The Potosi mine tour is something that would probably not be possible in any other country. That in itself is both reason to do it and not to do it. The mines are old, some working mines date from the 1500s when the Spanish first began mining Cerro Rico for it's silver, and conditions look to have improved little. It's uncomfortable, hot, claustrophobic, dusty and dangerous. But it has to be seen to be believed. The men and boys (some little more than children, some are children) spend upwards of 12 hours a day, 6 days a week, working in these conditions to extract what little is left for very meagre earnings (2-4 dollars a day). And what's more it is killing them. The average life expectancy for a Potosi miner is mid thirties. If he
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