Coca

(Looking back over my travel experience these past two weeks, a series of brief episodes are the most striking memories. As a result, I think I'll blog my adventure in the form of short anecdotes and pictures. If you're wondering about any of the filler material [ie the 85ish hours spent on the bus], post a question.)

Among the ridiculous forms of US drug policies is the eradication via spraying pesticides of coca plants in Colombia, with efforts to expand the program to include parts of Bolivia. These policies are aimed at drug trafficking of refined cocaine, but the majority of the victims of these practices are farmers and indigenous people who consume raw coca (in the form of tea or chewing on leaves) as a daily habit. Unrefined coca is a natural stimulant, not unsimilar to caffeine, that is commonly considered in this part of the world to be good for digestion, headaches, fatigue, and especially altitude sickness.

Knowing this, and being a big fan of a few coca-related debate cases, I was psyched to get to the altiplano, experience a little altitude sickness, and find out for myself what all the fuss was about. Unfortunately, it wasn't nearly as fuss-worthy as I had imagined.

My first experience with coca was in the form of dried leaves, during a tour of the laguna section of the Atacama desert. As this is the highest desert in the world, it was no surprise that the majority of the tourists in our group were feeling a little funny. The guide, experienced and prepared for this, passed around a bag of coca leaves, instructing us to take a few and chew them in the side of our mouth like gum. They tasted of jasmine green tea, with a texture of (gasp) crunchy leaves, and truly did releave the splitting headache I had at the time. Other than that, I felt a bit cheery, but certainly no higher than I already was from the altitude. I think to truly master the form of masticlation would take a few more attemps: the leaves fell apart in my mouth and left my teeth looking like I had just eaten spaghetti with tons of oregano.

The coca tea, however, is definitely something I enjoyed. With a flavor exactly like green tea and an effect very similar to a glass of red wine, "agua de coca" warmed me up, relaxed me, and, again, took care of my altitude headache. ZS had some stomach issues, also resolved by the tea, and AF enjoyed the taste as much as I did. A drug? I suppose, but in the sense of caffeine, or maybe as extreme as alcohol. Addicting? Hardly. I've had three cups over the course of two weeks, and while I enjoyed the completely-legal experiment, I'd be fine to never do it again. All the same, thanks to the reasonable, culturally-accepting, and humane laws in Chile (in addition to Bolivia), I can, anyway.