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The Amazing New Adventures of Larry and Mark - Peru, Land of the Incas

Chapter 18

Coca, The Inca, and Modern Peru

Before we left the U.S., we were all aware that coca was a legal product in Peru.

But that statement alone cannot adequately describe how important the coca

plant has been to Andean culture for thousands of years.

I wish I had taken a photo, but it wasn't sixty seconds after getting out of the airport

to our bus that several women came over to us to sell us small bags of coca leaf. Coca

leaf is cheap, harmless (more on this later,) and we wouldn't dream of bringing any

of it home to the states. But I can take photos.

Cusco is 10,800' above sea level. We were struggling in the streets with 30% less oxygen.

We are all trying to avoid altitude sickness - known locally as "The Soroche." We take

modern altitude medications, but coca, which the locals have chewed for centuries, also

helps. Mate de coca - coca tea, can be found in most hotels which have it brewing constantly.

While walking the streets of Cusco, we came upon the Coca Museum. We didn't

have time to go in, but it shows that the connection to coca is everywhere.

The Coca leaf was one of the first domesticated plants. Coca has been the backbone

of Andean culture for over 3000 years, and for good reason. Coca has been used as a food

substitute, a stimulant, a medicine, as an aphrodisiac, a means to stay warm, and as a

measure of distance. An important factor in the spread of coca-chewing among Indians

was due to a need for a food substitute when the Incan agricultural economy broke

down due to inter tribal wars. Nutritional analysis shows that 100 grams of coca

leaves contain 305 calories, 18.9 grams of protein, and 46.2 grams of carbohydrates,

and satisfies the recommended dietary allowances for calcium, iron, phosphorus,

and vitamins A, B, C, and E.

Since ancient times, coca has been an important trade commodity between the lowlands

where it is grown and the higher altitudes where it is widely consumed by the Andean

peoples of Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, and Bolivia.

Fresh dried leaves are uncurled, are of a deep green on the upper, and a grey-green on

the lower surface, and have a strong tea-like odor. When chewed, they produce a

pleasurable numbness in the mouth, and have a pleasant, pungent, strong tea taste. When

chewed, coca acts as a mild stimulant and suppresses hunger, thirst, pain, and fatigue.

Addiction or other harmful effects from the consumption of the leaf in its natural form have

not been documented.

Here are coca plants growing in the royal garden in Machu Picchu.

After lunch, before a hike, we shared some of the coca leaf, chewing it and placing

it between teeth and cheek, like it's been done for thousands of years. None of

us felt much, except maybe by the power of suggestion. I think we felt closer to the Incas.

Coca is found in all sorts of products, like this chocolate-covered coca

leaf! Nothing like two temptations in one! I had to buy it. It tasted like

great chocolate with dry leaves in it!

Cocaine was the first material which, aside from alcohol, seemed to deaden

or lessen pain. Hence, the new term, "anesthesia," which meant "no feeling."

It still has some medicinal uses in anesthesiology, but has for the most part been replaced

by synthetic drugs. In dentistry, the first synthetic anesthetic was Procaine, marketed under

the name "Novocain." Nowadays, Novocain is rarely used, replaced by better anesthetics,

but that's what everyone still calls it. Topical Cocaine is a paste which is still used because

it will penetrate regular skin tissue to provide numbness. If you ever held a young child

who will need stitches to close a skin wound, you appreciate cocaine paste.

I wasn't planning on explaining this picture below, but it looks impressive.

When the Spanish Conquistadores first encountered the Inca early in the 16th Century,

they found that the Emperor himself controlled the use of the leaves of a mountain shrub

now known as Erythroxylon coca. Chewing of these leaves provided a sense of euphoria. Only

the nobles and chosen ones could chew coca. Among the highest rewards the Inca could

give to a lesser individual was the right to chew coca leaf.

Coca made its way from the Inca to Spain and greater Europe shortly thereafter, but

it did not achieve popularity until the 1800's, when chemists first isolated cocaine,

and "cocawine" was created. Angelo Mariani, in Italy, developed the first popular

drink using coca leaves. It was called "Vin Mariani." it was introduced to the public in

1863 and became very popular in America and in Europe.Vin Mariani was advertised and

apparently used for treating a variety of illnesses, and quickly became the world’s