Altitude Sickness
- 25 Oct 07, 03:20 PM
Posted from: Mismi
We've got to the source of the Amazon on the Mismi Mountain and we're filming the opening scene of the series. Yesterday Bruce, Matt N, John (fixer) and I went on an acclimatization walk, which involved lugging a load of kit up endless false peaks until we reached about 4800 metres (a bit below the height at the source which is 5200m).
Zubin with his kit in the Andes
It was not easy because as soon as I pushed myself a bit too hard I would get a terrible headache as if someone had my head in a vice. But good guidance from John told me to stop for a bit, catch my breath and continue. The headache would return if I pushed too hard again, as if my body was telling me what pace to go. Once we reached our set destination we all felt quite euphoric, a mixture of achievement and lack of oxygen I guess.
It is an incredibly remote place and the landscape here is really exposed. Although I had been to altitude in Bolivia a year earlier I have never been this high. We're all in good spirits but most of us are really suffering from the lack of oxygen.
As well as the headaches, the worst thing I'm finding is I haven't been able to sleep properly since we arrived in the Andes. Every time I nearly fall asleep I wake myself up panting because it feels like I'm suffocating and it doesn't seem like I can get enough oxygen into my body to get a proper rest. Anytime I do anything, like walking or lifting up the sound kit, I find myself breathless.
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