Cusco!

I am sipping hot coca tea, mate de coca, as I try to write this blog entry.  Big green coca leaves float in my cup as I sip sip sip, hoping I will feel better soon!

Yup, the high altitude has made me sick!

It’s a full on Hammer-Me-To-Death-Headache and Move-An-Inch-And-Feel-Nausea kind of day for me.   Oh, how I would love to type out a string of obscenities (maybe that would make me feel better?)!  The truth is, I am mad that I have to feel crappy!

While in Lima, I ate lots of carbohydrates, did not drink any alcohol, drank no coffee starting 24 hours before ascent, been drinking Mate de Coca (coca leaf tea said to help with nausea caused by high altitudes and lack of oxygen), and yesterday I took the first dose of Acetazolamide for altitude sickness. None of this has helped so I took the local Sorojche pill and that has not helped either.  I am so disappointed that after all these precautions, I am feeling sick.  There are 4 of us who are feeling crummy and are lying low today, missing out on the tour of Cusco.  The good news is that if the others are not feeling the altitude, they will most likely do fairly well for the rest of the high altitude part of this trip.

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After sleeping the afternoon away, I am happy to report that I feel better.  Not 100%, but much better!  I heard the statistic that, on average, one out of 5 gets altitude sickness.  We have 18 in our group, so we are right on target.   I have to blog in the lobby (the only hot spot in this hotel) and I see the others feel better, too.  Great news!  And there is a beautiful young man sitting here by me, playing his guitar and singing his heart out.   He quite good.  What a treat.

When we got here, I gathered all my strength and taught a very gentle restorative yoga session.   The group did great.  The objective is to do as little physical activity as possible so that we acclimate.  So gentle yoga it was today!

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Not sure if I can post any photos!  I am trying but things are too slow and the computer gets all bogged down and shuts down on me with confusion (or something like that).

The trip so far.

I feel bad because I thought I would be blogging more.  Truth is, there hasn’t been a lot of free time.  We have a very large group and I want to be as present as I can for the group and to help Ericka in whatever capacity I can.

Ericka is doing a terrific job.  So far, we have not done as much yoga as perhaps I would dream of doing (because there is much to see and do or, like today, a very early flight to catch, and acclimating to do).  However, the yoga we have done has been deeply rejuvenating and tailored to the energy of the group and, like today, to the circumstances we find ourselves in.  It is one of the few times that we, as a group, can come together in silence and move and breath and become grounded.   Travel can be so hard on the body, so the yoga practice counteracts the rigors of the day and allows us to recharge and calm the mind so that we can absorb the beauty and uniqueness around us.  It’s been good.

Leaving Lima: Denise and Colleen walking up the steps to the plane which took us to Cusco!