Coca!

Now that we've been at altitude for a while in the Colca Canyon area we have been properly introduced to coca leaves. They're a very important part of South American culture and are widely used for lots of different things. They are supposed to help with altitude sickness and act as an energizer.

A bag of ~50 dried leaves costs 2 soles (1 sole~2.5 USD). Our guide showed us the proper way to chew them. First you take about 8 leaves and take the stems off of them, then roll them into a small ball. Next you break off a small piece of the bicarbonate sold with them which is a whitish, chalky stone. It's made from quinoa ashes, limestone and stevia to sweeten it. You put the whole thing in one side of your mouth and start chewing! Not the best taste, but okay. After a while your cheek and tongue goes numb, kinda feels like you're at the dentist. We chewed the coca leaves for about 10 minutes then you spit the gross paste out. Locals here chew it all day every day!

We've also tried coca tea where you just soak the dried leaves in hot water. It's a lot like green tea and is quite nice. There are also coca candies and cookies for sale in most shops which we'll have to try next :) The inca trail hike should be a good test of whether they actually help a lot or not!

-Lisa