#93 - Mines of Potosí

05/05/2011

Had such a poor night 's sleep last night.
The reason for this can largely be attributed to the person snoring ridiculously loudly who, of course, was on the bed nearest to me. Not only did he snore loudly but he clearly had something horrific in his nasal passage and the resultant noise was something I wouldn't wish anyone to hear.
So that woke me up several times and obviously made it pretty hard to get back to sleep once I was awake.

It was eventually time to actually wake up so I did, and went down for breakfast. It was better than I have had at the last few places: not one but TWO bread rolls, marmalade, butter, tea and JUICE! What a novelty.

This morning I had booked a tour around what put Potosí on the map, its' mines. The silver rush of the 1500s  made mining a lucrative job but though the pure silver has long since gone, there are still 15,000 miners digging for tin, zinc, white silver and iron. The conditions  that the miners work in are notoriously awful and visiting the mines has become a popular tourist activity so at 8:30, our tour guide arrived and took us to get kitted up.

We were given waterproof trousers, a waterproof heavy duty jacket, wellies and a hardhat with light. All of this was necessary, it transpired later.

Our first stop was the Miners Market, where it is customary for people taking the tour to buy gifts for the miners not only because they need the equipment but by way of thanking them for allowing us to essentially invade their workplace. We bought them gloves, juice, coca leaves and as a little quirk, dynamite. Apparently this is the only place where you can buy dynamite without a license so that I did.

We were first shown some of the refinery plants where they extract the raw materials that they want. The smoke created was choking and this was from a safe distance away - apparently the workers don't wear protective masks and are fully exposed to all the gases and stuff that are produced. Not a desirable job, you could say.

After that, we went into the mine itself through one of the many entrances.
There was a deep reservoir of water along pretty much all of the path in and it was obviously very dark and gloomy and depressing. We were shown the miners at work and were able to stay and chat to them because our guide is an ex-miner so knows most of them.
We had a go at shovelling the stuff and had a look at the different stuff they do, and at one point had to pull ourselves up a thin passageway that had been recently blown up and was in the process of being dug out.

The miners here are very dependant on the coca leaves for sustainance, and they mean that they can work a long shift without having to eat inbetween. Apparently, because they obviously don't have running water here and don't want to be leaving the mine regularly, they urinate on their hands to clean them and to make their hands 'clean enough' to shove more coca leaves into their mouths.

By far the most horrific experience was when we went to see the guys drilling - they drill holes in which to put the sticks of dynamite. The gas and shrapnel produced was blinding and I couldn't see more than about a metre in front of me, even with a head torch. More importantly, I was choking on the horrible fumes and sediment that these guys were drilling and afterwards I really felt ill.
That was after being there for maybe ten minutes, and these guys are at it for hours at a time. I think this is what people mean when they talk about the horrific conditions.

After that, we went to meet some more people. These guys were older - some were late fifties or early sixties, obviously the lucky ones - the average life expectancy of a miner here is 40 years, not sure if I mentioned that before but it's a pretty important statistic. What's worse is that they were lighting up cigarettes - I guess they have got this far and their lungs are probably screwed anyway so why not?
Talking to them was both interesting and very harrowing - when we asked what one condition they could change of working here to make it better, they simply responded that it was too late and looked truly condemned as they said it.

The final thing we did was stay inside the mine while dynamite was being blown up - although we were obviously a safe distance away, some of the vibrations really shook the passageways and my body in turn.
And then we were out.

I'm really glad I went there because it was so interesting and certainly an experience I will never forget, but seeing these old guys just resigned to their fate and the young guys following the same path was really difficult.
Our guide explained that there are pretty much no other jobs available in Potosí except for at the beer factory, so this city is essentially breeding people for horrific, early-ending lives. The guide also explained that the miners don't bother saving money because they go by the philosophy that any day can be their last, so on their three days off per week they hit the town hard together and spend their money on socialising with their friends, living in the moment. Again, the sense of being resigned to their fate is just a horrible notion but it is reality for 15,000 people here in Potosí.

After I got back, speaking left me breathless and I could tell I had some crap deposited at the back of my throat. My warm shower was certainly welcome.

I then went to town and talked to both my sister and Amy, both of which were very nice conversations and made me so excited to go home.
Although I am obviously loving my time out here, I have missed both Warwickshire itself and most importantly, my family and friends that live there pretty much since I left and the thought of being back home by the end of the month is a very nice one.

I went to the same place as last night for dinner - I tell you again, you don't change a winning formula. I'm currently waiting for the referendum results though a 'NO' vote seems pretty inevitable. I'm hoping for a low turnout that will aid a slender 'YES' victory but it seems a hope in vain.

All in all, a fascinating but fairly distressing day and the thought of those miners being back there tomorrow morning while I am off visiting more beautiful sights and enjoying their country as a tourist is a tough one to swallow.
My thoughts and prayers go out to the miners and their families.

JG