Wednesday 5th April 2017
Potosi – Silver Mine area
Transferred to bus station and took the regular cata bus from
Uyuni to Potosi, taking about 3 hours. Arrived at the old bus station to find
that our transfer bus had gone to the new bus station. Lots of apologies from Fernando, our new
guide. Dumped bags at the Colonial
Hotel, to find that we had a tiny downstairs room where we couldn’t even move
around the suitcases. Asked for an upgrade which meant lugging the bags
upstairs 2x floors. Again only one night
here, so no chance of doing any laundry etc and water still limited. Nice place
though with small courtyard/fountain – very Spanish looking.
Went for a tour around the silver mine in the ‘rich mountain’ – we
had to go into what appeared to be a private house and put on top and trouser
overalls, wellington boots and miners helmets with lights. The local guide gave
us the spiel about how the miners worked – in cooperatives owning a seam and
extracting silver, copper, tin, zinc; unfortunately mixed with arsenic and
other lovelies. They work as long as
they want but are expected to jointly mine about 20 tonnes per day. We were
treated to an explanation of the items they can buy at the ‘miners market’,
with said items being handed around to view e.g. TNT, fuse, detonator (none of
which is regulated), but mainly coca leaves and neat alcohol which keeps them
going as eating in the mine would be poisonous due to the arsenic etc. So basically they don’t eat and keep on a
high with a gob full of coca leaves in their cheek. We bought a couple of bags of leaves,
cigarettes and alcohol to give to the miners for entry into the mine. The guide seemed to continue to eat the coca
leaves herself, constantly picking out the stems and popping them without
thinking.
We then entered the mine and had a tedious explanation of ‘Uncle
George’ – a demon-like effigy with rather large ‘member’ who is visited by the
miners at the start of their shift. They give gifts of coca-leaves, neat
alcohol over its horns, eyes, hands, member and feet, and finally finish off
with two lit cigarettes put into its mouth. Great in a mine with alcohol
about! Eventually, as ‘Uncle George’
smoked the cigarettes, we were allowed to continue with the mine getting ever narrower
and really low in places. The so-called strong eucalyptus props holding up the
ceiling were split and didn’t seem capable of keeping anything up. The railway line looked archaic and not used
for some while. We met a very small miner who didn’t seem happy to see us,
muttered something, and then a small explosion went off dropping bits of dust
and grit onto our heads. Not expected. Then Ed brushed against some soft white
growth, and when we asked what it was, we were told that it was arsenic! About
an hour in, it was getting hotter the further we went into the mine, and when
asked if we wanted to continue, we all pretty much agreed that we’d seen, and
inhaled, enough.
Fernando then collected us from the hotel and we went for an
evening walk around the sites of Potosi.
This was a great improvement with some lovely buildings lit up,
including the cathedral with silver-studded door taken from the Jesuits. Also the Mint, which became the main mint for
South America due to the use of silver instead of gold. A worrying ‘gate’ was a stone structure which
separates the lower classes/miners in the valley from the upper classes on the
hill. We also visited El Empedradillo Pub/Restaurant and indulged in a volcano
soup, which was a quinoa-based vegetable soup, heated with a piece of volcanic
stone and which bubbled violently for quite some time. The town was nice enough in some areas, but
not one I would have on a bucket list to return to.
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