Well we arrived in Potosi´ early at 5.30am having decided to bypass Sucre due to the ongoing roadblocks and political unrest in that area. It was a bit sad to have to miss Sucre but we weren´t prepared to end up stranded in the middle of Bolivia.
We arrrived in the dark but as the sun began to rise we began to make out silhouette of the red Cerro Rico, the mountain that imposes itself over the city and its history. It was the source of Spain´s historical wealth, Potosi´s importance in the world from the mid 1500´s and the scene of 8 million deaths of Indigenous and African mining slaves. At one point Potosi was such an important and wealthy place that it was the biggest city in the known world! Bigger than London and Paris! Ok, sorry for the history lesson but it is an amazing story and it is obviously incredibly important for the people of Potosi. They seemed both proud of there history and today 15,000 miners still try to extract meagre amounts of silver, gold, lead, and tin in archaic conditions and despite the likelihood of contracting Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis (I didn´t ever think I would get to use that word!).
Well we got to the Koala Den hostal at 6.00am and woke the poor night porter who didn´t seem overly impressed we checked into the room. Now the Koala Den had a good write up and came highly recommended by others we had spoken too. They weren´t wrong. Heaters in the room, free internet (5 PCs), 4 pillows on the beds, hot water, a good breakfast and a great DVD collection. Little did I know at this point that I would be making full use of the ammenities, except the breakfast that is! Yes that´s right, within 24 hours of being in Potosi I was ill again. My stomach playing up unpleasantly! On one hand I was gutted about being ill again as it meant that I wasn´t able to visit the mines. On the other hand it meant I didn´t have to visit the mines! George, however, had been keen to put herself through the ordeal and visit and on day she went off on the trip. I was jealous but if I´m honest I´m not sure I would have made it through the tour anyhow! If you want to read all about her adventure then visit her blog (username georgeharper), by all accounts it was quite a tough and emotional experience!
Anyhow, I rested up for a couple of days until I was well enough for a little outing to the Potosi Mint Museum. It was a good tour really interesting and poignant. The guide was good and seemed to have a bit of a dark snese of humour regarding the history of Potosi. I think he summed up the fate of Potosi, "once upon a time Potosi and Bolivia made money for the whole world, and now the rest of the world make Bolivia´s money" he just shrugged his shoulders "such is life" he said. It was quite sad really. Of all the cities I have visited Potosi has been the clearest example of the exploitation of the continent by the conquistadors. However despite this, Potosi seemed to be trying to reinvent itself and from what I saw of it I thought it was bustiling, lively city full of ambition. I hope one day they find another vein of silver as rich as the last and they once again become a major city in the world!
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Where I stayed:
Koala Den
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