Potosi,
Bolivia
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Highest city in the world? Depends on how you define city I suppose, but Potosi is certainly high at almost 16,000'. It sits at the base of the world's largest silver mine, which I visited one afternoon. Everyone in my group was given a hard hat with light, as well as a jacket, pants, and boots to protect our clothing. On the way to the mine we stopped at the market to pick up some gifts for the miners. The usual gifts include coca leaves (they chew them for energy) and bottles of soda. We entered the mine (which has claimed the lives of millions of miners) and spent a few hours wandering the countless tunnels. Even climbed between levels via a rope ladder down a narrow shaft. We also stopped to present our offering of cigarettes and alcohol to El Tio, a devil god the miners worship. Our guide finished off the trip by detonating a stick of dynamite outside the mine for our entertainment. A touristy trip all the way around, but I do appreciate that I don't have to do this kind of work. Boys get sucked into mining very young and the average miner is dead by around age 40.
See some more photos from the mine on
flickr.
