Going Underground

Going underground
From Uyuni we travelled to Potosi, the world highest city, with the worlds highest brewery. Unfortunately this was not the reason for our visit.
Potosi was, at one time, the richest city in Bolivia, and the grand buildings, and churches are a testament to that. The vast wealth in the city came about from the silver mines located in the surrounding mountains, these our now a large part of the tourist routes in Bolivia.
So the trip to the mine started with us being geared up in wellies, protective clothing, hard hat and headlamp. We were taken by bus to the miners Market where our guide explained about the different items on sale, and we purchased some ourselves as gifts to the miners. The guide then showed us the procedure for chewing coca leaves, the cigarettes the miners smoke and the 96% proof alcohol they drink, as well as the dynamite!
After a short ride we arrived above the processing plants the minerals mined are sent to, the guide again took the time to explain the process as well as the dangers of the by products, which include high concentration cyanide.
Finally we arrived at the mine, and we where given a few minutes for some photos by the carts and at the entrance to the mine, after a safety briefing we divided into groups of 5/6 and headed into the mine. First point of call was to give thanks to El Tio the miners devil, although catholic men the miners believe God does not enter the mine, so inside the mine they worship El Tio. Each day upon entering the mine they give coca leaves, cigarettes, and alcohol to El Tio in exchange for safety, good mineral, strength and fertility, and we did like wise!
The guide led us into the main shaft of the mine, calling out whenever there was a low part of the ceiling or a cart filled with stone heading our way, at which point, it was a case of dive into the nearest alcove and off the tracks!
The first group of miners we visited involved us climbing up a shaft and through some small gaps on our hands and knees, upon reaching the point of work we were greeted by a large chap called don pedro. he was huge! god only knows how he had gotten through the holes we had crawled through. Don pedro was really friendly posing for pictures, answering questions, and sharing the gifts of alcohol. He explained about the three main minerals found in the rock, zinc, tin, and the occasional streaks of silver. We all had a go at shovelling stone into a wheel barrow before trying to wheel it off!
The next group we came across where about to load one of the carts, which was astonishing to watch, as a slide was opened and a ton of stone filled the awaiting cart, the leader of the cart was a 17 year old who had been working in the mine for 5 years already!
The final group we met, again involved climbing and crawling in small spaces, was led by two brothers, at first they where a little stand offish and held up the miner-gringo divide, but as soon as alcohol and cigarettes where passed around, they opened up and would speak to us in a more friendly manner, I can understand the hostility toasted the tourists as the miners see very little of the money paid for the tour. 10% of what we paid goes to the mine, and that money isn't necessarily fed down to the miners who entertain the tours!
All in all the tour was an amazing experience but it's not something I would rush back to doing in a hurry, it gave us the insight to see the horrendous working conditions that these guys put up with, sometimes for very little money, as each group of miners works as a cooperative, so if the mineral in the area they are mining is poor then so is the amount of money the refineries pay for the product!