Arriving in Potosi, one of the highest cites in the world , was not so difficult to manage as I the chance to acclimatise during my desert tour. This city is split over many different levels, makes a simple stroll at the 4,090m altitude rather breathtaking. Laying at the base of Cerro Rico ("rich mountain") it was the major supplier of silver to Spain during their world empire, making it the wealthiest city in Latin America during the period.
Taking a cab up to the recommended Koala Den hostal, I spent 45 minutes standing at reception until I wandered up and found a cleaner upstairs that was able to show me in to a room. My promised towel did not arrive in two days and shows clear lack of customer service, at least their free breakfast (which is standard inclusion in hostels in Latin America) was the best I have come across yet; eggs, toast, coffee, tea, fresh juice, banana shake, fruit and pancakes.
I decided to spend a little extra and go with Big Deal (previously Real Deal) tours who employ ex miners as guides, defects from Koala Den tours which was already winning points in my book. Renaldo spoke great English and talked me through the tour, a unique opportunity to go down inside a working mine where you will see some of the 10,000 independent miners at work. Some of the profits go back to the miners and you are guaranteed a genuine insight as the guide will introduce you to his friends along the tour. The only catch is signing your life away.
Straight after breakfast a mini van picked up myself and then Paul, the only two gringos on the morning tour and took us too the miners market for supplies. Here we are encouraged to buy gifts for the miners including coca leaves, soft drinks and dynamite!! (who could resist the urge to freely buy such and awesome gift). We then dropped past a house where we got kitted up in our miners pants, jacket, boots and head gear.
First stop on the tour was the refinery where there miners truck loads of pulverised rock is dropped of for sorting and processing(mostly silver, iron and copper). Safety protocols were absent as we strolled on shaky wooden planks amongst the vats of dangerous chemicals and toxic waste. The whole process of refining the minerals from the rocks seemed so primitive, yet impressive at the same time.
Next up was the main event, our tour inside Cerro Rico itself, the next few hours were to be spent exploring some of the hundreds of mine shafts. Outside in the favela style community, miners sat around everywhere chewing coca leaves enjoying the fine day. Apparently this morning was set aside to review safety standards and what areas needed repair, a slightly reassuring sign before we entered the depths.
Our guide led us to a gated passed and instructed that we turn on our headlamps as it would be very dark inside, no other lighting would be available. We then descended into the pitch black, keeping close in tail with our guide who kept reminding us to duck as we continually smashed our helmets against the roof of the narrow shaft. This is certainly no place for claustrophobic as at times we had to hunch so low that we were almost crawling, not so much of an issue for the Bolivians and their short stature.
Miners here generally work in small cooperatives in sections that have been passed down in generations. All the profits are kept for themselves, although income is totally dependent on finding the minerals in the first place. There was a time that the government ran mines in the mountain and offered a fixed salary including sick and holiday benefits, but this was shut down after 20 years as the incentive for the workers to abuse the work ethic was too great. Some tourists even volunteer to work here for up to a week, although after 5 minutes of giving them a hand, I think I'd rather stick with my desk job back home.
Once we had been walking for around an hour we ran into El Tio, the devil inside the mine who is worshipped by the workers to deliver them greater yields. The miners will give offerings including coca leaves, cigarettes and even sit around to drink Potable (the 96% alcohol favoured by the workers). Once a year they have a festival where Llamas are slaughtered inside the mine and family's are welcomed in to take part in the BBQ feast that follows.
With out bandannas tightly fastened to help filter out the dusty air, we climbed a few ladders up to the next mine, watching out the whole time as workers push their tonne loaded wagons full of rocks down the narrow shaft. We ran in to our final group of miners who were drilling out holes for dynamite, a perfect opportunity to hand over my explosive gift. So confident of their skills, they asked us to turn off our headlamps so they could demonstrate the ability to keep drilling in the dark.
Outside Paul and I sat with a couple of miners who had obviously been hitting the Potable for a few hours, very eager for us to join then and chew a for coca leaves. The whole experience while enjoyable, definitely makes you realise how lucky we are in a developed society with out relatively safe jobs and guaranteed incomes.
This mine is said to provide a life expectancy of 40 years mainly due to Silicosis (lung disease) although there is always the very real risk of collapses as the mountain is mined out like a big piece of swiss cheese. On the flip side, a lot of the miners here are earning well above the minimum wage and are able to provide a decent standard of living for their families.
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