Blogs from Potosi, Potosí Department, Bolivia, South America

Potosí Silver Mine: Playing with Dynamite (15/07/2018-16/07/2018) Silver is big business in Bolivia. In Potosí (4000m) lies Cerro Rico (4800m): a huge mountain full of silver veins. Since the beginning of the mining, Cerro Rico (Rich Mountain) has lost over 400 meters in height due to the now 60 miles of tunnels created in eager search of silver. Now it is in imminent danger of collapsing into itself but all thanks to Bolivia's lack of health and safety standards, gringos are allowed to enter. Yay! Not only that, but you can buy miners presents from the local miners market and give them as gifts during the tour. Some bought lemonade, some bought gloves, some bought masks.. But I bought an actual stick of dynamite (it also comes with detonator and a bag of ammonium nitrate to ... read more

We are only spending one day here in Potosi . It is the oldest city in Bolivia founded by the Spanish in order to develop the silver mines. Many of the group are at and in the mine today . Somehow being underground , even wearing pounds of safety equipment did not appeal to me at all . The very idea sets me into a claustrophobic panic. I wish them well . The rest of us have a free day in the city . After all the charm of Sucre it took a while to see it´s soul . THERE ARE so many CHURCHES , ALL CLOSED AND LOCKED OF SOURSE . IT IS OBVIOUS THEY ARE TO REMAIN PLACES OF PRAYER NOT PLACES TO VISIT . I AM SADDENED BY THAT FOR I HAVE ALWAYS ... read more

Du 5 au 9 avril 2016 Marie C'est bien fatigués que nous arrivons à Potosi... Fatigue de notre tour magnifique dans le Salar de Uyuni. Fatigue du trajet de trois heures depuis Uyuni...trajet soit dit en passant super joli à travers des villages aux maisons et cultures authentiques et des panoramas sur de magnifiques vallées. Fatigue liée à l'altitude aussi, nous nous trouvons à plus de 4200 mètres d'altitude ! Mais tout de suite, nous sommes saisis par l'animation qui règne à Potosi, les petites rues du centre-ville grouillent de monde, il y a des tas de petits marchands de rue, la circulation est extrêmement dense... Petite parenthèse à ce sujet, depuis notre arrivée en Bolivie, impossible de s'habituer aux odeurs de pots d'échappement extrêmement fortes qui s'échappent de tous les véhicules ici ; au moins ... read more

Dejando atrás 3 días boquiabiertos por la belleza del Salar de Uyuni y el Sur de Lipez, bam! nos encontramos en Potosí. Uf! Podria decir que fue un shock… Como describir la ciudad mas alta del mundo (4100m)… Pues para que engañarnos, se respira la crueldad que los colonizadores, ejem, españoles, tuvieron con este pueblo con el objetivo de explotar la riqueza de sus minas. Sin ganas de ver el resultado de hoy en día, decidí no visitar las minas, así que será Tanguy quien cuente mas abajo la experiencia mas de cerca. La mirada dura de los potosinos, las subidas y bajadas de sus estrechas calles sombrías con aceras casi inexistentes, demasiados coches circulando bajo las reglas del caos, un mercado en el que no dan para nada ganas de comprar, y eso sí, todo ... read more

Hello People, Today we had nothing planned, and as it was a Sunday there wasn’t anything open for us to do anyway. We did have a walk around Potosi however, to discover there really isn’t much here! I wrote up a cover letter for P&O to apply to the Tours and Excursions department because Neil has been offered Arcadia from October. There is not a youth department onboard, so I’m going to see if I can work onboard Arcadia in the tours department instead. It could be a long shot to actually get the job and then specifying only for Arcadia. Who knows what the future holds. All I know is that I don’t want to be apart from him for 3 months, and I don’t particularly want to be an unemployed travel partner...but a world ... read more