Potosi!

Hola!!

Again, getting the local bus to Potosi was as stressful as usual.... our seat numbers didnt even exist (the bus was too small) so thought we wouldnt even be able to get on the bus but luckily we got our seats changed and managed to get on the bus, only to find that it was impossible to open any windows and the bus was like a smelly sauna and it was so hot outside! :o( The only good bit about the bus was that i got to play a hero for 5 minutes.... while sat on the bus I saw the bus driver throwing boxes up on to the roof (there was no luggage compartment under the bus) and his mobile flew out of his pocket and under the bus without him realising! The guy next to him picked up his mobile, thought about giving it back to him but then turned round and started talking to a woman! I told Marieke and thought about going to say something but I wasnt completely sure it was his phone and didnt want to embarrass myself, but then when i saw the driver start running around desperately looking for his mobile i knew i was sure what id seen and decided to go and save the day! It took me about 5 minutes to squeeze my way off the bus as there were about 10 too-fat-to-squeeze-past women in my way and by the time i got off the bus I couldnt see either of them anymore... was just about to give up when i saw the driver coming out from under the bus (obviously still looking for his phone!) and saw the guy who had stolen it making a quick dash across the road! I ran over to the driver and asked if he had lost his phone, he said yes, and told him to follow me, I then ran after the man (who was luckily fat and therefore slow!) and told him to give the driver back his phone! The guy acted completely not guilty as if he had been planning to return it any second, the bus driver thanked me and then i got back on the bus feeling very smug.... putting the world to right one day or one thief at a time! :o) However, it turned out this wasnt our only good deed of the day... after a couple of hours of driving through the desert everyone on the bus was sweating and dying from the heat and all the windows were welded shut.... after stopping for lunch and getting back on the bus it was even hotter than before, it really was unbearable! So i told Marieke to give me her swiss army knife and after about 5 minutes i managed to pry the window open, then we sat back and contently watched the mexican wave of people on the bus turn around when they felt the breeze and smile at us gratefully! Another mission accomplished! :o)

Potosi is the highest city in the world at over 4000m and otherwise known as the city of silver as the mountain is referred to as being made of silver and has been a huge mining town since the 1500s! We decided to save money by walking to our hostel instead of getting a taxi which turned out to be big mistake.... it was all up hill which at over 4000m and with all our bags in the heat was such hard work! By the time we got to the hostel at the top of the hill we could barely breath and were about to faint, only to find out that the "cheapest" hostel listed in the Lonely Planet was actually 10 times more expensive than it said in the book but luckily there was a much cheaper one not too far away! :o)

The next day we just wandered around the town and looked at all the pretty churches, plazas and markets, i managed to get my wallet stolen (luckily barely anything in it) in an internet cafe, and had an early night learning Spanish! The next morning we went on the famous but scary mining tour! First we had to stop off in a little alley where you have to buy gifts for the workers down in the mines.... we bought the typical platter between the 4 of us (an older French couple were also in our group!) which consisted of big bottles of coca cola, cigarettes, a bottle of alcohol (96%!!!!!!!!!!!!) and ofcourse lots of bags of coca leaves!! Apparantly each miner chews about 40g of coca leaves a day as it curbs hunger and increases alertness and productivity!

We then got kitted up in our miners suits, wellies and helmets and headed off the the mines! Before going into the mines our guide told us to start chewing some of the coca leaves as its a bit scary in there and we would need them! I didnt really want to but everyone else did so thought id join in..... yuk yuk yuk! It tasted absolutely disgusting and after a while your cheek starts going numb.... the others seem to think it was really good but i started feeling a bit weird and it tasted so gross that i quietly spat it all out when noone was looking! :o) The mine tour was really interesting but its absolutely insane the conditions that the miners have to work in... they dont really get breaks (although apparantly they dont really need them, not even lunch breaks, because of the coca leaves), work long hours, the fumes/dust is horrible, its so dark and apparantly quite dangerous! They were all really nice and were grateful for our gifts, chatted to us and gave us bits of silver rock! They all looked like hamsters though because nearly ever single one had an absolutely HUGE cheek filled with coca leaves, it looked so funny! The tour was really tiring too.... you can only access the upper and lower levels of the mines by long rickety wooden ladders that are soo narrow and so steep they were sometimes at more than a 180degree angle... it was really hard to hold on... i thought my arms were going to fall off!! One time I was the first one up the ladder and Marieke was still standing at the bottom and suddenly my welly fell off (they were a bit big!) flew down and hit Marieke in the face! Ooops! :o( It was also difficult because of the temperatures in the mines... ranging from 0 degrees to 25 degrees!

Towards the end of the tour Marieke and I went down another level (this time there was no ladder so we just had to scramble down the rubble, trying to hold on to random men) to see the dynamite they had planted (there are explosions at noon and 5pm every day) but suddenly we heard the French woman shouting at us to come back quickly! We raced back to where we had left them to find her husband about to faint and drenched in sweat! Nurse Marieke came to the rescue and laid him on the floor with his head in her lap with his wife and I holding a leg each in the air and after about 10 minutes he was ok again (thank goodness because i couldnt have held his leg for a second longer... my arms were shaking uncontrolably!).... i know how he felt though.. i felt dizzy and weird quite a few times in the mines! Our last stop was a little cave where there was a big statue of a devil which is supposed to bring protection to the miners.... he is surrounded by coca leaves and alcohol and the miners go there to socialise/celebrate a particularly hard days work or achievement! 2 guys came along while we were there and drank a lot of 96% alcohol (which included a ritual of spilling drops on the devils hands and the coca leaves each side before taking a sip!).... i asked if they could still work after the alcohol and they said yes!! I have no idea how!!

We got warned before tour not to do it if you have asthma or if you are at all claustrophobic but it was fine.... although i did feel a bit nervous sometimes when it got really narrow or especially on the ladders... one wrong step and you would have been in a world of trouble! It was really interesting but we were really relieved when we finally got out of the mines... i really dont know how the miners do that everyday... some have been working there for 28 years! Apparantly the average life expectancy for the mine workers isnt particularly long because of all the dangerous fumes they breathe in everyday!

That afternoon we went for lunch, wandered around and then got our bus to Sucre! We have been in Sucre a few days now and really love it here..... its beautiful!! Tomorrow im getting the bus to Buenas Aires on my own and Marieke is off to Venezuela as her ex boyfriend/boyfriend is visiting for 3 weeks! We have had the best time together and it has been lovely having someone to travel around with so i think there might be a few tears tomorrow, it will be weird travelling on my own again as i havent gotten a bus anywhere on my own for over 2 months now, but im sure it will be fine and i know a few people who will be in BA at the same time as me which will be nice! And im really looking forward to starting the childrens project and staying in one place for 3 weeks! :o)

Hope you all hunky-dorey!! Miss u all and lots of love xxxxxxxx

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