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So Potosi is a really nice little town nestled in the mountainside next to a huge silver mine. Our hostel was vile and very very cold (no such thing as central heating here) I wore two pairs of trousers, 3 tshirts, a jumper, my silk sleeping bag liner, my sleeping bag and the covers from the bed and i still couldnt get warm. I think i may invest in some bolivian thermals! We only had a day here so decided to visit the Silver Mine in the morning and then go to some natural hot springs in the afternoon. We managed to haggle a bit and got both tours for about 5gbp each! The mine was brilliant, although Naomi and Laura didnt enjoy it.
First of all we had to put on all the safety gear, jacket trousers, boots, hard hats and headlamp. Its a proper working mine and we were getting to go in and see the miners while they worked. Before we reached the Mine we stopped at the miners market to buy supplies for the miners (as a thank you for letting us visit the mine) However the guide was quite pushy and we ended up giving
him 10 bolivianoes each (about 80p) and he bought stuff from what seemed to be his sisters shop! cheeky sod! I think we overpaid for everything but we bought some cool stuff and he showed us how the dynamite worked (he wouldnt let me buy any though). We bought coco leaves and fizzy juice, heavy duty gloves and lighters (for the dynamite as i later found out). All things that the miners would want. The guide explained that its a Cooperative mine so the miners work for themselves, not a company, so they have to buy all their own supplies. He also explained that the miners only work for about 15 years and have a far lower life expectancy because there are so many accidents and the side effects of breathing so much dust! Feeling really safe!
After that we headed into the mine and it was quite scary. From the outside the entrance to the mine and the surrounding village looked like the Mine that was on the Motorcycle Diaries. Inside it was dark and dusty and the trolleys whizzed past you so fast, there is very little health and safety in Bolivia! However it was really cool! the whole tunnel sparkeled with the silver and Zinc. The guide explained all about how they follow the seams of the silver through the mountain and we got to see some miners drilling the walls of the tunnels. After a couple of hours of traipsing throught the dusty dark tunnels Naomi and Laura had had enough and the guide was really understanding and walked us out immediately. However there was another american couple on the tour and we all wanted to continue the tour so the guide took me and the couple back in.
Laura and Naomi had definately picked the right time to leave because afterwards it got super scary. The guide took us up ladders through ricktey shafts and up to a new hole the miners were about to blast. After the ladders ended there were about 5 platforms leading higher in the shaft and they were at about chest height and we had to clamber up them all. It wasnt too scary, despite the fact that im not the biggest fan of heights but you couldnt see the bottom so you couldnt see how high they were. When we reached the top there were two miners drilling holes for the dynamite. there was just enough space for us 4 (the guide, me and the american couple) and the miners to stand in this little muddy alcove and watch while they drilled. It was so dangerous and so brilliant at the same time! Then the guide said to me, "here, hold this" and he handed me about 12 sticks of dynamite to hold while he untangled the fuses, I kind of froze but managed to get the girl to take a photo. After drilling the holes the miners put dynamite in and then air blasted some ammonium nitrate into the holes (to make bigger the blast, as the guide said) When the miners had finished the guide rushed us towards the dynamite to show us how he cleans the fuses. Then he goes into his pocket and I swear I thought he was bringing out a lighter! The american girl and I were already quite scared and I panicked and grabbed the guide and squealed "DONT LIGHT IT!!" he looked at me like i was a total idiot "No no lady emma, i am only cleaning fuse, we will be in safe place for big booms" Phew!
When everything was prepared we began climing down the platforms. The american girl was really quite frightened because she was sitting on one platform but couldnt quite reach the next one and underneath that was darkness so it was quite scary so I told her to go backy backy (are you proud dad??!!) the guide once again thought i was insane but the girl understood and got down safely. However we only descended a couple of ladders before the Guide said "ok we wait here for booms" It still felt awfully close so i kep asking are you sure were safe here, are we far enough away? but then i thought that the miners were still closer to it than us and so it must be ok but just as i was thinking this the miners came past us quite quickley and i shoot a horrified face at the guide and he says"is ok lady emma, they are only going for lunch" very reassuring! So then hes chatting away and we hear the huge boom that was more like a pop but just as scary and the whole shaft shakes and we all breath a huge sigh of relief, were alive! and then the guide says ok thats one, there should be another 10 or 11 to go i think. but after about 5 he said "ok we go now, the dust is coming" so we make a speedy descent and he takes us to show us the "Protector of the Mines" which was this hideous statue of an evil looking god and it had loads of coco leaves and cigarettes around it, they were "offerings." However a couple of miners also came to see the statue and this time i actually got to speak to them. throughout the tour we would pass miners and the guide would chat to them and introduce them and they would thank us for the supplies, but they were working so couldnt stop for long and they were good about us taking photos. I got to speak to these guys though, although i couldnt understand their response (too many coco leaves i think) So finally we emerged from the mine and the sunshine was blinding but we had survived dynamite blasts!
In the afternoon we visited a hot spring outside the city. The scenery on the way was spectacular and the spring was like a warm bath! Very inviting after a hard morning down the mines!! Our "tour guide" who was really just the taxi driver warned us to stick to the edges because in the middle it was a whirlpool! "el centro is muy peligrosso" he said. (the centre is very dangerous) i swear, by the end of my trip the only spanish i will remember is peligrosso and que huevos (bollocks) We were given these big rubber rings to float about in. the sky was pure blue and the mountains that surrounded us glowed pink and red. It was totally stunning.
Afterwards we went to a great restaurant that freshly cooked all its meals. there was also a parade outside with a marching band and everything. I asked a guy standing watching what it was for and he said it was the colleges annual parade and that tomorrow there would be a fiesta! Too bad were heading for Uyuni tomorrow!
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