white from left to right on the horizon. The largest salt desert in the world named Uyuni. Awesome.
Up here Willy tells us how this salt desert came into existence. Legend has it that a woman named Tunupa lived on this lake with her husband Kusku. Tunupa and Kusku were and are today mountains on the edge of the salt desert. Kusku, the man, often cheated. But Tunupa had four very young children with him. One day Kusku was with one of his girlfriends again, so Tunupa cried bitterly. Then divine help came and said: Don’t cry, you are a good woman. Just put a little of your breast milk in the lake. Tomorrow, you will see, good things will happen to you. Tunupa cried constantly, but did as she was told and gave her breast milk into the lake, which mixed with her tears. And so it happened that the next day the lake was white, turned into a vast salt desert.
There are countless variations of this legend. But all versions have in common that the mountains are divine. And that they have power. We are glad that the mountains and their spirits were kind to us on our four day tour. Maybe it’s due to the Coca along the way…
