Potosi- Highest City in the World

After a couple of days at Uyuni we headed to Potosi, one of the highest cities in the world standing at 4200km. We took a night bus from Uyuni which took 4hours, the shortest bus ride of the trip so far. On the bus we watched an incredible thunder storm, thunder bolts and ligthening shooting from the night sky. It was an epic panaromic view but sadly we could not capture it on camera. All the tourist on the bus were going "wow", safe to say the locals didnt blink an eye lid. In the middle of the night the bus skidded which woke everyone up, we thought we were goners but luckily we arrived safe and sound.

Our friends from the Salt Flats tour decided to skip Potosi as they didnt fancy the altitude sickness so they went on to Sucre without us. We met a German guy Tim on the bus who was also heading to Potosi so we jumped into a taxi with him to his hostel. Potosi is like a maze, narrow roads with sharp corners and at night its a ghost town. After being lost in the taxi for 20 minutes we finally found our hostel ´Koala Den´ and checked in.

In the morning the altitude hit me like a ton of bricks, in the salt flats tour I hardly suffered but this time I wasnt feeling good at all. Mean while Michael who had felt really bad during the tour was now feeling fine. Altitude sickness has a funny way of creeping up on you and each time you go up it can effect you differently. After an amazing breakfast of fresh fruit and pancakes (best breakfast yet!) we signed up to do the Potosi Mine Tour. The tour is one of the main reasons tourist visit Potosi, you can experience the mines first hand and theres talks of blowing up dynamite.

So off we went to the tour, me, Michel and Tim. We got on a bus with a group of 20 people and headed to the house where you change into the mining gear. We had to put overalls and a hard hat on, see the pictures below.

We were placed in a group of 5 with an English speaking tour guide called Daniella (who was a bolivian man). We headed to the Miner Market where it was customary for all visitors to buy gifts for the miners, for letting us visit the mines. At the market you could buy them dynamite for 20bolivianos each which is 2 pounds. You could also buy them bottles of lemonade and coco leaves. Now bolivians love coco leaves, you can see them chewing on it on every street corner, there cheeks bulging like beavers. They say it helps with the altitude and the stomach so you are encouraged to take coco leaves at high altitude. I bought a bag for good measure as I wasnt feeling to good. We then went to the mineral refinery factory where the miners would come and refine the minerals they have mined. Our guide told us that they had to mine one ton of material to get 3 kg worth of silver, so thats an equivilant of one cars worth of material for just a measily 3 kg of silver. 

Tim- Dynamite in hand

The mountain where they mine

The mineral refinery

Miners Market -Buying Coco Leaves

View of Potosi

Working the Factory

Daniella explaining the process

Danielle with Coco Leaves in mouth

Next stop was the mine where we would go down 3 levels, friends who had done this previously warned us that this was not for the faint hearted and certainly not for anyone who is claustrophobic!I was already sick from the altitude and the breathing intake was low so I stuffed my mouth with coco leaves praying it would help. We entered the first level with our head torches on, following the guide who occasionally shouted "POT HOLE!" with which we passed the message on to the rest of the group to avoid. As you walked along it got dustier and then we were told that a trolley was coming. Now the trolly is filled with the minerals mined and are pushed manually on little train tracks. Now the narrow passage only has room for the trolley so we where told when a trolley comes we need to climb the side of the rocks to let the trolley through. Once the trolley was through we proceded to the second floor which meant sliding on rocks and avoiding large holes on the side with 50ft drops. You had to hold onto your bear hands so avoid sliding as the miners would wet the rocks to make it less dusty. Daniella explained that this was the miners daily commute to work, I decided never to complain about getting the bus ever again.

On the other side we stopped at a rock filled corner and Daniella said this is where the miners would have a break. I asked what food they took to eat and he looked at me blankly, they dont take food down here he said as its too dusty. They just drink water and chew on coco leaves...unbelievable! He said that his father only recently retired from the mines at 51 years old and he was doing the tours to support his father now he was not working. When asked if he enjoyed doing the tours he honestly answered that he did not mind it but would rather be in the mines as in the mines you work with family and look after each other. He said boys as young as 14 years old work the mines and are often pressured by there familys as they hear that money is good and there is always the hope that they strike it lucky if they come across a lot of silver.

We headed to the third floor where you had to climb down a rickty ladder and you passed by groups of miners at work. Shovelling the minerals in barrals which would be lifted to the upper floor and put into trolleys, making its way to the top. The air was thick and full of dust, I admired how they could work in such conditions. We gave them their gifts and they were happy to receive the litres of soda and coco leaves. Daniella advised that the miners work in seperate groups and would often mine unknowingly (as they has no map) above or under each other which can be dangerous, he advised the mountain was now like a swiss cheese, one earthquake would be enough to destroy it. He told us that every other week a part on the mine would cave in and it worried him that soon no mining could be done and what would happen to the people of Potosi? Mining was their livelihood.

He then took us the Miners Corner where a large demon they created would stand stall. They believed that they need to pray to the devil of the mine for good minerals. They would come here and throw coco leaves onto the statue and sacrifice lamas featus to the devil. Daniella told us that the miners actually didnt like that woman would come into the mines, they believed that it upset the devil and the meant they would receive less minerals. Like anything Daniella said that the new young miners often choose to ignore this tradition but the older miners warn them that they should not as the devils will not be happy and eat them. One miner dies once a week in the mine and when someone dies the other miners will always persume that the miner did not give their blessing to the devil.

After this we crawled on our hands and feet out of there and started making our way back up. We asked if tourist ever died doing this tour has it was pretty hardcore. He said one time a Japanease tourist died as they shouted trolley and he jumped out the way but down a 50ft drop which killed him instantly. Another time a couple of tourist and their guide was lost in the mines for 24hours. We had to practically rock climb back up which was so much hard work escpecially with the altitude which means everytime you inhail you hardly get any air. Daniella laughed at us and asked, you couldnt be a miner then? He then told us that when Spanish invaded they forced indegenouse people into the mines to work and kept them in the mines locked in cages for 3 months! This killed 6 -8 million people in 400 years.

First Floor

Trying to dodge the Potholes

Danielle our guide with a miner

Me trying not to be sick in the mines

Michael all geared up

The miners pushing the heavy trolley

Climbing down

Miners shovelling the minerals- HARD WORK!

Its pretty tight!

The entrance to the mines

We made it out! YAY!

Mucky!

Mucky 2!

Mucky 3!

Me and our guide

Michael asking Daniella questions

It was a relief to finally reach the first level and see the light at the end of the tunnel. We had been in the mines for o 3 hours but it felt a long time. I find the miners amazing and incredibly brave, how they work in those conditions for only 10 pounds a day because they have to and they have no choice. It breaks my heart to think how unfair the world is. When we got out we spoke to our guide and he told us he was 27!!! which was crazy has he looked about 40! He had 2 children and married at 20. Only 4 years ago he left Bolivia for the first time and visited Chile where he saw the sea for the first time. He said he just sat there looking at the sea for hours at it just amazed him. Without a doubt the Bolivians lead a hard, hard, hard life. We go on to see examples of this as we travel more of Bolivia. It was an amazing experience to see the mines and I will definately think twice before I moan about anything in life in the future as it can never be as bad as being a Bolivian miner!