http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Bolivia/Potosi-Department/Potosi/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from South America , Bolivia , Potosi Department , Potosi en-us Fri, 05 Dec 2008 01:02:50 UTC Fri, 05 Dec 2008 01:02:50 UTC Back on the dubious buses and yes we had the obligatory breakdown on a mountain pass and annoying kids on the seat behind screaming and kicking but after a beautiful and eventful climb through the Bolivian Andes we arrived in the highest city in the world Potosi. Sat in front of the city is an almost perfect conical mountain that is savagely scarred. From base to summit it is shredded by hund http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Bolivia/Potosi-Department/Potosi/blog-350166.html Last fall when I was living in Guadalajara I had the opportunity to see the most amazing photography exhibit. Titled Todos los das la noche Every day the night the exhibit by JeanClaude Wicky showed up close and personal the lives of the miners who live in Potos Bolivia and spend years of their lives under the ground. I first saw the exhibit on my own and then later on a field trip w http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Bolivia/Potosi-Department/Potosi/blog-349193.html Dag 145. Vi hadde bestemt oss for aa besoke minene i Cerro Rico det rike fjellet og maatte derfor staa tidlig opp for aa melde oss paa guidet tur. Vi maatte melde oss paa for kl. 08 samme dag for det var ikke mulig aa melde seg paa kvelden for. Prisen var 80 bs. pr.pers og vi skulle bli hentet ca. kl. 09 paa hostellet. I mellomtiden spiste vi frokost paa hostellet. Det var treg servering lit http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Bolivia/Potosi-Department/Potosi/blog-344538.html Dag 144. Vi hadde planer om aa reise videre til Potosi onsdag slik at vi kunne faa vasket og torket litt klaer. Da vi hadde staatt opp spurte Guy om vi hadde lyst aa vaere med og spleise paa en drosje til Potosi idag. Etter forrige busstur fristet det veldig aa ta drosje framfor buss. Vi ville da spare ca. 2 timer. Jeremy begynte paa spanskkurs siden han folte at aa kun snakke og forstaa engelsk http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Bolivia/Potosi-Department/Potosi/blog-344529.html HolaAgain 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 http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Bolivia/Potosi-Department/Potosi/blog-340023.html We have been in a bit of hurry to get south so we only spent a few days in Potosi the highest city in the world famous for its silver mines. Get the lame title Mines. Miners. Short time. Minor stop. See it Miner vs. Minor Funny No. It isnt. I know. Lame attempt. But come on... this is something like my fiftieth blog and titles are simply not easy to think up so give me a break. The city http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Bolivia/Potosi-Department/Potosi/blog-339813.html Uma viagem de trs horas no dia seguinte nos levou a Potos a mais alta cidade do mundo localizada a pouco mais de quatro mil metros de altitude. Logo na chegada o nibus passa em frente ao estdio do time de futebol local. Uma obra de ampliao do estdio estava em curso pois naquele ano o time de Potos disputaria pela primeira vez a Copa Libertadores e o nico mrito do time era ter um http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Bolivia/Potosi-Department/Potosi/blog-336292.html Irsquom laughing as I am writing this as this was such a hilarious day. Potosi is a pretty rubbish town to be honest and we were only there to visit a working silver mine. Before we got in the mine we were asked if we wanted to buy a stick of dynamite for 80p.. yeah sure why notrsquo and 2 mins later all 14 of us bought sticks of dynamite with all the stuff you needed to detonate it This is http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Bolivia/Potosi-Department/Potosi/blog-334795.html Second CityIn the midfifteenth century the Incan king Huayna Capac came to Ccolque Porco and Andaccaua for an inspection of his silver mines. On the way he saw a tall imposing mountain. Sure that this mountain would also be full of silver he ordered his vassals to immediately begin exploring for ore.Men climbed the mountain and began searching for the hidden veins of silver. As soon as they w http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Bolivia/Potosi-Department/Potosi/blog-332729.html MattSucreWe spent a few days in the pleasant spanish colonial town of Sucre. During our time there we visited Parque Cretcico a cement quarry where in 1994 employees uncovered 6000 dinosaur tracks on a vertical mudstone hillside much to my disappointment the dinosaurs couldnt walk up walls it was once flat but the land was pushed upwards by plate tectonics. The park is now a minor tourist http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Bolivia/Potosi-Department/Potosi/blog-332694.html Day 85 Monday 22 September Getting lost in PotosiArrive at Potosi at 4pm which at 4060m is the highest city in the world. Doesn't look far from the bus station to the hostel I want to stay at so start to walk. Bad decision. Walking steeply uphill at 4km above sea level and getting lost severtal times on the way isn't good for the mood after a 3 hour bus journey. Can't be bothered to explore t http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Bolivia/Potosi-Department/Potosi/blog-327272.html Potos is a the capital of the department of Potos in Bolivia. It is claimed to be the highest city in the world. It lies beneath the Cerro de Potos mdash sometimes referred to as the Cerro Rico rich mountain mdash a mountain of silver ore which has always dominated the city. Cerro de Potos's peak is 4824 meters 15827 feet above sea level.After the worlds most dangerous road we tho http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Bolivia/Potosi-Department/Potosi/blog-323220.html We had a relatively uneventful bus ride from Sucre to Potosi which was only interrupted by a flat tyre meaning we all had to get off the bus and wait for a combi minivan to come past and take us the final 1 hour to our destination. Potosi is the highest city in the world resting at a mere 4090m above sea level and is famous for backpackers to do one thing.. visit the mines and play with dynamite http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Bolivia/Potosi-Department/Potosi/blog-322050.html Nitro Glycerine Dynamite Ammonium Nitrate Fertiliser and a 4 minute fuse.. A recipe for disaster Probably but what a surreal experience to unexpectedly run fuelled on adrenaline with five sticks of dynamite a bag of fertiliser and a lit fuse in hand. Sliding down the side of a mountain and stumbling over rocks in a complete panic before carefully placing the dynamite on the ground. Scram http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Bolivia/Potosi-Department/Potosi/blog-319875.html 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 w http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Bolivia/Potosi-Department/Potosi/blog-319838.html Potosi is a city of beauty madness and adventure. Maybe its the altitude sickness that creates a distorted view of the city or the insanity of crawling around in the Potosi Silver mines while hyperventilating asbestos dust makes this city appealing. With the option of creating a massive bomb out of Nitroglycerine and Ammonium Nitrate I cant possibly understand why this city only appeals to ins http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Bolivia/Potosi-Department/Potosi/blog-319805.html Potosi. Famous for Cerro Rico the scarred reddish hill whose proceeds propped up the Spanish Kingdom for over two centuries with silver. Unsurprisingly there is a mass of history here from a fabulously wealthy era gone by. The colonial architecture is testament to the population and wealth explosion that occured around the mining activities. Even now its splendour can be seen everywhere. But not http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Bolivia/Potosi-Department/Potosi/blog-315411.html When I arrived in Potosi it was 3am and one of the guys I was traveling with just realized someone had stole his backpack containing his 800 camera and passport. He handled the situation a lot better than I would have and he was able to sort things out. Potosi at 13500 ft is the highest city in the world and was once one of the wealthiest due to its large amounts of silver. The mines here h http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Bolivia/Potosi-Department/Potosi/blog-312618.html Die letzten 2 Tage verbringen wir in Potos der aufgrund ihres damals riesigen Silbervorkommens einst reichsten Stadt Suedamerikas. Heute ist die auf ca. 4100 m gelegene Stadt Unesco Weltkulturerbe nicht zu Unrecht und zugleich die hoechstgelegene Stadt der Welt.Ihr Reichtum liegt allerdings schon eine Weile zurueck im 16. Jh. war die Stadt wohl groesser als London heute sind von diesen http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Bolivia/Potosi-Department/Potosi/blog-308773.html A dirt track just over 200km long connects Uyuni with Potosi the nearly 6.5 hour bus ride sufficiently timeconsuming that even a Laotian might raise an eyebrow at the average speed. With a dozen backpackers clogging up the seats I'm sure the locals were none too pleased either as it was standing room only before we'd even left Uyuni. The journey was expedited and people's bladders tested by http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Bolivia/Potosi-Department/Potosi/blog-300718.html I got to Potosi midday after a horrible bus ride and settled into highest city of its size in the world. The main attraction of Potosi is its silver mine and to be able to tour it. On sunday morning we met with our guide and traveled to a site to get out fitted in our miner outfits. We got pants jackets rubber boots helmets and head lamps. Dressed in our mine outfits we headed to the miner ma http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Bolivia/Potosi-Department/Potosi/blog-299740.html A beautiful UNESCO world heritage listed city Potosi is a town with a dirty secret. The price of silver has cost hundreds of thousands of lives since it was first dicovered in the 1500's and conditions in the mines though improved still result in many fatalities to this day.For the price of AU20 it is possible to visit one of the 'safer' working mines in Potosi...I had every intention of taking http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Bolivia/Potosi-Department/Potosi/blog-294843.html Potosi is an exhausting place to be the altitude makes any form of exercise hugely tiring and the intense heat in the sun followed by the bitter cold at night makes it impossible to acclimatize. The one significant thing we did in Potosi was visit the mines in Cerro Rico the only reason Potosi was created exists and when the mines are exhausted Potosi will be a ghost town. Because of this http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Bolivia/Potosi-Department/Potosi/blog-287734.html Day 251 Wednesday 28 MayAfter breakfast we headed over to the bus station to take the bus to Potosi. Its only 4 hours away but at 4070m high its the highest city in the world. The temperatures also noticeable as well. Its ok in the sun but in the shade its cold.Potosis a mining town and was once one of the richest cities in the world with a population greater than London or Paris. Its also p http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Bolivia/Potosi-Department/Potosi/blog-284499.html Zoals beloofd mijn Sandboard filmpje. Helaas ging ik niet zo snel voor de camera. Ik had een te ruw stuk duin uitgezocht. Hopelijk kan ik wat spectaculaire surf opnames toevoegen als ik in Mancorra aankom.In mijn laatste update waren we net in Uyuni aangekomen. We waren gewaarschuwd voor de kou maar we vonden toch onze portomonnee belangrijker... Grote fout Wat was die hostal koud zeg 3 dik http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Bolivia/Potosi-Department/Potosi/blog-283747.html More to come on this one folks but just have to create these entries in orderGot some great pics too as soon as I can find an internet place with DVD capabilities because most of our pics are on DVDs not CDs which causes loads of problems when it comes to uploading them onto this blog. AaahBut in short....Potosi is the highest city in the world. And MAN do you feel it.. We got there on http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Bolivia/Potosi-Department/Potosi/blog-282636.html PotosiAt 4070 metres above sea level I'm fairly sure Potosi is the world's highest city. After the cold dorm rooms of the salt flat tour we decided to treat ourselves to a nice room with such luxuries as an ensuite bathroom TV and best of all...............heating I now realise how little I appreciated central heating when I had it.Potosi has been designated a UNESCO world cultural herita http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Bolivia/Potosi-Department/Potosi/blog-281961.html After we learned how to ask for a takeaway Pizza we had a quiet night in our warm hotel room drinking wine and flicking between the 2 English movie channels.After a great nights sleep we boarded our 6 hr Bolivian bus to take us to Potosi The highest city in the worldAt 4070m we are still within Matts limit. We had heard that caution with your luggage was required on the Bolivian Bus system an http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Bolivia/Potosi-Department/Potosi/blog-281223.html La route entre Uyuni est une route non goudronnee et qui dure pres de 6 heures an car. Le car en luimeme netait pas trop mal mais la route est longue et tres chahutee. Des gens se tenaient debout entre les sieges avec des bebes et des enfants qui dormaient par terre. Interessant surtout les odeurs.Bref nous voila a Potosi une ville miniere situee a 4060 metres daltitude ce qui e fait la vil http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Bolivia/Potosi-Department/Potosi/blog-280791.html Never heard of Potosi Well neither had we but supposedly it was the largest city in the entire world during the 1600s. The reason Cerro Rico Rich Mountain which contained ore of silver content five times higher than anywhere else on the planet. The Incas believed the site to be holy a natural shrine to Pacha Mamma Mother Earth and forbid mining there but the Spanish however had no su http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Bolivia/Potosi-Department/Potosi/blog-279748.html