The effects of carbohydration.

Well, it may be necessary for the Andeans, but getting into Argentina has made me acutely aware of the effects of the Andean diet I've been on for the past month. You see nearly all Argentinians are supermodels, give or take a few, and, well, I have started to resemble somewhat the sacred vegie I have been wolfing down in absurd quantities.

Being up at high altitude (3500m and above) and trekking most days, your body goes nuts for tucker. In fact, unless you're eating three big. I mean BIG meals per day, you're majorly stuffed.

And what's served for each meal, potatoes, potatoes, potatoes and really bad, brick-like bread.

However, unlike the rest of the world, the Andes is home to over 4000 varieties of potato, so every meal is different-ish.

Other than potatoes, corn and quinua are on the menu, as well as llama and, in the flashier areas of Peru, alpaca, which I must say is almost as good as lamb.

Descending as I have done down below the 3000 metre mark, my appetite has all but dried up, with me only able to stomach one meal per day my trousers are thanking me, by the way.

It is odd though, isn't it, how our bodies know just what they need and how much of it.

And thankfully in the land of supermodels my body has decided enough of the outward movement, which is timely as there have been plenty of  "gee, Farmer Dave is stacking it on" comments on some media sites.