Potosi, Bolivia Travel Blogs

Highest City in the World
Jul 11, 2006

Blurb & Video to follow, when we return to Blighty and proper broadband!

Chutillos Festival
Sep 1, 2004 (5 photos)

Although every day in Bolivia has a fiesta, Ch`utillos in Potosì is one of the biggest and most colourful, and I was lucky enough to get to take part in the fiesta. Warming Up For Ch`utillos The Tuesday before Ch`utillos weekend is the Fiesta of San ...

Living in Potosì
Sep 16, 2004

... dead, so we went to Chivaz, Pedro`s favourite bar, which is pretty good, and plays music that I know. Things I`ve Learned * En Bolivia, ellos toman hasta morir (they drink until they die) * Not to go into the office on weekends if I don`t want to end ...

Fade into Bolivian
Apr 20, 2006 (21 photos)

... entered the mine my thoughts turned to the West Virginia coal miners who were presumably working under strict OSHA guidelines. Does Bolivia have OSHA? I didn't think so. The mine itself is an endless series of tunnels and galleries that reminds me of ...

The Oddest Place for a Job Interview
Aug 14, 2004 (4 photos)

... being bagged, they go to Chile to leave on a ship for some foreign country to make things from and then sell back to Bolivia. We also saw a black river and lake behind some houses near the refinery. All the waste just goes straight into the water system ...

Sucre - Potosi
Nov 19, 2003 (3 photos)

... hour round trip, you expect something special. I did and was consequently disappointed to find the same stuff you get throughout Bolivia, only more expensive. Despite this and the other set backs, I left Sucre with a positive opinion of the place. Our ...

Trekking and Tourist Attractions
Aug 22, 2004 (2 photos)

... of Cerro Rico. We then moved on to the coins where we saw samples of the coins of the Spanish empire that were minted in Potosì due to the excellent quality silver and then shipped all over the world to the colonies. Then it was down to the area where they ...

Tarapaya and Mondragon
Oct 11, 2004

... sat and looked out at the view. It was amazing and I was sitting in such tranquility, away from all the tourist attractions of Bolivia. It was a little piece of paradise that I just wanted to stay in, but we had to head back to Miraflores before the buses ...

Chau Potosì
Oct 12, 2004

I was supposed to be leaving for a 2 - 3 week vacation to Argentina and Paraguay. But things always change, and it`s interesting to see how quickly things can change. I always have too many plans in my head at one time so I supposed I`m never really ...

Hi Ho Hi Ho, Its off to work we go
Jul 10, 2007 (10 photos)

... (Eur16) settled, we took a taxi into Potosi to spend a couple of days in what is allegedly the worlds highest city. Potosi was also at one stage amongst the worlds richest cities thanks to it's rich deposits of silver, and the Spanish mines built in ...

change of direction, change of plans
Oct 11, 2008 (43 photos)

... everything from meals to tools and petrol as we knew that services and supplies get a little short in the southwest part of Bolivia. Outside one of the shops an old couple started chatting to us about out our trip, having seen both bikes and ourselves ...

Out of sorts!
Aug 3, 2008 (9 photos)

... , although they do not mine for silver, there are still deaths whilst mining for other minerals. The wealth accrued from Potosi underwrote the spanish economy for at least 2 centuries and was said to have helped finance the industrial revolution. So. ...

Special guests at Pacha Mama´s big do!!
Jun 3, 2006 (8 photos)

... USA´s dependence on the drug has created a massive campaign to destroy the coca plantations and to have its growth deemed illegal. Bolivia, however, has rejected such pressure as the place of the coca leaf in today´s society and in its history is still of ...

Viste des mines
Dec 12, 2008

... . Les rues en pentes de la ville drainent beaucoup d eau et en marchant vers l hotel, il faut traverser a guee les rues... Potosi est connu pour ces mines et son "Cerro Rico" (colline riche) qui est exploite depuis 4 siecles. Les espagnols, durant deus ...

Down the Mines
Nov 25, 2006 (17 photos)

At 4,200 metres Potosi is the highest city in the world and in the 17th century was bigger than Madrid and most other European cities. The reason for this was the silver mines of Cerro Rico (rich mountain) which at one time accounted for half the world's ...

Cerro Rico con Jesus y Julio y Greengo Tours
Oct 5, 2009 (9 photos)

I survived! It was brilliant, was on a complete natural high for hours after finishing the tour, un experience fantastico! - I am really glad Al persuaded me to go, and I have already had the "I told you so" WE were collected just after 9 by a Greengo ...

Down them Mines and at Altitude!!
Aug 25, 2008 (5 photos)

Now guys, firstly I must start this entry by saying that since we left for South America upon entering Bolivia was the first time we had been exposed to extreme poverty and to be honest a real taste to what travelling is all about. Over populated small ...

The silver mountain
Jan 1, 2009 (9 photos)

... to too great an extent, and includes many policies that are seen as discouraging economic progress and foreign investment, both of which Bolivia needs badly (too much detail to go into here).  That said, this is the view from Sucre, a relatively ...

Potosi and the highest football game in the world
Mar 27, 2008 (8 photos)

... compared with many others working in the city. The can earn up to 2,500 Bolivianos a month, compared to the minimum wage of Bolivia - 600 Bs a month. However, it is really sad to think that most of these men will be incurably ill by the time they are 35, ...

Silver Mines
Apr 17, 2005

Potosi, was once the richest silver mining town in South America. However much of the wealth didn´t stay in Potosi but went to the Spanish. Now a stuggling mining town, the miners have non government run corporations to mine minerals from the "rich ...

Potosi - riches plundered past & present
Feb 29, 2008 (29 photos)

... suprise that the result was a bit of a blur... although he recovered a bit to capture the resulting dust cloud. Potosi and Bolivia in general is an incredibly cheap place to holiday in. Our evening meal that evening, complete with drinks and followed ...

Repos a Potosi
Mar 19, 2009 (5 photos)

Nous consacrons cette journee au repos. Petit-dejeuner avec Gaele et Stephane avant de leur dire au revoir. Nous les reverons surement a Sucre. Le reste de la journee, nous nous balladons en ville et profitons de la bonne connexion internet (relativement ...

Mining in Potosi
Aug 21, 2007 (7 photos)

... once you got used to it! We were staying in the Koala Den which was quite nice, certainly the best showers that we have had in Bolivia thus far! As we turned up on Sunday, nothing seemed to be open! It seems to be a constant battle in this country that ...

The Silver Mines
Oct 15, 2008 (7 photos)

... ;Aswell as being famous for its silver mine it also the highest city in the world at 4,000 m above see level. Potosi was founded by the Spanish in 1545 and it was them who began mining the Mirador mountain. Now the Bolivians are remining the ...

Another stop on the bumpy road to Uyuni
Nov 2, 2009 (2 photos)

... was the worst day of driving, maybe because the altitude was starting to take effect or maybe because of the bumpy roads of Bolivia roads seemed to last forever.  Luke our driver kept reminding us that all the pain was because the Uyuni Salt Flats ...

Dynamite and the mines!
Oct 8, 2007 (8 photos)

Following 12 hours on the coldest night bus in the world we finally arrived in Potosi ready to visit the famous silver mines. After wondering the chilly streets aimlessly for an hour looking for anything open, we finally found a tourist ...

Potosi a small mining villiage
Mar 27, 2006 (7 photos)

Okay, left Sucre and its chololate, and have arrived in potosi wit its silver. Much better. Potosi is also the highest citie in the world, nice little villiage, but a little cold. We booked our mining trip also with one English guy called Nick, met ...

Bolivia, Potosi
Sep 23, 2008 (22 photos)

Tue 23.9.08: Bolivia, Potosi: PERSONAL: Upon arriving in Potosi, didn't waste any time as always wanted to go into a mine! First stop was a visit to the Miners' Market to buy gifts for them (like coca leaves, cigarettes or dynamite). We walk and crawl ...

Near death experience on Huayna Potosi
May 9, 2000

Next day it was back to La Paz for a day of rest and a search around the agencies to find a company to climb Huayna Potosi with. At 6088m (20000ft) this was meant to be one of the best mountains in the world for a beginner to climb. After spending the ...

Potosi
Sep 25, 2007 (9 photos)

... to extract the silver from the mines to fund the Spanish monarchy back in Spain and make all the Spanish money. Its quite ironic that Bolivia now pays Spain to make Bolivianos for them! The next day we did a tour of the mines. First we had to stop at ...