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Potosi is the highest city in the world at an altitude of 4060 metres above sea level- yikes! Luckily I seem to have adjusted to the altitude quite well and am no longer puffing and panting so much walking down the street.
Potosi used to be majorly rich due to the silver that was found within the mountain that overlooks the town- Cerro Rico. Mines were built there and are still worked in today, although the good silver veins are no longer there and it is mostly a mineral mix that is mined. Before arriving in Potosi I´d watched a documentary called ´The Devil´s Miner´ about a 15 year old boy who worked in the mine because he had to support his family- so sad! I thought I´d be quite prepared for a visit to the mine, but it was actually a lot worse than I´d anticipated.
I´d heard that there was one tour company that went a lot deeper into the mines that the others so you could really appreciate the working conditions there, so I decided to go with them (Koala tours). Part of the money tourists pay for the tours goes to the miners´ co-operative, and
All the things you need for dynamite!
(as well as the bottle of 96% alcohol that the miners drink on Fridays- ick!)we all bought them gifts before we went in (tobacco, cocoa leaves, soft drinks etc..... I bought them dynamite!!!)
Everyone gets kitted out in wellies, protective trousers and top and hard hats with head lamps. Then the tour of the mine begins. I assumed that most of the time I´d be able to stand up as I walked through the tunnels, but within the first ten minutes I had to duck, squat, shuffle on my bum and crawl on my hands and knees. I lost count of the times I banged my head (well, hard hat) on the stone ceiling. The walls and ceiling were covered in aspestos and arsenic in many places which was a bit scary! There was also so much dust everwhere. Luckily I´d bought a bandana to cover my mouth and nose before I went in which helped a bit. We went down to a mini-level between the 3rd and 4th level of the mine. The temperature was boiling because we were so far underground. There we met a miner who had been working down the mine for 29 years (many miners die within 10 years of entering the mines due to silicosis in the
lungs) and his 13 year old son who had been working there for 3 years. That was a bit of a shocker, and quite upsetting.
Climbing back out of the tunnels were much worse than the original journey, and I was ready to cry by the time I reached the top. I really couldn´t believe the conditions that people have to work in there- it was terrible. Our guide (who´d worked in the mine until he´d had a back accident and had to stop) told us that the average wage in Bolivia is between 300 and 700 Bolivianos a month (20 to 45 pounds) but the miners that work in the worst areas earn 2000 a month, so you can see why they do it.
On the way out we visited a statue of a devil like man called ´Tio´(uncle). Every mine has a statue of Tio, and the miners give him offerings every day because they believe that it will protect them from mining accidents and help them find more minerals.
Things got a bit more lighthearted (thankfully) as we got the mine, as we´d had the opportunity to buy some dynamite for ourselves earlier in
the day. The guide showed us how to put all the elements together (when I unwrapped the stick of dynamite it was like green dry play-dough!!!), he lit the fuse, then ran off into the hills to put them down and run back. After 3 minutes the boom was MASSIVE!!!!! We all jumped a mile in the air!!!
I wouldn´t say that I enjoyed the day, but it was definitley an experience and made me realise how lucky I am !!!!
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Hannah
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"MRS"
So..."Mrs Boombastic" what are you not telling us about you and the rather attractive Tio???