La Paz to Potosi

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Week 6

La Paz is the highest capital city of the world at 3600m lying at the bottom of a steep canyon and ringed by snow peaked mountains. Our Hotel Continental was in the heart of the city along a road lined with bowler-hatted women selling a variety of clothes and food stuffs. In trying to get our bearings the first day we managed to get lost in the maze of bustling street markets. That night we visited a popular bar called Ram Jam - an energetic throbbing place clearly aimed at gringos with an oxygen bar upstairs where you could intoxicate yourself with O2!

The following day, after a healthy breakfast in a cafe aptly named 100%!N(MISSING)atural, we visited the coca museum to learn more about this famous plant that has shaped much of the history of South America. The museum explains the role of coca in traditional societies, its use by the soft drink and pharma industries and the growth of cocaine as an illegal drug. Tt is apparent that coca represents the 'social lubricant' in South America in much the same way as alcohol does in Europe. The plant is woven into the social fabric such that when a couple marry, they must build two things - a house and a coca field. As regards coca and mining, miners will not enter the mine without chewing coca and used to consume up to 380g per week representing ca 12% of their salary. It was adopted by the Spanish as a method of payment over and above other minerals.

There are apparently 200 species of coca and production lasts for 25-40 years with a break every 5 years yielding four harvests p.a. According to the guidebook, the stimulating effects of cocaine were discovered by Sigmund Freud and it was only really considered harmful in the1950's. In fact the perceived benefits of cocaine apparently include:
* increased tolerance for work
* stimulating respiratory centres
* decreasing the build-úp of platelets
* regulating the metabolism of glucose
* not inhibiting the normal daily consumption of nutrients
* help in adapting to life at high altitude

It was at the Geneva Convention in 1961, that the UN declared that cocaine should be eliminated and only grown for use by industry. Now only 36 countries have the right to produce cocaine legally e.g. for anaesthetics such as procaine and for flavouring. Coca Cola does not actually contain cocaine (this stopped in 1914) but uses the coca leaf for flavouring.

The museum outlined how to make cocaine by:
* extracting the cocaine as raw paste (seven men can process 328kg of coca leaves in 8-12 hours giving 1kg of cocaine paste. Such workers would earn US$5 per hour for a 12 hour day)
* refining the raw paste to get base cocaine
* crystallising which requires sulphuric acid, hydrochloric acid, acetone and ether.
The cost of producing 1 kg of cocaine was estimated at US$9660 giving a street value of 10 times that value. All very interesting and informative but with a clear consistent warning about the dangers of misuse.

Next stop was the witches market (mercado de hechiceria) which sells fascinating charms, love potions/herbs and more gruesome items such as llama foetuses. Catherine and I then tried to have lunch at Wagamamas only to find it shutting at 2.30pm despite being open for lunch. More shopping for crafts in the afternoon and then a race to get purchased items packaged up and sent back to the UK before the main Post Office closed. Dinner was falafels at a Greek-Middle Eastern restaurant.

The following day, the most adventurous (stupid!) of the group opted to cycle the world´s most dangerous road between La Paz and Corioco with a company called Gravity Assisted . It was the Inter American Development Bank (IDB) report of fatal accidents that caused the road to be labelled the most dangerous as an average of 26 vehicles used to disappear over the edge into the abyss. The gravel track which hugs the cliffs is 3.2m wide with sheer 100m drops, rock overhangs and waterfalls. The guidebooks mentioned dogs that stand as sentinels awaiting handouts from lorry dirvers hoping that their ancestral spirits will look after them. At the pass, drivers also perform a ceremony (´challa - offering a toast to an indigenous deity) for the apus (ambient mountain spirits) sprinkling their vehicles with pure alcohol before making the descent. Something we were encouraged to do in terms of pouring alcohol on the ground to pachamama (mother earth) and onto our front tyre for protection. I also prayed! Crosses lining the way testify to the frequency of vehicle accidents and one of the most significant occurred in 1983 when a lorry plunged over with 100 passengers. Accidents can be the result of drunk driving, carelessness and right of way disputes as well as the weakness of the earth beneath the precarious turnouts although a new road has removed most of the regular traffic.

The road runs for 64km and drops 300m from La Cumbre (4700m) to Corioco (1700m). It was spectacular although I was somewhat thankful that the cloud prevented us from seeing most of the precipitous drops as we navigated varoius twists and turns. Sitting astride our bikes with back and front suspension, we learned how to read the ruts and balance ourselves for the unexpected. That was until one of our group (James) misjudged a turn and tumbled ending up with a broken collar bone which somewhat marred the whole adventure. With our support bus now requisitioned to take him to hospital, we continued at a more steady pace, following instructions from our ´gravity assisted´ guide and still enjoying the challenge. It was truly exhilarating - one of the best days for me in South America. As we broke through the cloud, we were treated to panoramic views of forested gorges, winding rivers and towns perched on hilltops. What an amazing day as we ended up at a jungle lodge to enjoy hot showers and feast on pasta and salad whilst being introduced to various rescued animals (monkeys, parakeets, ossolots etc.). I also paid for a T-shirt to prove I´d survived the day. Eventually the bus returned to transport us to La Paz where we learned that James would need an operation to insert a steel plate.

Next day we set off to Potosi, the highest city of its size in the world at 4070m. It was founded by the Spaniards in 1545 after they discovered indigenous mine workings at Cerro Rico (started 1651) which still dominate the city. Immense amounts of silver were once extracted and by the 17th century it was the largest city in the Americas although Cerro Rico was described by one Spanish writer in the mid 16th century as the ´mouth of hell´. Over the next two centuries the silver extracts declined and it almost became a ghost city until the demand for tin in the 20th century. Mining continues in Cerro Rico - mainly tin, zince, lead, antimony and wolfram. Large parts of Potosi are colonial, particularly around the Plaza 10 de Noviembre with its Cathedral, Royal Treasury and Mint. The latter was founded in 1572 and 30 of its 160 rooms are now a museum including an art gallery, coin dies, hugh wooden presses and a huge grinning mask of Bacchus over an archway - its smile said to be ironic and aimed at the departing Spaniards. Our hostel (Companie de Jesus) was of colonial style arranged around a courtyard and we dined sumptuously that night at a local restaurant (El Fogan). My choice was sirloin steak in ameretto/almonds, washed down with red wine followed by a banana split - all for the pricely sum of 4 UK pounds.

The principal reason for our visit to Potosi was to take a mine tour. The state mines were closed in the 1980´s and are now worked as cooperatives by groups of miners. The 4.5 hour tour to the mines basically involves meeting the miners, seeing them working in near medieval conditions. and I found the visit both physically and emotionally draining. The first step involved being clad in protective clothing (welly boots, overalls, pit helment and lamp) and then buying various gifts for the miners (e.g. coca leaves, soft drinks, pure alcohol , cigarettes of cinnamon/aniseed/tobacco, and even dynamite!). Before we entered the mine at 4000m, we were given a demonstration of the dynamite blasting through rock - quite impressive.

Our guide informed us that the mine now has 14km of passageways and up until 10 years ago, the rock was either carried on people´s backs or in wheelbarrows. Now they have narrow tracks along which the trolleys trundle. The miners range in age from 15-45years gold although some guidebooks suggest that the lifespan of a miner is only 15 years. The next two hours were spent crouching (at times crawling) around, breathing in noxious gases and meeting minders working in appalling conditions. There are apparently 16000 miners in Cerro Rico earning about 65-100 Bolivian soles (BS) per day with the manager and assistant of each mining group getting 600-1000 BS per day depending on the depending on the quality of the rock mined. Approx 40 tonnes of silver are mined each year in addition to zinc and other minerals. This rock is exported with the smelting and refining done overseas.

The whole experience was memorable if discomforting recognising the ongoing exploitation by western nations through globalisation. That evening, we enjoyed another meal in an unusual restaurant that was converted from a sheep shearing warehouse with various pieces of agricultural machinery amidst the dining tables.

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Photos

Witches market
Special potions, foetuses etc.

Jungle lodge
rescued animals

Gifts for the miners
Coca, tobacco, dynamite...

The devil underground
intention is to ward off evil - devil lives underground