Before we even got started for the day, our guide started to make some tea.
After I had finished packing and checking my equipment, he called me over.
“Have some. This will help you the higher we go.”
“Is this a root of some kind?” Maca root, which is also from Peru, can help you with altitude. But I hadn’t seen what he put in the tea.
“The leaves of the Ilex tree.”
Our guide had a degree in forestry and knew every plant and tree in the jungle and on the mountain. I think he was having a little fun with me, because when I brought the cup up to my nose, I knew what it was right away.