I'm writing this in La Paz airport which at 4200 metres above sea level is probably the highest airport in the world (I'm not entirely certain about this because the WiFi here is patchy at best and won't let me on to Wikipedia at the moment). Still, even if it's not the highest it's still pretty bloody high - higher than the summit of Mont Blanc, the highest point in Europe and it's also our very last taste of high altitude.
In the last few weeks we've been above 5000 metres at least a couple of times, we've slept at over 4000m and on the Lares Trek we walked up to 4730. I even played football* against the lake Titikaka locals at 3800m. I was already out of breath after walking to the pitch, in fact I was out of breath after standing up well to be honest I was out of breath while I was sitting down. The lack of oxygen is the most immediate symptom of being up high, you feel dizzy if you stand up too quickly, walking across the room leaves you gasping for breath and if you play a game of five-a-side against a load of teenagers who have lived their whole lives at around 4000m you will end up rolling on the floor holding your chest while your face turns beetroot red and your heart pounds away at 200 bpm.
Here's a quick round up of some of our high altitude highlights:
Puno
...or Poo Yes as we named it after coming in via it's unappealing suburbs
Cusco - 3400m
...a great town only marred for me by a horrific bout of food poisoning
Lake Titicaca
...the largest navigable lake above 2000m in the world - note this picture was actually in a thermal spring near Chivay in Peru, with a classic South American regard for health and safety they will serve you a pisco sour in a glass while you swim in the water.
La Paz
...the biggest city in Bolivia, somehow La Paz manages to be both scary and boring at the same time
Salar de Uyuni
...it's 4000m above sea level, minus 14 celcius in the sun and has toxic lakes of arsenic and borax, what's not to love?
Arequipa - 2500m
...Peru's second biggest city with a lovely plaza at its centre as shown in this photo taken shortly before we dressed up in ponchos and downed a few pisco sours. Earlier that day we had a coffee and what I like to call "Nun's Buns" - squidgy cakes made by the sisters of the monasterio de Santa Catalina
Colca Canyon
...bigger than the Grand Canyon with condors flying so low over your head that you think you might actually get a decent picture of one of them
*Yes you read that correctly, I played football. I wasn't sure if I could remember the rules to start off with but it all came back to me after a few minutes. You either chase the ball around or if it's too far away you shout and wave your hands around and pretend that you want someone to send the ball over to you. Every time someone misses the goal you all say Oooooo! and look sad, and whenever ball goes in the goalbag you say Yay! and smack whoever touched it last on the back.
In the last few weeks we've been above 5000 metres at least a couple of times, we've slept at over 4000m and on the Lares Trek we walked up to 4730. I even played football* against the lake Titikaka locals at 3800m. I was already out of breath after walking to the pitch, in fact I was out of breath after standing up well to be honest I was out of breath while I was sitting down. The lack of oxygen is the most immediate symptom of being up high, you feel dizzy if you stand up too quickly, walking across the room leaves you gasping for breath and if you play a game of five-a-side against a load of teenagers who have lived their whole lives at around 4000m you will end up rolling on the floor holding your chest while your face turns beetroot red and your heart pounds away at 200 bpm.
Here's a quick round up of some of our high altitude highlights:
Puno
...or Poo Yes as we named it after coming in via it's unappealing suburbs
Traditional folk dance in Puno
Cusco - 3400m
...a great town only marred for me by a horrific bout of food poisoning
This is us hiding behind a rock on a day trip out from Cusco - after this we walked up a hill so we could get to 5000 metres above sea level. 5000 metres is bloody high let me tell you.
Lake Titicaca
...the largest navigable lake above 2000m in the world - note this picture was actually in a thermal spring near Chivay in Peru, with a classic South American regard for health and safety they will serve you a pisco sour in a glass while you swim in the water.
Cocktails at 35 celcius with a whiff of rotten eggs (from the sulphur in the hot springs, not from my breakfast)
La Paz
...the biggest city in Bolivia, somehow La Paz manages to be both scary and boring at the same time
Cholita traffic control
La Paz express dog delivery service
These things were all over La Paz, it's some kind of warning to thieves operating in the area
Salar de Uyuni
...it's 4000m above sea level, minus 14 celcius in the sun and has toxic lakes of arsenic and borax, what's not to love?
Kate getting into the spirit of things in the desert
Arequipa - 2500m
...Peru's second biggest city with a lovely plaza at its centre as shown in this photo taken shortly before we dressed up in ponchos and downed a few pisco sours. Earlier that day we had a coffee and what I like to call "Nun's Buns" - squidgy cakes made by the sisters of the monasterio de Santa Catalina
Araquipa catedral at sunset
Colca Canyon
...bigger than the Grand Canyon with condors flying so low over your head that you think you might actually get a decent picture of one of them
A condor at Colca Canyon
*Yes you read that correctly, I played football. I wasn't sure if I could remember the rules to start off with but it all came back to me after a few minutes. You either chase the ball around or if it's too far away you shout and wave your hands around and pretend that you want someone to send the ball over to you. Every time someone misses the goal you all say Oooooo! and look sad, and whenever ball goes in the goalbag you say Yay! and smack whoever touched it last on the back.
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