My next stop on the Bolivian rollercoaster was the city of Potosi, and continuing the elevated theme, is the world's highest city (4,000m). It is South America's mineral heartland, with the city's Cerro Rico mountain being rich in silver ore, lead, tin, zinc, all of which have been at high demand at one time or another. Booms and crashes have fluctuated Potosi's fortunes, and now tourism is seemingly the new gold rush. The standout attraction is a co-operative tour of the working mines. The tour firstly takes you to the miner's market where you buy gifts for the miners. On offer are coca leaves, Sangani (the local 95% proof spirit), and dynamite. Apparently this is the only place in the world you can commercially purchase dynamite. Therefore, everyone does just that and you end up with
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