Mal de altura es muy malo

Hold todos I am writing to you from the Peruvian highlands from a small town called Chivay. This town is around 3500m above sea level, and believe me you can tell. But more on that later. After blogging to you last night we went downstairs and learned how to mix a Pisco Sour! Very fun but we were a little tipsy afterwards (its strong stuff!). After pre dinner drinks, we went to a local resturant, where i got to try the local cuisine: and alpaca steak! It looked alot like beef, but was a lot sweeter! I really loved it! I wonder where i can buy it in Canberra?! We started today with breakfast at our hotel in Arequipa, then checked out and met our tour guide for the next 3 days, Ever. We then boarded a little minibus and started making our way through the Peruvian country side, stopping frequently along the way to take photos of the amazing scenery (it really is breathtaking), as well as the main attraction for me, the lamas, alpacas and vecunas, all members of the Latin American camel family (Dad - couldn't get close enough yet to get a Horrible Histories photo yet, but the lama song was sung frequently!). Along the way we also stopped at a very small town called Patahuosi, where we tried the local beverage that is said to cure altitude sickness (which we were starting to feel the further we went), the main ingredient of which is the coca leaf! Don't mistake this for cocaine, as a lot of chemicals go in with the coca leaf in order to make that drug, but the leaf itself is frequently consumed by Peruvians as an energy boost. No Red Bull here! We shared a coca tea, as well as purchased some coca leaf caramel lollies. They are quite good, but I didn't really fancy the tea. From there we drove a bit further to the highest altitude we will reach during this trip, a whopping 4900m above sea level. The look out where you stop is really amazing, and is scatter with these piles of rocks that Peruvians have constructed for good luck, but let me tell you walking faster than snails pace was a real effort. It was like I was having an anxiety attack, that is my chest was really tight and sore, and I was puffing so hard! We were glad to leave that place and start our descent. From the look out we drove down to Chivay, where I made a quick dash (well, as quick as I could at this altitude) to the local market to buy some swimmers for Steve and I, then we made the 3km hike to the hot springs here in Chivay! It was slow going to get there, but when we made it the hot springs were so nice! Very warm, and you could order drinks! No Pisco Sour for me though! After an hour swim we were driven back to the hotel for a shower, and we are about to head out for dinner and a native dance performance! Am so excited. The altitude is definatly making it harder for us, for instance i have trouble walking up the stairs, and i have to forget about my usual fast stride and just walk slowly. A alot harder than it sounds. We are not feeling particularly sick though, so hopefull we will aclimatise fast and be ready for the Macchu Pitchu trek in a week! We will be staying in our first home stay tomorrow night, and we will be lucky to have electricity let alone wifi, so I'll will write to your again in two days time! Until next time, Hasta pronto!