Potosi

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Nothing like remembering your first weekend in bolivia...
Well Adam arrived friday morning/thursday night. He seems like a nice chappy, american and upbeat at the moment (this is all about to change). He decided last minute to come with us and thus didnt have a seat next to any of us...Unfortuanetly not the best first impression of us for him as a group as he remarked 'at least you can touch each other' this was followed by a sleepless stomach ache filled journey all the way to Potosi (13 hours away), we arrived fairly early in the morning and up at 4500m Adam was feeling the worst and we were all feeling pretty shoddy too...Philip and I had already started the Coca leaf chewing, water drinking routine that would get us through this first day.
Well we checked into a dorm and a triple, I was with the girls and Jorge, Philip and Adam were in the triple. I was soo thankful for that!! We then booked ourselves straight onto the tour of the mines...first a stop at the miners market to sample 96% alcohol and buy dynamite, then to the mines themselves situated above the city at 4750m! We viewed the city and it looked like a favela, a slum its hard to believe that this was the richest city in the world at one point hundreds of years ago! I would like to point out that the purification methods and mining methods have not changed since then!! we saw the factory, rusty machinery and pools of chemicals, floors strewn and covered with coca leaves and empty alcohol bottles (exactly like the mines actually). The miners themselves work without emotion for 12-24 hrs a day for nothing and every so often they riot and get cooled down by the army. All over Potosi there are memorials to dead Miners.
From the factories we went into the mines....Adam has thrown up 3 times by this point and is contemplating suicide, but we turn on our lamps and head into the mines. For the next 2 hours we cant stand up straight as the tunnels are so cramped, cant breath properly as the dust that feels the air chokes you, at some points we crawl...acting as hoovers for the dust as we have to breath heavily to move! this is a hell on earth as it is sooo hot and the conditions unbearable. Some turn back after 30 mins, others after 1 hour but to think boys from 15 until they die at 45 work in this conditions is astounding! an eye opening and incredible experience!
That night Adam and Philip were in bed or on the loo and we were down stairs singing our hearts out and drinking with a bunch of irish lads...robbie and andy. That was a fun night!!
Sunday now and its carnaval day, our first in Bolivia and I wont drive you to dispair by describing carnaval again but it rocks and our first time was awesome...Got totally soaked and waged war on every bolivian insight to the sound of the tinkus! We all visited la casa de moneda..A brilliant museum on the formation and history of coins in bolivia and silver, I didnt particularly find it interesting but i know some do and did. well tea bag says hi and the next story will come soon.
Love to you all

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