On Altitude Sickness

It is recommended that when planning time at high altitudes, one ascends in 1000m increments, spending two nights at each before moving on. Lake Titicaca is at 3800m. Recall my nice long run on the ocean in Lima yesterday? Hello altitude sickness, nice to meet you.

The dizziness, disorientation, headache, and general lethargy didn´t really bother me. There is another side effect, however, that has my plans altered for the day - insomnia. In order to catch the boat to Isla Taquile, I would have had to leave the hotel at 7am. It´s a 4 hour boat ride across the lake, and I was planning to spend one night there and a second on Isla Amantani. Somehow I thought that being sick and exhausted on a remote island might not be the wisest idea.

Thus, at 3am upon my fifth awakening I changed plans and took an Ambien. Today I´d lay super low, sleep in, and pay close attention to my health. If things did not improve, Lonely Planet advised me to get out of here and head for lower elevations.

Thankfully, I am feeling much better today, so the plan should resume in the morning. I am extremely excited because tomorrow is a big celebration day on Isla Tacquile, so spending the night there will be an incredibly memorable experience. To be honest, it´s actually really nice to just chill out today too :).