This how to prepare for the Mountains when you’ve previously experienced Altitude Sickness.
These are all products of the Coca leaf, which is the main ingredient used in the production of cocaine. Variations of these treatments have been used for centuries in medicinal practices thought out many countries of the Andes. In these minimal amounts, the drug is approved for legal use and it not considered recreational. It is still widely available and used today. The photo includes tea bags, candies, and dried leaves.
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Three decades ago ( before marriage and children) I trekked the Inca Trail. I remember a couple of people in the group suffered from altitude sickness and they tried the coca leaves.
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The locals still use it regularly, kind of like tobacco. They pick it and chew it until the all of the juice is gone, and then spit out the rest. I had dried leaves, but I just dipped them in warm water before chewing them. I thought all of the coca products worked like a miracle!
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How good is Mate de Coca!
I went hiking through the Peruvian Andes recently and my guide always had a bag of dried leaves on hand. I didn’t chew them but instead made tea with them.
I would have liked to bring some back with me but I wasn’t sure what customs would have thought!
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It really is amazing stuff!! I think your instinct was right, I imagine it would be a big problem with customs. Not just because of the Coca product, but because it would be considered a food or plant item. So sad because it would be really nice to share it with the rest of the world!
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