Potosi & The Silver Mines
Potosi is a fascinating city. At 4100m above sea level it is the highest city in the world and has an incredible if not tragic past. The only reason for Potosi existing as a city was the 1545 discovery of silver in the Cerro Rico mountains and the consequent ´silver rush´ led by the Spanish. The population of Potosi grew from nothing to 160,000 within 50 years as the Spanish extracted the silver. Conditions for the slaves in the mines were quite terrible, with an estimated 9 million fatalities over 300 years of mining. A local told us that if you took the bones from all the bodies in the mine, you could build a bridge from Potosi to Spain. They also say you could build a similar bridge with the silver that has been taken over the years.
Today, Potosi still has remenants of the silver rush with some amazing colonial architecture. The mine still operates in a similar way to its past although silver is far less available and other minerals such a zinc and lead are also extracted. We were able to visit the mines with a former miner who showed us the whole mining process. On route we stopped at the miners market to buy them gifts as it is not an “official” tours and we must respect this is still a place of work for the miners. We were stunned to find dynamites available for 50p on the same shelf as a bottle of coke. There is also 96% alcohol on offer which Chris took up the offer of trying (probably to calm his nerves pre entering the mines). We asked if there are any age restrictions for buying both alcohol and dynamites but apparently none exisit!!!! Armed with said goods we headed for the mines, kitted head to toe in the full uniform (Chris looking like Bob the Builder and Sophie swamped with the overalls). Heading into the mines was nerve-wracking with only light from our head torches and the hot air filled with heavy dust. Even without suffering from claustraphobia it was impossible not to feel the pressue of being so deep underground. We crawled through tight tunnels and dodged the rickety mine carts amazed to see how old fashioned things still are. We spoke to different miners at work, all with cheeks full of coco leaves and ages varying from 16-60! After 2hrs spent in the mines we were happy to see daylight at the end of the tunnel!
Southern Hemisphere Shenanigans... 