ملف:Coca leaves.jpg

English: It costs about fifty cents for a bag of dried coca leaves the size of a fist, which given the rate of consumption I maintained for my week in the Andes would have lasted about three months.

It's hard to overestimate the curative power of these semi-bitter leaves and the tea made from them: altitude sickness, headaches, muscle aches, exhaustion -- all fade before the mighty power of the dozen or so alkaloids packed in to each leafy length.

I left the bag behind in Cusco (there's apparently a considerable stretch of jail time associated with the importation of coca leaves -- who knew?) but it's never far from my thoughts. Fair thee well, sun plant of Tahuantinsuyu...