Day 162 - Potosi (mine tour)

  Potosi, Bolivia
Monday, February 11, 2008

There was no getting away from it: today was gonna SUCK!

The mine tour promised to be one of the most terrifying experiences of our young lives so far and neither of us was looking forward to anything about it, except maybe getting out of it alive!

We were collected from our hostel at 8am and with a full van of backpackers we headed to our first stop, to collect our kit.

We were assigned tops, trousers, helmets with lights, and wellies.

We could also buy bandanas to reduce the inhalation of dust & noxious gases!

Katie and I went for some gangsta fashion, chosing red and blue bandanas to resemble Bolivian chapters of the Bloods & the Crips...

We all looked like absolute prats, but sadly my camera was playing up at this point, so no piccies!

Our next stop was the "miner's market". 

This was a huge square with a few side streets, where we were invited to buy gifts for the miners, which is absolutely encouraged but technically not compulsory.

We were told that their favourite gifts are dynamite, fuses, detonators, coca leaves, soft drinks, water, cigarettes and alcoholllllllll...

Katie and I bought three packs of dynamite, at 17BVs each (about a quid!); two packs for the miners and one for us to detontate at the end of the tour.

We also bought them some coca leaves (extortionately priced but whatever) and a couple of litres of fizzy pop.

Apparently there are NO restrictions on buying dynamite in Bolivia - or at least in Potosi - because children as young as 12 work in the mines so must be allowed to buy dynamite!

Twisted logic if you ask me, but the government don't seem to care about children working in these diabolical conditions, which is disgusting.

It was really weird seeing dynamite for sale in such an open fashion, it felt like we were in a terrorist training camp or something...

 

While we were discussing the dynamite, our guide was kind enough to pass it round for us to look at, before throwing it on the floor to show us that it would not explode without the detonator.

Anyone who says they didn´t jump about five feet in the air at that point is a liar ;)



After buying our stuff we wandered to the food market, where our guide wolfed down a meal the size of a big Sunday roast (llama meat, potatoes, quina etc) and was then ready to take us into the mines!



As you can see all the tourists stood out like a sore thumb (nice uniforms!), with all the locals visibly amazed that we'd chosen to fork out the equivalent of two months of their wages to climb down these deadly mines.

The coca leaves on sale were excellent, really big and fresh.

Apparently the average miner goes through one large 30g bag of the leaves every DAY! Mama mia...

The huge red bags here are all stuffed full of coca leaves!



We then climbed back on the bus and headed up to a mineral refinery, to understand what they did with the rocks & materials that they brought out of the mines.

As you can see, everyone on the bus looked pretty nervous because we knew we were only a few minutes away from entering the mines ourselves, and the more we heard, the more we thought we must be insane!



Our guide walked us over to what appeared to be a big pile of rocks and explained that these were the rocks with up to 20% silver content (they're normally more like 5%) which were processed by co-operative factories to extract the silver or mineral content.
 
It's cool that the factories are all locally-owned, and the miners are stakeholders.



He then took us inside to see a machine which added various liquids (including cyanide!) to start separating the silver deposits from the waste rock...



...then a machine which crushed the rocks to give easier access to the minerals etc...



...finally the grains of the rocks were practically liquidised and various chemicals added to further separate the silver.



As you can see, all of the rocks produced at least some silver.



After leaving the noisy (but small) factory we were asked to give two handfulls each of our coca leaves to some women who worked in the refineries.

This was all quite bizarre because there were loads of them trying to grab as many leaves as they could.

They all looked a bit nuts and none of them actually thanked us, it was like feeding time at the zoo or something.



After surviving this human slalom with limbs and some leaves intact, it was on towards the famous conical mountain!



When we got back in the van, we headed up the mountain, which gave a nice view back towards town...



...and then up towards the mountain itself, which was starting to look a bit like Mordor to us ;)



The van strained up the steep tracks, which would have been scary enough even if we didn't have something MUCH worse ahead of us when we got to the top!



Once at the top, we gave a few more handfuls of leaves to some opportunistic miners who almost seemed to be waiting for the Tourist Express to arrive!



But there was no more delaying the inevitable, we were going in! God Help Us.



After a couple of photos, this was it, we were going down the mines.

On went the torches on our helmets, and we took one last big breath of fresh air...



The first part of the tunnel was ok, not pleasant, but not too bad.

We could stand up for the first couple of minutes, even if you did have to watch your feet to avoid the pot holes.



After the first couple of easy minutes, the ceiling started to get a bit lower and the electrical wiring a bit more haphazard!

The lower the ceiling got, the more it reminded me of the Cuchi tunnels near HCMC (ex Saigon) in Vietnam...



Being much taller than the average local miner, we needed to duck down, crouch and shuffle a few times to avoid a few low-hanging obstacles, but eventually after about five minutes walking we reached the museum room.



This big cave had LOADS of info about the history of the mines, the people who've worked there over the centuries, the equipment used over that time, the price collapses, but thankfully nothing about how dangerous they were!

Although there was a rather disconcerting figure of The Devil, which we were assured was nothing to be worried about, because the local Quechwa workers believed that he was The God of the Ground, and would protect them.

May The Devil Help Us?!



If you can read the text on this exhibit, you'll see what I was saying about the poisonous gases which exist in the mines, and how important it has always been to guard against them.



After 15 mins or so thinking "maybe this isn't so bad", we were guided back to the main tunnel, which soon started getting a LOT smaller all around!

At this point Katie decided that she'd had quite enough, thank you very much and headed back outside with the assistant guide.

All I can say is that this part of the mine was positively expansive compared to what was to come, so I was happy that Katie had been smart enough to get out when she didn't like it, rather than struggling on and potentially having an absolute nightmare.

A few minutes later the rest of us reached a small area where we could relax and prepare ourselves for the journey from "level 1" to "level 3".

We were strongly advised to make sure that we all had big balls of coca leaves stashed in our cheeks, because we were now at over 4,200m, so we would need more energy and the oxygen levels were also about to get a lot worse!

We must have been &%$/"$ crazy.

At this point we were some distance inside the mine and the only path ahead of us seemed to be ridiculously narrow. Surely they didn't expect us to go down THERE?

It was obvious when we sat down that the only way we could continue the descent was to get down on our hands & knees and crawl down the tunnel!

Fortunately I've never been claustraphobic, but my heart was thumping in my ears like a herd of wilderbeast!

 

That first tunnel, leading from level 1 to level 2, was absolutely bloody horendous.

It was single file, crawling on our knees, which kicked up dust that got in your eyes, down your throat and in your nose. It was horrible. It also restricted your vision, like a cloud of smoke, and you REALLY needed to see where you were going!

About half way down this tunnel we reached a bend which was a bit wider, and saw a few people sat there who had obviously decided this was as far as they could go, so as soon as our group cleared the tunnel they were going to climb back up and back down the tunnel to the entrance.

I must admit that as we passed these clearly terrified people, every single part of my being shouted "DON'T GO ANY FURTHER. THIS IS STUPID AND DANGEROUS. GO BACK AND GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!"

I tried to block any negativity out, working on the theory that "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger" and trying to see this as probably the greatest challenge I was ever likely to put myself through. I knew I could do it, but I was terrified. What the hell was I doing down here?

After clearing the bend the tunnel was so small that we had to either lie down flat on our fronts, or lie on our backs, and try to squeeze along the tunnel WITHOUT skidding, which just filled the whole space with white dust. This was considerably easier said than done, so dust was flying up all around me as I tried to hold my breath and avoid inhaling it.

I think this was the worst part, the dust, that and not being able to breathe properly. It was REALLY difficult to breathe and this got harder the further into the heart of the mine we went.

I started to wonder how much oxygen there could possibly be down here so far away from the entrance and with such tiny tunnels carrying air down to us.

I also started to wonder what happened to your mind if you started to not take in enough oxygen, but banished that thought immediately!

I knew that we were just going further and further down, so it was just going to get worse and worse. I felt like by entering this tiny tunnel I'd passed the point of no return, so I would see this experience out one way or the other!

I just hoped that we weren't going to go much further into the narrow, suffocating darkness. 

Being hemmed into this tiny tunnel with dust all around me as my lungs responded with short, shallow breaths was pure terror. It was the most scared I've ever been in my life.

Thank GOD we bought those bandanas earlier, I don't think I could have done it without mine. It was really hard to breathe through the fabric, but if I didn't have that between my nose/mouth and the dust I would have choked to death, seriously.

It was impossible to get photos of this part of the tunnel, because you needed all your wits about you just to get through without panicking. 

I was near the back of our reduced group of six, so I couldn't hear what the guide was saying, which in my mind made it even worse. What was he saying? And did I need to hear it?

This hardcore section lasted about five minutes, and it was the hardest thing I've ever done, no question. It made the Cuchi tunnels of Vietnam look like a fairground ride. 

Thankfully the narrow passage then opened up a bit, so we could get up from our crawls and edge forwards standing up with a bit of a hunch.



A few minutes later we descended a very shaky wooden ladder, which took us down to Level 3!



On this landing there was space to stand at normal height and there seemed to be more air, unless it just felt like it because we weren't crammed into a tiny bloody tunnel!



We were given a few minutes to catch our breath (yeh right!) and then we pushed on again, through some larger reinforced tunnels.

At this point all I could think of was an excellent UK horror movie called 'The Descent', where a bunch of cave explorers get stuck in an underground cave system where they encounter some terrifying monsters. GREAT!

None of these tunnels were lit by the way, all we had were our helmet lights, which were not exactly brilliant.

The photos are therefore much brighter than it was in reality, all we had was a thin shaft of artificial light to see what was ahead of us.

By this point I was using the flash on my camera to light up the tunnel every now and then, to see where we were going. 



We soon reached another ladder, but this one had a lot less space around it for your body!

Our guide tried to raise our spirits by pointing out the coloured decorations which showed that the miners had recently had a party down here to celebrate carnaval.

A PARTY?!?! They must be %($%?$ mental!



So down the ladder we went, on to Level 4!

When the hell was this going to end?!



We regrouped at the bottom, where our guide congratulated us and said that we just had one last section left to go.

I didn't know whether to kiss him or head butt him, but I had the strength for neither.



This last (very narrow) section took us to a small cave where some miners were working.

We'd been unlucky until then because we'd not seen any of them.

Apparently the local carnaval ended yesterday, so only 10% of them were actually working today!

And those that were down here were probably still wasted! That was good to know.

 

Watching these poor guys working topless in the 35 degree C heat in these incredibly cramped conditions was just an extraordinary experience.

We gave them most of the gifts we had left, including dynamite, fuses, matches, fags and booze, and they barely acknowledged us. Can't say I blame them considering that we were down there in their place of work, watching them like they were animals in a zoo or something.

My emotions were torn between huge admiration and deep pity; what seemed at the end of the mental line for me was probably perfectly normal to these brave miners, they did it every day of their lives, until they died very young.

We watched them banging metal rods deep into the rocks (which take two hours each!), so that they could insert dynamite and blow up a section of the wall.

We found out that one of them was 42 yrs old (he looked at least 60) and had been working in the mines for over 30 yrs; the other guy was his 16 yr old son. It broke your heart to realise that this would be his life. It really made me never want to ever moan about my job again.

We were all crammed together in a narrow shelf of rock and all we could do was marvel at these incredible people who did this shocking descent every working day of their lives, before digging for rocks in order to survive. 



This is a photo of them working with the flash on, it might be a bit clearer.

Look how little space they're working in and how cramped they are.



After admiring their courage and pitying their awful existence, we turned around and headed down another very low-ceilinged area, to find some more miners. 



At this point we were shown some of the primitive tools they used, from metal wheelbarrows to very old (blunt) rock hammers.



We were then introduced to a 12 year old boy, who was absolutely bloody miserable, the poor kid.

When I was 12, I went to school and played football outside whenever I could. I didn't have a care in the world. He works in these mines and nobody cares. It breaks your heart.

 

He could hardly string a sentence together, we didn't know if he was shy, nervous, strung out or unable to talk. Probably all of them.

He seemed to appreciate the bottle of fizzy pop that we gave him, but it really didn't feel enough.

After that we headed back to the ladder, which was probably even less fun going up than it was going down.

As you can see, it was a bit of a squeeze...



After the ladders we braced ourselves for the worst part again.
 
The problem was that this time we couldn't slide down the tunnels on our bums or stomachs, we would have to climb up through the incredibly narrow section inch by inch, trying not to slip back down.

I must admit that at no point earlier did I think "how are we going to get back up here?", it took all my concentration not to freak out and panic.

Again photos were impossible on the way back up, but I was able to get the guy behind me as he got out of the smallest section...

The flash makes everything look a lot nicer that it was, crawling uphill in a very narrow tunnel in absolute pitch black with a flimsy little light on your helmet!



We then had the really steep and narrow bit, back up to level 1.

Jesus Christ, this was terrifying.

Remember that these photos probably look bad, but they were the relatively EASY bits, where I could get my camera out (trying not to damage it or get it dusty!) and take a photo.

Imagine what the sections were like when I COULDN'T take any photos!!!!!!



Going down was diabolical, but going up was just THE WORST.

As well as being in a stone coffin 4,000m up in the air with the air filled of dust and poisonous gases, with precious little oxygen and an overwhelming urge to scream, we were now getting hot and sweaty pushing ourselves up and out of these incredibly narrow tunnels.

Finally, after what seemed like hours of torture, we reached Level 1 again, sweating, gasping for breath, and looking like a gang of dishevelled drug-addled psychopaths.



When we were sure that everyone was safe, but could begin the walk back through the bigger entrance tunnel.



By this point we'd been down in the depths of hell for over TWO HOURS.

We hadn't breathed fresh hour for longer than a football game and I was absolutely desparate to take a huge lungfull of fresh air.

I simply can't explain how good it felt to turn a corner and smell fresh air.

It was the sweetest thing I've ever smelled in my life. It was heaven. And it stunk. But it was better than filling your lungs with dust, let me tell you.

Another few corners later, we saw daylight!

The Light At The End Of The Tunnel!!!

Never before has that phrase resounded so strongly in my soul. We Were Nearly There! 



A minute later we were out of the mine, and into the outside world.

Thank.

God.



Katie was waiting outside and was highly amused at my appearance, apparently I looked a bit like Uma Thurman in Kill Bill when she escapes from being buried alive by using her one inch punch!

Not completely incomparable I guess, at times I really felt like I'd been buried alive, and would never see daylight again.

That may sound melodramatic, but it's honestly true, the thoughts I had down there were the darkest I've ever experienced, like I was close to hell. Or insanity.

Katie said that I looked shell-shocked and I guess that's exactly what I was.

It took me a while to adjust to not being in those horrible bloody tunnels, even if I did look like a member of The Village People?! 



After allowing us a few minutes to get our heads together, the guides then started preparing the extra dynamite that we'd bought earlier, to give us a rousing welcome back to the big wide world!



When they'd finished wiring the dynamite, they lit the fuses and started passing them between each other and posing for photos! We figured this must be ok because they were trained experts, right?!

 

So imagine our surprise when they handed the burning dynamite to us and encouraged us to take photos of each other, all the time shouting "HURRY UP, 5 SECONDS EACH!"

 

I'm not sure that I'll ever hold another stick of burning dynamite again?!



When everyone who wanted to hold the sticks had done so, the guides quickly ran off into the distance with about 30 seconds left until they blew up!



Our guide was at a full sprint, put the explosives down and kept running!

"BOOM!" went the first explosion, which made us all jump despite knowing exactly what was coming!



A few more explosions followed, this was the last one...



After all that excitement we climbed back into the van, removed our helmets and drove back into town.

About 10 minutes later we were dropped back in the main square and all I could think about was having a SHOWER!

I was COVERED in dust and God knows what else, so that shower was absolutely unbelievable.

We then popped out to get some lunch (Katie managed to spend a fortune when clearly she didn't deserve it, the chicken!) before heading to an internet cafe to write the missing blogs and load up today's photos...

Ok, I'm now going to join Katie in the hotel; no doubt she's watching the Grammy awards ceremony from last night and then we'll have our 'last supper' in Potosi before our early bus to Tupiza tomorrow!

What an exhausting but unforgettable day. Thank God it's over! ;)


Lots of love,


Al & Katie xx