Potosi

Potosi is officially the highest city in the world. At 4070m above sea level, its reason for being is the discovery of the gigantic ore of silver found in the neighbouring hill, Cerro Rico. In no time at all this previously uninhabited location grew astoundingly to become the wealthiest city in Latin America; boasting a population greater than both London and Paris at the time. Walking around you instantly feel the personality of the place, with small winding streets, multicoloured buildings and lines of street vendors around every corner. This delightful setting is no longer quite the thriving metropolis that it once was, but still has a strong mining presence. Thanks to the lack of Bolivian Health and Safety regulations, it is one of the few mining operations in the world that welcomes tourists to witness every aspect of the process; without tedious restrictions and exhaustive protective gear spoiling the realistic experience.

The first stop on the tour was the miners` market where we were encouraged to buy gifts for the miners. Among their favourite types of gift were bottles of pop, cigarettes, a drink containing 95% alcohol, coca leaves... and dynamite. Unsuprisingly, dynamite was our favourite buy, on a "one for Mr. Miner, two for me" kind of basis. This was real dynamite, the kind you could incinerate solid walls with, for sale to anyone willing to pay up to five sterling pounds for a stick. We later got the opportunity to blow it all up. After 20 seconds of picture taking with a lit fuse, our guide sprinted away with the stick, quickly burying it at 30 metre`s distance. Even from here the shockwave felt through the ground was enormous, as we watched the explosion of dust fill the air.

Entering the mines was unforgettable. A claustrophobe`s nightmare; the majority of the tunnels were tight, metre-tall passageways with water-logged train tracks running along the floor. Every couple of minutes we would hear a mine cart rumbling towards us through the darkness. We would then have about 20 seconds to scramble into a nearby corner to watch the rock-filled wagon roll past with a couple of sweating miners running and pushing behind it. We went down a total of 70 metres into the ground, always knowing that the only way out was the way we came. The air very quickly became very thin and the mineral particles in the air were causing us all to cough unceasingly. Just exploring became exhausting and uncomfortable, constantly struggling to get enough oxygen. We could never have spent a whole day down there. Completely shocked we were, to find out that most the miners we met had worked down here almost every day since they were 12 or 13 years of age.

Our guide proudly told the story of his miner father. His father was working long hard days in a mine, making enough to feed his family, though only just. His brother, an opportunist, had found another mine full of expensive minerals. The air wasn`t quite as fresh in this mine, but the money was fantastic. However, despite how hard he tried, his brother (our guide`s father) refused to join him. He was happy with the amount of money he was making and didn`t want to reduce his life expectancy further just to live richer. Life expectancy of miners is significantly low, not because of accidents (although these numbers are high too), but because the fumes in the tunnels affect when you are expected to die of "natural" causes. Our guide`s father was right; he outlived his brother and the majority of people in the other mine by about 20 years. Our guide was proud to announce that his father lived to the (relatively) very ripe old age... of 52. Apparently an impressive achievement for a Potosi miner!