Soul Mining
Potosi. A town located in the middle of nowhere in particular, above the Alti Plano. Yet it is a large town, with heaps of colonial architechture. Why? Cerro Rico: Rich Mountain. Since the mid 1500s, silver in vast quantitites, then lead and tin, have been mined from this conical shaped mountain just above the town. And in equally vast quantities, people have died mining it.
Our day started with a brief trip to the tour operator to fix a tour of some mines in the afternoon. Then, after a good and hearty breaky, and a cruise around what is a vibrant and facinating town, we set out on the tour. First stop was the miner´s market to buy some dynamite.
Ah, yes, dynamite is freely and easily available in Potosi. No age limit on buying it. No limit on the ammount you can buy. We were getting some to give as a gift to the miners whose mine we were touring. We also bought them coca leaves, soft drinks (it´s well thirsty work down there) and also 96% alcohol to help them celebrate at the end of the week.
Then it was up to the mine to start the tour. If you are about 4`6" then the tour could be quite comfy. I´m not. It wasn´t. There`s no concession to tourists in the mine; you face what the miners face. It was a quiet day, as most of the guys had taken the day off in celebration of the day of the dead (All saints) but there were still a few around in the mine. Our guides were ex miners who gave it up for slightly less pay, but a slightly better chance of hitting 40. They were muy loco. But also informative and entertaining.
We only went down three levels (out of a possible 17), but that was quite enough for me. Pics will be coming sometime, but really, conditions down there were unbelievable. I thought the porters on the Inca Trail were hardcore, but these guys really take the buscuit. And they start as young as 8 years old. And life expectancy is around 15 years down there. Nuff said.
They earn on average around 800Bs a month, which is around 60 quid. Next time you think your job is getting you down, just think of these guys.
Still, being a tourist, we had to have some fun, so on getting to the surface we blew up some dynamite. Which was good. Some of the guys in our group have a few sticks left, which we plan to blow up some cactus with or something. Explosions are ace!
Just been out on the salt flats of the Solar today, of which more anon.
Our day started with a brief trip to the tour operator to fix a tour of some mines in the afternoon. Then, after a good and hearty breaky, and a cruise around what is a vibrant and facinating town, we set out on the tour. First stop was the miner´s market to buy some dynamite.
Ah, yes, dynamite is freely and easily available in Potosi. No age limit on buying it. No limit on the ammount you can buy. We were getting some to give as a gift to the miners whose mine we were touring. We also bought them coca leaves, soft drinks (it´s well thirsty work down there) and also 96% alcohol to help them celebrate at the end of the week.
Then it was up to the mine to start the tour. If you are about 4`6" then the tour could be quite comfy. I´m not. It wasn´t. There`s no concession to tourists in the mine; you face what the miners face. It was a quiet day, as most of the guys had taken the day off in celebration of the day of the dead (All saints) but there were still a few around in the mine. Our guides were ex miners who gave it up for slightly less pay, but a slightly better chance of hitting 40. They were muy loco. But also informative and entertaining.
We only went down three levels (out of a possible 17), but that was quite enough for me. Pics will be coming sometime, but really, conditions down there were unbelievable. I thought the porters on the Inca Trail were hardcore, but these guys really take the buscuit. And they start as young as 8 years old. And life expectancy is around 15 years down there. Nuff said.
They earn on average around 800Bs a month, which is around 60 quid. Next time you think your job is getting you down, just think of these guys.
Still, being a tourist, we had to have some fun, so on getting to the surface we blew up some dynamite. Which was good. Some of the guys in our group have a few sticks left, which we plan to blow up some cactus with or something. Explosions are ace!
Just been out on the salt flats of the Solar today, of which more anon.
posted by Johnnie at Wednesday, November 02, 2005
1 Comments:
A gift of dynamite with a side order of 96% alcohol... are you crazy?! Glad you are still having fun- be careful playing with that stuff, we want you back in one piece.
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