I’m loving the beauty of the Andes, but the altitude, not so much. AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness) usually kicks in above 8000 feet, and boy did it kick me hard. It first hit me when we were on our off-road tour in Uyuni, where some of the elevations reached over 16,000 feet. I had a headache, extreme exhaustion, trouble breathing, and chills. Later in La Paz, walking a few blocks to breakfast felt like running a marathon. For a while there, I was wondering if I should just get myself back to lower ground. I am on day 9 of high altitude and things have improved, but I still don’t feel completely back to normal.

I’ve been at similar elevations once before, when trekking the Himalayas to Mt. Everest Base Camp. It was much worse at that time; I was sick almost the entire time ascending the mountains. (This link takes you to an old blog that I kept 18 years ago, which I no longer maintain. The content is all there but the design may be funky). I’m happy that it’s not quite so bad this time, but will be happier to get back to more normal oxygen levels.

I have at least a couple more locations coming up that will be at high elevation (Lake Titicaca and Cusco). Most people worry about the elevation of Machu Picchu, but after these elevations, that should be a breeze!