High Altitude

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When I think of my four day stay in La Paz , different memories come to mind.  One of course is the 13,000 feet altitude,symbolized here by the snow covered moutains .

But then I think the tall buildings that bedeck the city and hide most of the moutains stand out as a memory of La Paz,with its 11,000 feet altitude in the city proper.  Probably,  it is the only city with an airport 2,000 feet higher than the city itself.

But for me, hands down, this oygen bottle and its carrying case will  forever remind me of my stay in La Paz and will symbolize the precautions a traveler needs to take. 

We were met at the airport baggage area by the embassy expediter and our host embassy officer.  They told us they had brought oxygen for us and they had it in the car ready to use if needed.  They said we should keep the oxygen in the room and have it at  the read  handy  if we felt queasy or had difficulty sleeping.

As we waited for the bags, I looked around and saw three huge oyygen bottles with signs above them that said "Oxygen Station"  Although quiet the night we were there, my host said  he had been to the airport when all three stations were in use and with multiple  masked engaged. 

It is a strange feeling to be at such high altitude.  Your breath normally but you feel like you are taking in shallow breaths.  Because of  the limited intake of air, after awhile,  you feel tired. I slept nine hours a day but still felt like I needed sleep.  My poor colleague  got only 3 hours sleep a night .  The night we left for Chile (depart from the hotel at 2 am),  he did not sleep at all.  Inability to  sleep is one of the effects of high altitude, Fortunately, the really nasty effects: blinding headaches, grasping for air , stomach problems did not affect us

I attribute my good fortune to the Diamox pills I took twice a day to combat high alttude problems.  It may not be the majestic image of the moutains but it is fond image.  But even with the Diamox,  on my last day there feeling stronger than any other day, I tried to take pictures before work that morning and walked up about half a city block , stopping t o take photos and otherwise taking baby steps. Half way up, I felt pressure on my chest and felt I was breathing deeply.  It was time to stop. The embassy  recommends taking two weeks to adjust before doing anything strenuous.  Once adjusted folks are fine.  Embassy employees belong to soccer teams, long distance running teams , even moutain biking teams.

On our way out of La Paz, the same expediter who picked us up asked how the altitude affected us during our and we told him.  He said he could understand what we went through because when he goes to Santa Cruz, a popular city but lower in altitude,  for any extended period of time, he needs to adjust to the altitude when he comes back -- and he has lived here all his life.