Silver Mines

a few members of the newest miners crew
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We arrived to Potosi via private bus for 2 reasons: First of all, the public transit was on strike due to new taxes imposed on transit companies, and the second reason was because it was so dirt cheap anyway and this way we could get the driver to stop anywhere we wanted.  The ride took us about 6 hours in total and was mostly on hard packed dirt roads.  It was quite interesting to see the drastic change in the landscape.  It went from fairly arable land to semi-desert in a few hundred KMs.  The ride wasn't all too bad, though it was very bumpy!

we just couldn't get over how rediculous this guy looked in his new get up...ata boy nathman!
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Apparently Potosi is the richest city in Bolivia (and possibly of all South America) though it certainly didn't seem like it.  I suppose this claim is based on its potential value earned from the extraction of silver and other minerals from the nearby mine which has been declared a UNESCO world heritage site.  Thankfully for me I was already aclimatized by the time I arrived cause this city  is located at over 4000m (13,350ft!!).  Some of the new comers to this rediculous height were feeling its effects, I was glad to be over that initial feeling of light headedness/nausea.

getting roped up to drop down into the mine shaft
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The silver mine dates back over 400 years to colonial times, and shockingly, they seem to be using the same process and techniques.  It was quite disturbing to hear about their labour restrictions which limit the age of miners to 12 years...the age at which many miners begin their brutal careers.  The tour we took into the mines was not part of the package deal, but well worth the extra money.  It is customary to bring the miners a survival pack of sorts.  Since each miner is paid based on the quantity and quality of minerals they extract, the workers seldomly take breaks for food and water.  We were told that the miners typically work 12-14 hours per day while ingesting little else then a few mouth fulls of coca leaves which not only help suppress hunger, but also alleviate pain, and provide the miner's with energy.  Our bags of goodies contained sticks of dynamite (which we got to explode!), a big bag of coca leaves, some biscuits and water...each miner graciously accepted our gifts with open arms.