A Gringo’s Guide to Altitude

For over a month now, we have been at high altitude, and it has some interesting side effects. We’ve mostly been hovering in the 3,000 metres mark, twice as high as the highest point in the UK, Ben Nevis.

We’re on what is known as the “Gringo Trail”, a common route that western backpackers take throughout South America. What I didn’t know about the Gringo Trail, was how high you were going to be for a lot of the journey.

We had our first taste of the high altitude when we went to Quito back in Ecuador. The high altitude can be such a problem for some people that we needed to have a serious briefing about what happens to your body and how to relieve some of the symptoms.

When we got into Quito, it did feel weird. You would walk up inclined paths in the city and be out of breath instantly. Headaches were a common occurrence, as well as more trips to the toilet and quite a lot of farting.

The main way to alleviate symptoms is to just keep drinking water, twice as much as you normally would. If you begin to be sick, then you are in real trouble (thankfully I never was, others were), then all you can do is sit it out or leave the area and get to lower altitude as soon as you can.

The most annoying symptoms for me were the dry lips and throat, especially when you woke up in the morning. But the most surreal experience were the vivid dreams, so vivid that they felt actually real. Some examples of my dreams are:

• I was at the Queen’s birthday party, as I was her long lost grandson.
• I arrived home after my travels and my mum took me immediately to the job centre.
• The girl I was actually sleeping next to, I dreamed that she was sat up asleep next to me with her glasses on.

Thankfully, our exit out of Bolivia marks an end to the high altitude, an end to the constant farting, and the visit dreams.