Hi Ho Hi Ho, Its off to work we go
Trip Start
May 21, 2007
1
18
44
Trip End
Mar 30, 2008
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Potosi,
Bolivia
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
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 the 16th century are still worked by some 15,000 locals. The Spaniards built churches and cathedrals to beat the band and around 80 extraordinary Colonial churches still stand alongside the poverty of modern day Potosi.
The altitude really hits you when you first arrive. The city itself is at around 4200meters above sea level, and I found myself struggling for breath and feeling like crap for the first two days. Couple this with the fact that at night temperatures plummet to below freezing (central heating is a dirty word in all hostels) and as you can imagine, Potosi found itself a special place in my heart - that place reserved for 'shitty cities that i hate'.
The first day we were there we figured we'd take a jaunt out to the local thermal spas to try to thaw out. Another taxi ride (local transport? who, moi?) took us to the Tarabuya lagoon which sits on top of an extinct volcanos caldera, and which is warmed by a hot spring underneath. We were suitably warned that in the afternoon currents in the centre of the pool make for a dangerous experience and that people swimming from side to side had recently been dragged down and had disappeared.
Naturally, this information really helped me relax and unwind.
001 - What are you laughing at?
We stuck limpet like to the edge, swimming a single lap of the pool. It's a wonderful sensation being out of your depth in a pool on the top of a volcano as you begin to wonder if the air has enough oxygen to get you back to the edge. Yo really should try it, although preferably with a life guard on duty and without the 'suck you down into the pits of the earth' currents....
After another night of choosing to either suffocate beneath 12 blankets or freeze to death, we took off on a guided tour of the silver mines of Potosi. We met at the tour office at 9am to don flashy looking yellow jumpsuits and helmets which were supposed to protect us from the worst of the dirt and dust in the mines. Then, we all piled into a bus and were brought to the miners market, where we stocked up on gifts (or bribes) for the miners we were to meet underground. I've shopped for some strange presents in the past, but buying coca leaves, 96% alcohol and sticks of dynamite took me onto a whole new level of oddness.
Suitably geared up, we headed towards the mines and were given the usual Bolivian safety warnings, ie none. We switched on our headlamps and were away down the hole in the ground. For the first few minutes, we strolled through a warren of tunnels, and then we started bumping into guys working at the mine face. These guys start working when they're around 15, and are expected to put in 12 hours a day, 6 days a week until they fall over from silicosis at around the age of 40. Surprisingly cheerful bunch considering.
The main reason they tolerate the gawking of gringos is the aforementioned 'gifts'. We paid them off in coca leaves and dynamite for not throwing us down a hole, and we even persuaded one of them to let Marge have a go at chiseling away at the rockface. She's a natural - small and wiry, looks good in a jump suit and loves gin and tonics. OK, so that last doesn't neccesaarily make her ideal miner material, but as Meatloaf says, 'two out of three ain't bad'.
