Coca Leaves, Dynamite And Down A Mine

  Potosi, Bolivia
Thursday, March 27, 2008

The desert dust is now washed off thanks to cold showers. Last nights dinner of hot chips, salad and hot dogs wrapped in a paper cone cost us only 13 Bolivianos ($1.60) for both of us. After a nice sleep in a saggy bed at The Cactus Hotel in Uyuni, i had some dramas sending birthday cards to Australia then we took the bus to Potosi. There is a pixie boy called Martin who has fantastic sideburns and great shoes that we keep running into, itīs getting ridiculous the amount of times we have crossed paths with him and he might be getting worried we are stalking him. Perhaps we have some information to share. The roads were mostly unpaved making for a bumpy ride but this was easily forgotten thanks to the rural scenery which was stunning. As the bus meandered through mountainous terrain we passed villagers in traditional dress tending crops of maize and the hills were littered with mud brick houses with tin roofs held on by boulders and fences made of stone and scrap metal.

Being the highest city in the world, Potosi is at a staggering altitude of 4070metres high and we were cold so i bought a furry black and white striped zebra pullover made from what i think is wool passed off as llama hair. We didnīt haggle for it either thanks to the presence of the cutest Bolivian baby smiling up at us from the floor of the store. We had been debating over whether or not to go to Potosi because the main attraction is the sad history of the city and its silver mine and i have the annoying fear of entrapment which doesnīt sit well with mines. We decided to go anyway on the thought that we canīt go around travelling without exposing ourselves to all of the country and its people and not just the fun and easy parts, this way we get a more rounded view of the whole county and its culture.

The city of Potosi was founded in 1545 following the discovery of ore in silver rich Cerro Rico, the hill overlooking town. We found it interesting that the Incas had found the silver previously but had been warned away from the mountains by their spiritual visions. The mines of the Cerro Rico are the richest mines in all of world history and may have produced 60,000 tons of silver. This has come at a terribly high cost though and the city has at turns been blessed, cursed, rich and depressed by itīs mountain. Millions of indigenous labourers and African slaves have perished in the mines in the three centuries of colonial rule. Estimates range from 2 million at the low end to 8 million at the upper end. The miners were often below ground for weeks at a time. In 1800 the silver mines were depleted and tin became the major ore mined. 

 We stayed at a hostel that was housed in a grand old mansion with central courtyard, La Cascona. These popular hostels are better than hotels because they offer facilities. Within five minutes of check in we had our dusty desert washing in getting the five star treatment, a guy burning my memory cards to DVD, a bus ticket booked for getting out of Potosi and a tour to one of the co-operative mines booked. 

The tour itself is a bit of a shocking experience as the methods of working haven't changed much since the colonial times. Surreal. This has to be the worst job in the world. Working conditions are terrible: most miners die of silicosis in their forties. Still, many people don't have another choice and around 10,000 people work in the mines, including 1000 children who are supposed to be 18 years of age but there is much younger down there. Child labour is a horrendous vision. The tour started with us getting decked out in yellow miners jackets and pants, rubber boots, helmets and electric head torch. The outfit was a little embarrassing to be walking around town in and i am sure i saw a few locals smiling at the thought of the gringo miners.  

We visited a  miners' market that was whole street where the miners buy everything they need for the work including masks, picks and safety gear although there is no requirement for them to wear the gear and no health and safety rules. We bought gifts for the miners of coca leaves, soft drinks, dynamite and all its attachments for making an explosive and cigarettes. The order i have listed the items is the order of the miners preference for these things. The miners wonīt enter the mines without chewing on some coca leaves and all the miners we saw had a large wad of leaves in their mouth making a bulge on one side of their faces. The miners are superstitious about the coca and believe the chewing of the leaves and throwing them on themselves will help them find veins of ore and they will strike it rich. Below is some history of the coca leaf that i dug up.

Coca is a plant native to north-western South America. The plant plays a significant role in traditional Andean culture. Coca leaves contain cocaine, which is a power stimulant, and also one of the most controlled substances in the world. Since ancient times, its leaves have been an important trade commodity between the lowlands where it is grown and the higher altitudes where it is widely consumed by the Andean peoples of Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, and Bolivia. Fresh samples of the dried leaves are uncurled, are of a deep green on the upper, and a grey-green on the lower surface, and have a strong tea-like odor; when chewed they produce a pleasurable numbness in the mouth, and have a pleasant, pungent taste. They are traditionally chewed with a lime catalyst to increase the release of cocaine from the leaf. When chewed, coca acts as a mild stimulant and suppresses hunger, thirst, pain, and fatigue, perfect for the miners as they donīt get any breaks. It is also considered effective against altitude sickness, as an anesthetic to relieve the pain of headache, rheumatism, wounds and sores. Absorption of cocaine from the leaf is much less rapid and efficient than from the purified forms of cocaine, and it does not cause the euphoric and psychoactive effects associated with abuse of the drug.  Traces of coca have been found in mummies dating to 3000 years ago. The Spanish are believed to have effectively encouraged use of coca by an increasing majority of the population to increase their labor output and tolerance for starvation, but it is not clear that this was planned deliberately. Coca wine (of which Vin Mariani was the best-known brand) and other cocaine-containing preparations were widely sold as patent medicines and tonics, with claims of a wide variety of health benefits. The original version of Coca-Cola was among these. These products became illegal in most countries outside of South America in the early 20th century, after the addictive nature of cocaine was widely recognized. In recent times (2007), the governments of several South American countries, such as Peru, Bolivia and Venezuela, have defended and championed the traditional use of coca, as well as the modern uses of the leaf and its extracts in household products such as teas and toothpaste. Before stronger anesthetics were available, it also was used for broken bones, childbirth, and during trephining operations on the skull. Because cocaine constricts blood vessels, the action of coca also serves to oppose bleeding. Indigenous use of coca has also been reported as a treatment for malaria, ulcers, asthma, to improve digestion, to guard against bowel laxity, as an aphrodisiac, and credited with improving longevity. Modern studies have supported a number of these medical applications. Coca has also been a vital part of the religious cosmology of the Andean peoples of Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia and northern Argentina and Chile from the pre-Inca period through the present. Coca leaves play a crucial part in offerings to the apus (mountains), Inti (the sun), or Pachamama (the earth). Coca leaves are also often read in a form of divination analogous to reading tea leaves in other cultures. 

 Typical coca consumption is about two ounces per day, and contemporary methods are believed to be unchanged from ancient times. Coca is kept in a woven pouch (chuspa).  The cultivation and consumption of coca is as much a part of the national culture similar to chicha, like wine is to France or beer is to Germany. It also serves as a powerful symbol of indigenous cultural and religious identity, amongst a diversity of indigenous nations throughout South America. Bags of coca leaves are sold in local markets and by street vendors. Commercially manufactured coca teas are also available in most stores and supermarkets, including upscale suburban supermarkets.

Although coca leaf chewing is common only among the indigenous populations, the consumption of coca tea (Mate de coca) is common among all sectors of society in the Andean countries. Coca leaf is sold packaged into teabags in most grocery stores in the region, and establishments that cater to tourists generally feature coca tea.


Nadine and I purchased what we called a  miners mixed showbag of goodies. I am sure some people were only on the tour so they could blow up stuff because they bought way too much dynamite, the pyros. There was one story of a group of travellers who had blown up a chair and all the windows at their hostel using dynamite they had bought here. Stupid. We also bought some extra coca leaves and the banana ash catalyst used to break down the juices in the leaves so that we could try it. I was hoping the chewing of the leaves would help with the entrapment issues. In fact, they just left me talking alot but iīm sure they helped with the altitude.

Doing this tour is a good way to get a sense of the social price paid for the mineral wealth of the few. So we we were driven to the top of Cerro Rico and got a good view over the whole city. The guide showed us how to make an explosion using the dynamite and itīs components and i had a hold of the lit contraption before he buried it in the ground and waited for the explosion. We were given a history of the mines then donned the torches for the entry into one of the narrow, low roofed tunnels in the side of the mountain. I didnīt expect to last long. There were about 18 people in the crew (including Martin and a very loud Maltese man) and not long after we entered the mine three miners came up behind us with a trolley bin on tracks and i felt completely trapped in already. So, after 30 metres into the mine, i was out and managed to freak out another person on the tour, so we left together, relieved that we hadnīt gone any further. I gave it a try and still got to view the miners coming and going with their trolley bins filled with minerals and rocks. Unfortunately i forgot to give Nadia the camera so we have no shots. The extra brave Nadine went the whole two hours. The miners had started explosions inside the mines while the tour was still inside and they had made their way out early. Inside, there was a museum and they had followed tunnels and watched miners work. They work in teams and get to keep most of what they find. The youngest worker Nadine saw was about 14. The miners had the hard life look etched into their faces and he children looked older than they most likely are. We bought some mineral rocks from the very young children outside.

One very interesting aspect of the mine is the statues of  El Tio a diabolic (devil) figure that the miners make offerings to. They say that God may rule above ground, but that El Tio is in charge down below. The statue has an erect penis (meaning fertility for pachamama -Mother Earth) and the miners come to the statue to leave offerings like lit cigarettes, coloured paper, fake money and alcohol, especially on Fridays. The mine is owned by an ex-miner who apparently offered his own newborn babyīs fetus (we think a still born) by using it as a sacrifice to the mountain and burying it at the entrance to a tunnel. Just after the offering was made, he struck a very rich silver vein and became the wealthiest man in Potosi. Although the owner is an ex-miner he still keeps horrendous working conditions in the mine. Itīs ridiculously medieval.


The wealthy history of Potosi is still reflected in the narrow streets, colonial mansions and the many churches. We had a bizarre lunch on the roof of one of the churches, the Convento de San Francisco we think it was called. There is alot of Western style food in Bolivia and we were looking for some authentic Bolivian fare. There was a fantastic portrait hanging in the church entrance of a guy who looked impossibly similar to Martin the guy with the big chops sideburns. Weird. We climbed up a very narrow staircase in a tower that had little lookout windows and seemed endless. This lead us to a ladder and when we climbed up, there were two little tables and some chairs for diners plus the most fabulous view of the city and no-one else there. I think we found Potosiīs best kept secret for lunch. A young waitress did the climb to bring us drinks and food, not an easy task with so many stairs at altitude.

We packed up and took the afternoon bus to Boliviaīs official capital Sucre, otherwise known as dinosaur country. There were no toilets on the bus and no real stops to speak of but the road was mostly paved.