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Published: March 26th 2011
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Cheap food, cheap accommodation, cheap transport, and cheap activities…where else in South America but the wonderful BOLIVIA!
After coming down off our high from the salt flats, we came to the realisation that we had another new country at our doorstep ready to explore. And the first thing we noticed about being in Bolivia was the price of things….overnight we went from paying about $20 each for accommodation to less than $6 or $7, finally something for our wallets to smile about. Being the cheapest country in South America for tourist’s means that unfortunately Bolivia is also the poorest; however it is incredibly rich in natural wonders, resources and attractions. The Amazon jungle and Andes Mountain Range just to name a few.
So where to explore first then? We decided to head to the worlds highest city, Potosi. Made famous not because of its height, but instead it’s once mineral rich land, Potosi was founded in 1545 after the discovery of ore deposits in the mountain framing the city, the Cerro Rico Mountain. Mines were quickly established and by the end of the 18th century, due to the excavation of thousands of tones of silver, tin and zinc, Potosi
was the largest and richest city in the ENTIRE world, bigger than both London and Paris. Being owned and run the Spanish, the Cerro Rico mines helped to finance the development of Spain and the operation of all of their wars.
Today, however, Potosi is a completely different story. The mines still operate however the minerals have been depleted and the majority of the income from whatever is left go to companies outside of Bolivia. What is more devastating however is the current condition of work in the mines. Over 10,000 people per day can be found working in extremely harsh and dangerous environments inside the mountain extracting what is left. Out of this, about 1,000 are children as young as 10 years old! In order to earn enough money to feed their families, many miners also work 24 hour shifts, at temperatures up to 50 degrees Celsius, for days at a time. In addition to the threat of accidents and mine collapse the future is bleak for a miner as his life is short. Silicosis (dust in the lungs) claims miners at the average age of about 35 or 40 years. Since its opening, the mine has claimed
approximately 8 million lives, earning Cerro Rico the name “the Mountain the eats men”.
So how did we learn all this? Well we decided to take a tour of the mines in Potosi ourselves and experience it first hand in order to really get an understanding. Now when Zack first suggested crawling through hot, enclosed spaces, deep underground, I told him there was no chance of me joining him. But when we got to Potosi, saw the town and heard about the history, I really wanted to learn more and see the mines for myself. So I manned up and donned boots, pants, jacket, a helmet and head torch and headed underground. The tour company we went with supports the miners financially, and employs ex-miners as guides such as our guide Diego who was a 22 year old Bolivian born and bred in Potosi. He started working in the mine when he was 13 but three years later when his grandfather passed away from Silicosis, decided to get out before it was too late. Tourism helped him to learn English and give him a salary so he could attend university where he is now studying to become a civil
engineer. Having experienced it first hand, Diego knew the mines back to front and assured us we were in good hands.
But before we entered the actual mine, we took a quick detour to the miners market where we bought presents for the miners who we would see whilst we were in the mine. Dynamite, ammonia nitrate, alcohol (965 mind you), and coca leaves…all considered as “gifts” but despite scepticism, necessities for the miners. As the mining is done by hand with a hammer and chisel, dynamite is needed to blow out the rock, and the miners chew coca leaves all day every day in order to fight hunger and fatigue.
In the end we spent about 2 hours down the actual mine, visiting miners, talking with them, hearing about their lives and families, and witnessing them work. We travelled down two levels (out of 17) which involved crawling on our hands and knees through tunnels, sliding down embankments and climbing back up ladders, where it got hot, stuffy and dusty. Although terrifying and extremely emotional it was an incredible experience which opened our eyes to one of Bolivia biggest problems and was something that will stay with us
forever.
Note: for anyone who is interested, check out the 2005 American made documentary on the Potosi mines, The Devils Miner. Brilliant film that follows the story of a 14 year old boy working in the mines.
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