The Potosi Mines

---

The air was unbearably hot, the tunnels were cramped, and the atmosphere was filled with dust and asbestos generated from the blasting of rock. Together with the uncomfortable knowledge that Australian experts predicted the tunnels should have collapsed 4 years ago, I was on an adrenaline fuelled adventure deep into the silver mines of Potosi at an elevation of 4000 metres above sea level. This was no tour and there was no health and safety. I had to sign away my life in exchange for a day of extreme insanity that pushed my mind, body and soul to its limits!

We first decided to get a guide from the hostel who took us to a small shed in Potosi. The guide explained how his grandfather and father who had worked the mines died at a young age from lung cancer because of the asbestos in the atmosphere. He explained how his family and friends earn only $100 a month working 7 hours a day, 7 days a week in the poorest conditions while using practices that have not changed in over 200 years. He explained that venturing into the mines would not be a nice experience and the conditions will be horrifying! I remember thinking that I´ve been in a mine before so it cant be that bad. I was in for a serious shock, I forgot I was in 3rd world Bolivia!

The five of us were introduced to the equipment we would be using in the mines. It was basic! We were given a helmet, lamp, boots and overalls, together with a bandanner to cover our nose and mouth. Why a bandanna? I have no idea, maybe they believe it will protect us from the asbestos.

Before driving to the mines we were taken to the local miners market where we bought some gifts for the miners. I bought some fizzy pop, cigarettes, sweets, coca (cocaine) leaves and a stick of dynamite. When I realised anyone can buy sticks of dynamite for $2 each, I couldn't help but buy myself five more sticks together with several bags of ammonium nitrate and fuses for my personal entertainment later that evening.

Our guide nicknamed us team dynamite with reference to my large purchase and gave us a brief safety talk before entering the mines. It went something like this "If you touch the metal pipes, you will die. If you touch these wires, they have electricity, you will die. If you slip down a shaft, you will probably die. If toxic gases are released you will die, If the mine collapses there will be no rescue and you will die. Beware hundreds of thousands of people have died in these mines, caveins are increasing. You are no different to the workers in these mines!". With that thought in mind we downed a 96% proof shot of what could only be described as petrol (alcohol potable) before entering the mines.

After the reassuring safety talk we entered the initial shaft. It was barely moments before we were scrambling along the walls of narrow tunnels in complete darkness while trying to avoid being hit by railroad carts full of ore that were hurtling along the track towards us. The altitude sickness and lack of oxygen soon kicked in leaving me completely breathless while hyperventilating the dust through my bandenna and into my lungs. Everyone soon realised this was not going to be easy, we were only on level one, and at this point it was possible to stand upright. One of the Irish lads soon dropped out and returned to the surface. I don't blame him, for what followed was so insane that I actually thought I would not make it out alive!

The four of us pushed on. We soon arrived at the opening to level two. It was a near vertical descent. There was no safety harnesses or ladders, we basically descended by scrambling through a tunnel no bigger than my body. It was incredibly scary, you couldn't see anything except for the rocks lit up by our lamps. There was nothing to hold on to. It was dangerous with a vertical mine shaft to the right dropping hundreds of metres into the darkness.

As I climbed down to level two, the air became thin. We all began hyperventilating heavily. I remember it bringing me to my knees a couple of times while crawling through the low level tunnels. I was battling with altitude sickness, lack of oxygen and dust. Only makeshift wooden planks held up tones of rock above our heads. I began to feel very claustrophobic. Í hit my head on several occasions. One of the girls began to panic. It was horrendous, there was no toilets for the miners, we were crawling through human piss and shit. No one could breath, the dust was so thick and heat so intense that it was unbearable.

As we crawled through level two on our hands and knees we passed many miners ascending after a hard days work. I said olla to everyone I passed and shook their hand. I used it as an excuse to stop for a second to gain my bearings and rest up. These poor guys looked exhausted. I had only been in the mines 30 minutes, they had been working down there 7 hours doing manual labour. Words cant even describe how horrendous their job is, I would never send my worst enemy into these mines. I will never complain about going to work in an office again!

We soon arrived at another shaft descending to level three. This descent is indescribable. I just wanted to get the fuck out!. I felt dizzy and unable to breath. I was seriously hyperventilating with incredible pain in my lungs. I was shaking from lack of oxygen and dripping with sweat. My hands and feet had gone numb and I had shooting pains through my legs.

We desperately scrambled around level three and got to see the miners working with pic axes and shovels. They were dressed in few cloths and using medieval mining techniques. None had face masks or safety equipment. Much of their equipment looked old and worn. The expression on their faces was pure pain. I have never seen anything like it. They were being treated like animals in the worst zoo imaginable. I don't know if it was because I was mentally messed up at this point but it was an incredibly emotional experience!

Looking at the expressions on all our faces, our guide soon realised we were ready to get out of this hell hole. We were exhausted and had enough. But he wasn't going to let us out of the mines without facing our biggest challenge yet. He wanted us to experience the true nightmare of working in the mines. He pointed to a tunnel that was difficult to see because of the dust. He told us we had to make it up to the surface ourselves. He gave us basic directions which will haunt me forever. He said ¨turn left, 300 metres, left again, crawl 400 metres and then right, up the tunnel to the next level and I will meet you there¨.

We set off together wriggling through the smallest spaces. My mind was completely spinning with the directions. My body felt in pain. There was a maze of tunnels going in every direction. We had already made one wrong turn and had to go back. I felt the true nightmare of being lost in a maze of tunnels miles underground. It didn't help that the girl in front kept saying she couldn't go on. I had to motivate her, after all she was blocking the way out! I seriously thought she was in trouble. I could hear her hyperventilating loudly. She kept coughing and collapsing to the ground. I felt like I was going to die. Each breath I took was so difficult. The pain in my lungs was indescribable. I remember looking at the ground and thinking I was going to suffocate to death! I seriously felt like I was in trouble!

By some miracle we managed to scramble through the tunnels and find our way up to level one. Its strange but you could almost begin to smell the fresh air. We met our guide who seemed happy that we had such an eye opening experience. He truly let us feel the nightmare of working in the mines.

The mental challenge you go through is insane. I felt like it had taken 10 years off my life. The asbestos dust is everywhere, I have no idea what long term health effects this may have. The mine tunnels feel unsafe and I seriously felt in danger. I will never look at silver jewellery in the same way again. I would never go back into the Potosi mines again and I have the deepest respect for the workers in those mines. I would not recommend this to anyone.

Fuck You Lonely Planet - Pure Bloody Insanity!

Now I get to play with Dynamite.....

---

Comments

[M. Perera]

I would recommend this
I have also been on the same tour into the mines of Potosí, and would agree that this is a fairly accurate description of what you experience whilst in the mines. However I would definitely recommend this to anyone who is travelling in Bolivia, it is such an incredibly weird and creepy experience, that you cannot describe merely in words. Perhaps it is insanity, and definitely suicidal if you have any breathing problems already, but otherwise it is equally insane to miss out on this. It is definitely not for the faint hearted, very heavy duty, but so worth it!