Yes, we had tea made from the coca leaves. We started drinking it in Cusco ( altitude approx. 11,000 ft). It was supposed to help you with altitude sickness but Paula's husband's Colorado altitude pills worked better. Paula didn't seem to have much trouble with the altitude so she only tried one cup, but I drank at least a cup a day because I had the expected huffing and puffing when climbing stuff. I had the same problem in China's Yunan Province. I tried drinking several cups of the mushroom dirt flavored coca tea and it helped with the headaches but not the huffing and puffing. TIP - don't drink any after 2 pm -- it will keep you awake. In the end Paula split her altitude pills with me and I still huffed and puffed but not as soon and I recovered quicker. One restaurant or hotel gave me a cup with mint in it which really improved the nasty taste. Another Peruvian herbal remedy that was passed around to the wheezers was a handful of Peru's mint leaves. You rubbed the leaves between your hands and smelled the oils. Not sure it they helped me breathe but they smelled good.
Above is pictured is one of the bell boys at our Cusco hotel. He probably didn't have to go to school because of the teacher strike. One of the strangest things in Peru was that most people not in a big city actually dressed in native clothing. As Paula noticed they looked exactly like what you would see pictured in a 5th grade Social Studies book.
