Our Potosi mining experience! Silver mine tour.

So, we get picked up in a little van/bus with another couple named Neil and Katie from England. The van drives us to another point, where I get out and run to pick up my camera and burned photo CD´s before this big tour, and when I get back there are 16 people in the van! I make 17! I squeeze in and we are off to begin our tour into the depths of hell.

We drive, slowly I might add, to the ¨office¨ (for lack of a better word) and don our news threads. We are given a pair of rubber boots, a pair of olive green rain pants and a lovely rain coat (long sleeves). Along with this fashion statement comes a lovely belt used for attaching the large battery pack to your person. The battery pack is of course for the large light on the top of the hard hat we get to wear! We are going deep down into the rickety ¨ulta safe¨(not) old mines of course, so being able to see is a good thing! So once everyone is kitted up, we head back onto the tiny little van (yes, all 17 of us, now larger in our equipment).

We then go to the miners market where we get to buy gifts for the miners that we are going to visit. The work for themselves as a part of a cooperative. They receive 15% of the money from the tours and of course, all of the gifts that the gringos buy for them. So, here we are. What do you buy a miner for a gift you ask? Well, DYNAMITE of course! As well, 96% proof alcohol is always a big hit! Then there are the tamer gifts such as coco leaves to chew (as it helps suppress the appetite, and they do not eat while they are down in the mines, sometimes for 15 hour shifts). Sugary pop is always good to give energy, and it´s not a bad mix to the 96% alcohol! Um, cigarettes and lighters are something else that is popular (but they have to have filters).

So, all of the tourists buy gifts for the miners and we pile back into the van to head up the ominous hill toward the mines. The van crawls along at nothing like warp speed and we wind our way up the little track/path, along the cliffs edge, to the mine. The particular mine we are going to is 17 levels deep. It is also important to mention that the day before was the mines anniversary, so all of the miners were either still pissed or hungover! We met quite a few ¨pissed¨ ones on the way in! Remember the 96% proof alcohol (kind of what I would consider paint thinner, or rubbing alcohol)!

Okay, so we all bought dynamite of course! Now is our chance to see it in action! They light the fuse, which is good for a few minutes (maybe 5) and then pass it around to some of us crazier tourists who want a to take advantage of this rare photo opportunity! Yes, of course I had my picture taken holding live dynamite! Aren´t you proud mom! Lindsay declined. I think she values her life!

Anyways, so we all take photos of 2 live sticks of dynamite and then watch as two miners take these stickes and run over to a point on the hill where they procede to throw them and then run like hell! Such an exhilarating experience! What a boom! Dirt flying everywhere! I tried to take a video, or a photo but didn´t manage too well. (Did well on the jump and scream part though!!)

So, after that we get into our groups and head for the ritual shot before entering the mine! Yup, we tried the 96% alcohol! Mixed with a lovely green soda this time! We enter the ???? I don´t know what. It was a room filled with very drunk miners and a shrine of the devil. The miners worship (or pay respect) to the devil. It is very uncool to say ¨oh my god¨ in the mines. Bad luck. I took to saying ¨holy hell¨ a LOT!

We enter the mine in our big rubber boots (thankfully) and sludge through the muck and mud. Our guide´s name is Pedro and he is a funny guy! His assistant´s name is Daniel. They are the lucky ones who get to pack all of our gifts into the mine. It is hot and there is a lot of ducking and walking sideways. I´m trying to make the heavy helmet stay on without killing my neck. The little lights on the tops of our heads light our path. The mine is hot and it gets harder and harder to breathe. Thankfully we ran into Dave and Dominic (the boys from London, AGAIN) at the mine and they had just finished their tour. I managed to scoop a face mask from them before we went in. It helped keep some of the yuck out of my lungs!

So we entered the first level, then the second, third, and finally forth level. It was very hard going and being so high up was difficult on the old lungs! At times it was VERY strenuous, but well worth it. Most of us continued down into the 5th level, and once we shimmied our way there we were treated to another drink with one of the miners. We all drank to Patcha Mama and Tio (they call the Devil ¨Uncle¨) and then had one for ourselves. I haven´t really gone into any great detail about our trek through the mines. Let´s just say there were many tight spots, many rickety (one rung broken) old ladders, tight spaces, lots of crawling on hands and knees, and some sliding like a snake into some clausterphobic spots. It was something like I have never experienced before, nor do I ever want to experience it again! Those miners are amazing. It´s no bloody wonder they drink 96% alcohol!

We were able to meet and talk with some of the miners along the way. We even got to watch 2 fellows hammering a hole into the rock with a pick, so that they could place the dynamite. (A lot of things are done old style, as it was hundreds of years ago.) These 2 miners set off some dynamite and we all scrambled up the ladder and down the mineshaft to a safe distance to hear the BOOM! It was pretty cool! We felt safe in the fact that we were scrambling up the ladders first, so the miners were closest to the dynamite. We assumed they wouldn´t light it until they felt safe as well!

It is amazing how young these guys start in the mines. Our guide worked in the mine from when he was 10-15 years old. His father was a real novelty because he was still alive and working in the mines at 68 years old. Most men are only given about 10 years in the mines, then the respiratory ailments begin. The life expectancy of a miner is only about 40 or 45 years old (maybe 50). We met a miner who was 14 years old. Crazy!! I can´t imagine some of the 14 year olds I know doing this kind of work. I can´t imagine anyone I know doing this kind of work. It was definitely a unique and eye opening experience. One I hope to never have again! You just can´t imagine the dust and grime going into their lungs each and every day. No food while they work and some do 12, 15, 24 hour days!!! They don´t go to work, they don´t get paid. They work for themselves. It´s a crazy kind of life. Like I said, it´s no wonder they drink 96 proof! Well, I could go on and on, but I think you get the idea.

We had to climb back out of the 5 levels. We were in the mines for about 2 full hours and it was pretty gruelling at times. Near the end we saw a miners museum (it´s not touristy by any means), and then we were out. The closer we came to the entrance, the colder the air and the easier it was to breathe. I was never so happy to breathe proper air and to see daylight!! What an amazing experience. As the brochure says ¨Not for whimps and woosies¨!!!

After we exited the mine we all piled into the van again and cruised down the hill to the refinery. We watched how they processed the zinc and silver etc. It was a pretty rustic affair! Talk about safety hazards everywhere! No one has safety meetings in Bolivia, as far as I could tell! Once this portion was over we headed back to the office, but not before some people having to get out and help PUSH the van up a certain hill!! hahaha! The fun never ends! Everyone took off their gear, put on their running shoes and we were done! My shirt was soaked through completely! Sweat, yuck! Glad I had another one there! Whew! It was over! What an experience!!