Potosi Bolivia

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Days 63-64 Today was a 4 hour trip to Potosi by local bus for a two day stay at a hostel built in 1792.

The trip was a constant climb of nearly 1400 mtrs over a 150 km's as Potosi is the highest city of its kind in the world (nearly 4100 mtrs). The country was mostly arid following a huge dry river bed but which must be huge during the wet season as all the bridges along the way cover the whole width of the river.

On entering the outskirts of Potosi it was just like all the other towns & cities we have stayed at along the way of our whole trip, (ie intensely poor people, ramshackle & decrepit housing, litter strewn everywhere & wandering mangy dogs) & our thoughts began to wonder why are we staying here. Yet again though as we we weave our way threw a rabbit warren maze of narrow streets we reached the Spanish colonial heart of the town & there is a transformation to a solid, clean, organised & a wonderfully atmospheric town.

The old town sits high over the new town at the base of the imposing red coloured Cerro Rico mountain with it's almost perfect triangular shape & history of vast mineral riches which is the reason for Potosi's continued existence & very wealthy past.

Potosi has had a turbulent past, centred mostly around its mining successes and failures. During the Spanish colonial days, the extensive mining of Potosi's silver rich Cerro Rico was said to have kept Spain running for 300 years. During this time, Potosi briefly celebrated life as one of the richest cities in the world. In the 1800s, the supply of silver declined as did the market price and the city started to suffer. Working conditions in the mines were appalling and huge numbers of indigenous people died. African slaves were then brought in to replace them and it's said that as many as 8 million people died in the mines during the Spanish era.

We arrived in Potosi with warm sun yet within an hour we had rain, the tiniest flakes of snow and back to sun. Because of the vast quantities of silver produced Spain decided to build a huge mint at the source of the silver & became the centre of coin distribution in the world & remained in operation up till 1951. We took a fascinating tour of the mint which retains much of the original equipment & some still in working order. No money was spared in building the mint & included an art gallery that now forms a very valuable collection, mostly of a religious theme & once again by anonymous but talented indigenous artists. Other paintings record battle scenes of victories by Charles V. (Not sure of his history but he must have been one hell of a fighter if these painting are anything to go by.)

The coins produced were 95% pure silver & initially hand made with rough edges so each coin was slightly different in value dependent on the silver content. Silver ingots were produced on site in open furnaces required to reach 960 degrees. Giant oak rolling mills powered by mules at basement turnstiles compressed the ingots until reduced to the required coin depth & passed to other machines & pressed into silver disks & initially made 1 at a time before improved mechanisation occurred.

Next day most of us decided to take a tour of a Cerro Rico mine which was one of the most challenging or stupidest things I have ever done. As I survived I could say challenging but it would be a close run thing.

The mines are run as co-operatives after they were all nationalised in 1952 & run badly by the government until the country went bankrupt in 1982 & then washed their hand of running the mines & instead leased them to co-operatives.

As part of the tour it is customary to bring gifts to the miners as they are still poorly paid & work in appalling conditions. 3 common choices are available at nearby stores:

- a dynamite stick ( it's legal to sell to anyone over the counter), fuse wire & a small bag of ammonium nitrate

-40% Pisco lacquer & an orange juice mixer to relax with after a shift or end of week

-coco leaves to chew on all day to supposedly give a high or energy boost + a pair of gloves

We are kitted up in helmet + head light, jacket, pants & gum boots & started at a makeshift lower entrance. We walk along a rail cart track at times needing to bend almost a right angles before climbing up almost vertical wooden stairs or literally walking the plank across deep shaft holes to get to higher levels. All the while keeping the claustrophobia in check & fighting to gain sufficient breath in the rarefied air through a face scarf to prevent inhaling the ever present residual fumes from explosions.

None of us knew exactly why we did it other than its a popular thing to do on the tourist route. Only Ruth took a principled stand against any involvement given the history of the mine.

The last part of the tour was to reach the mine shaft face where 7 dynamite charges were set before we moved to a safer area to listen to the explosions. Even though we knew what was coming the 1st explosion seemed far bigger than what we expected as it reverberated through the tunnels. The next 5 went of randomly with no timed sequence. The 7th did not go off. When this occurs work ceases for 24 hrs with checks by the leader through the rest of the day. After 2 hrs down the mine most of us were more than ready to exit.

In the afternoon we visited the Hacieneda Cayara a grand estate built in 1557 by one of the wealthiest silver mine owners in the Potosi region. The hacienda was at the centre of a massive land grant by the king of Spain & contained many mines but much of the valley land is now used for intensive agriculture. The hacienda is still very grand & the main reception areas have magnificent roof frescoes covering themes from the then known world but still look in almost perfect condition. A extensive library of extremely rare books are poorly maintained in an open room but amazingly survive due to the very dry atmosphere.

Later some went for a dip in a hot spring volcanic crater to cap off a busy 2 days in Potosi.

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Photos

Original coin stamping machine
3 men for 1 coin at a time

Shrine to Pacha Mamma
Miners visit site in mine each day give coca leaves, cigarettes & alcohol & pray for safety