Mine The Gap — Potosi, Bolivia
We got our first taste of Bolivian buses on a short trip from Uyuni to Potosi, and thank God it was a short trip. These buses were a far cry from the leather-bound luxury of Argentinian buses where you are served wine and Champagne. Bolt-upright, legs crushed and surrounded by Bolivian riff-raff shouting 'vamos' angrily at the driver, I was glad when we arrived in the world's highest city.
After aimlessly wandering around in search of some Bolivian street-food we decided it must have been their siesta and so got stung with some gringo prices at a local restaurant. In the evening it turned out to be some sort of anniversary of Potosi and there were rumours of the President visiting. I was taken aback by the waves of patriotism allover Britain this year but the Bolivians surprised me as well, lining the streets and celebrating for hours on end.
The next morning we booked to go on a day tour of the Potosi silver mines. We were told that there wouldn't be many miners about in the mines due to the anniversary celebrations but decided to give it a go. We first visited a miners shop and picked up some gifts for the miners; namely water, orange juice, coca leaves and dynamite. Yes, dynamite.
Our guide Wilson proceeded to explain how important it was not the the detonator. Needless to say I dropped the detonator in the minibus just moments later and panic ensued as we scrambled around on floor trying to find it. The crisis was soon averted though and I had been expecting this to be quite a touristy experience, when got geared up and arrived at the opening of the first mine we we were in for a shock.
The next few hours were spent hunched over and crawling around in some atrocious conditions, with my lungs struggling to cope and nearly getting a hernia in the process. We experienced one of the miners exploding seven pieces of dynamite just a few metres away and my heart was racing as dust and small pieces of rock fell to the ground around us.
To unsettle the nerves further, Wilson then took us to a spot where the miners worship a strange devil who they believe will bring them good fortune. This involved drinking some 96% alcohol as he prayed to the devil. As it transpired, the miners drink the stuff on a daily basis and after seeing the conditions they have to work in, it is difficult to blame them.
When I finally saw some light emanating from the exit of the mine I felt like Andy Dufresne at the end of The Shawshank Redemption. It was a huge relief to be out and to be quite honest we were all glad to be taking off our overalls. This had been a humbling experience. It will certainly be something to bear in mind when I contemplate complaining about my working hours in a few months time.
The next morning I woke up with some sort of allergic reaction to one of the many toxic substances we came across in the mines. I became quite concerned when even a dermatologist couldn't tell me what was wrong. Anyway, I decided to forget about it for the time-being and we visited a famous silver museum in town before going to the bus station to head over to Sucre.