Mountain Sickness

     Edith Coliver is daunted by nothing, including añtitudes. I went to Cuzco, as I am sure she did, to see the city and Macchu Pichu, but she does not say why she went to Tibet nor whether she found Shangri-La:
     "When I was in high altitudes (17,000 feet in Tibet and 12,000 in Cuzco) I was given mate cocoa by the place in which we stayed. No problems. I was also prescribed some Diomax altitude tablets which seem to be standard for high altitudes. In Tibet we had one "sick" and one "well" bus with predictable speeds and stops for the former. Thus fortified I was able to swim at 12,000."

     My comment: Bus indeed! I went to Macchu-Pichu long ago with Narciso Bassols, a well-known Mexican proud of his horsemanship. I scarcely know one end of a horse from another, but I had to ride a mule up the narrow paths overlooking the abyss. The mule could not understand why I was scared stiff.

Ronald Hilton - 5/12/00