Working in the thin air of Bolivia Cochabamba @ 8,445 ft

Working in the thin air of Bolivia Cochabamba

My first experience with high altitude was way before I ever set foot in the alpine territory of San Jacinto and San Gorgonio. In fact it had nothing to do with hiking but everything to do with my job as a subcontractor for USAID. It was year 2000 and the project was called CONCADE and the place was Bolivia Cochabamba — Elevation = 8,445 ft.

I was warned by my project coordinator that there will be some difficulties acclimating to the high altitude but I had absolutely no idea what to expect until I landed in La Paz, Elevation = 11,942 ft. Almost instantly I was hit with the wave of headache and tiredness. I was a smoker then so the first thing I did after we landed — go outside to have a smoke. I could barely keep my cigarette burning — the air was so thin. I couldn’t finish my cigarette and decided to sit down before I passed out. I went to a cafe inside of the airport and asked for a cup of tea. The tea they served me was called Coca Tea — it made me feel much better and I kept refilling on it for the next few hours while I waited for my connecting flight to Cochabamba. Apparently Coca Tea is widely believed to alleviate the symptoms of altitude sickness — I was a believer in no time — that’s what kept me in shape the whole time I was in Bolivia.

Here are few shoots from that trip (I was there 3 or 4 times total over a period of 4 months, but these are the only pictures I managed to take):

Mountains – Bolivia Cochabamba