Potosí, Bolivia

Sited below a mountain known as “the eater of men”, the mind achingly high town of Potosí is a destination not to be missed by any traveler in Bolivia.

Still, the decision on whether to go or not wasn’t easy at all. The conditions within the mines can be euphemistically described as “poor” – the average life expectancy of a miner is in the mid thirties – with silicosis and mercury poisoning claiming the most lives.

The history of the mines riddling the Cerro Rico mountain is difficult to come to terms with. Conservative estimates place the number of deaths at around 8 million people – a large number to get your oxygen starved brain around.

Al is asked to express facially what he thinks of Potosina beer

Sun flooding though the bell tower near our hostel

Earthy colors and cobbled streets

At 4090 meters above the surf, Potosí is the second highest city in Bolivia behind the aptly named El Alto near La Paz. Thankfully both of us were still flushed with excess red blood cells from our time around La Paz and we were recharged after a few days in the placidly beautiful capital of Sucre.

Our tour to the mines was with an ex-miner by the name of “Willy” who delivered a stream of fascinating narrative in excellent English. The first stop was to the Miner’s Market to purchase some gifts for the miners as an offering of respect both for their profession, as well as for the time they take to show tourists around their underground world.

The gifts took the form of raw alcohol, coca leaves, tobacco and of course a stick or two of dynamite. There is something liberating about buying high explosives from a stall in the street from vendors who also sell – and light – individual cigarettes for their patrons. The lack of any consideration towards health and safety was the defining beauty of Bolivia for the two of us – you simply can’t help but know that you aren’t in Kansas any more Toto…

What to buy a Bolivian miner – Coca leaves, raw alcohol and cigarettes

Buying dynamite on the street on Potosi. We loved the fact that they sold and lit cigarettes for their customers too !

Gingerly holding up our purchased sticks of dynamite

For us the most fascinating thing about the mines was the juxtaposition of religious beliefs above and below ground. On the surface the miners are all faithful Catholics thanks to the Spanish Conquistadors. These beliefs make a startling reversal below ground however… The underworld is the domain of the devil and every miner will make offerings of alcohol and coca leaves to the resident Tio, a devil statue made of mud.

The Tio, which means “uncle” in Spanish, is viewed a mostly benevolent guardian of the miners as their drill and blast away in their underground world. The story also goes that the Conquistadors, troubled by uprisings among the superstitious native slaves, invented the devil icon telling them that this was now their god (or Dio in Spanish) in order to frighten them. The local Quechuan dialect, having no letter “D”, referred to the icon as their Tio. Either way its pretty damn freaky coming face to face with one underground.

The Tio surrounded by offerings of coca leaves, tobacco and alcohol.

Our guide Willy offering the Tio gifts for a safe visit to the mine

What the Tio looked like without the flash on

The Tio we visited was actually broken thanks to an American student who thought it would be hilarious to sit on its lap for a photo. The miners would have to rebuild and reconsecrate their Tio before they would enter the mines to work again. When you take into context the already hard living these miners scrape from their tunnels far below us, it is almost impossible to comprehend the stupid insensitivity some tourists show.

Even by South American standards the roof is pretty low

We’re not sure what this stuff is, but we’re certain its not good.

Willy shows us how to extract the ore

The walls of the recess in which it sat were still stained with the blood of a white Llama, who’s throat is slashed in an offering to the ancient Andean deity of Pachamama. The floor is littered with old coca leaves, much prized by the miners for its help with the rigours of working at altitude.

Sadly we didn’t manage to get as deep into the mines as we’d have liked – one of our group was night blind which seemed to be slightly at odds with their desire to descend into a dark pit – so we headed to the surface for the part all the boys were waiting for.

Our guide whipped out the stick of dynamite we’d kept aside for the purpose. We must admit a little nervousness as he first smacked the dynamite with a rock before eventually jumping up and down on it to allow him get the fuse into the top. Walking across the uneven ground ahead of us, he nonchalantly lit the fuse before dashing around corner of a mine dump.

Willy prepares some dynamite to explode outside the mine

Having some difficulty getting the fuse in so he stomps on one end to help. No health and safety here !

Ka-BAMM!! Dee reflexively presses the button on the camera to catch the explosion

We waited in anticipation for a few seconds, inwardly cringing as the seconds ticked past, sure it was going to go off… now! Or maybe… NOW ?! Hmm.. is it still even alight – maybe something is wrong ? BANG!

The explosion and resulting echo nearly resulted in change of pants for us all when it did go off. The one positive side effect was that the sound scared Dee into reflexively pressing the shutter release on the camera, so we caught the explosion as it happened.