Saturday morning we departed La Paz – destination Oruro. We walked around town for ½ hour in the rain finally finding a hostel with availability as there was a festival in town. The rain stopped, so we toured the town up and down the streets. The town was completely abuzz, a great atmosphere with only 2 tourists (Me and Renee). We toured their famous mining museum which sits atop an old mine shaft. We descended 100 ft underground into the tunnels, they were built for Bolivians, Not Canadians and Dutch as the tunnels were about 5 ft high. The rest of the evening we enjoyed watching the busy streets from a restaurant balcony.
Sunday morning Renee & I left Oruro headed to Potosi. We encountered some excitement on the way, which Renee will discuss in another post, however we safely arrived in Potosi. The city of 100,000 plus is the highest on the planet at 4060 m. Another interesting fact is that it was the wealthiest city in South America for 200 years in the 1500-1600´s due to its silver mining. It didn’t come without its price, as over 2 Million (Yes with an M) miners (mostly slaves) died in the mines during this time.
Potosi is still a mining town, and is constant buzz, except in the morning leading up to 10 AM. This is the first city we have been to where the people sleep in, very strange as all the other cities are going by 6 AM. Yesterday we took a Silver Refinery Tour with a guide and 6 other tourists. First stop was the miners market where the miners get their supplies before heading up the hill into the mine. The tour guide was very enthusiastic, and began by throwing sticks at our chest to catch. We all catch our sticks then he says ¨you are all ready to mine now that you have your dynamite¨. And yes it was real Dynamite! He also whipped out his lighter and pretended to light one of the fuses, then stops; laughing ´´if you are fast no worries as the fuse will give you just enough time to run out of the building´´. Some people on the tour were continuing on to a real mine, and the miners will give you a tour if you bring them a gift, so a few of the guys on our tour bought dynamite as a gift and off to the bus we went with sticks of TNT sitting on our laps while we continued up the mountain.
Next stop was the Refinery, which was a sight to be seen. To clarify, any local can go into this mine with their own dynamite, picks, shovels and pails and look for silver in the mine shafts. They take the rock to this Refinery where they get paid and the Refinery takes a cut. For a miner today, the average life expectancy following the first day they enter the mine is 10 years. No ventilation, full of mold, walls collapsing etc.
The first room we walked in smelled terribly bad, then the guide says ´´quick, take your picture and get out, this is where we mix the Cyanide… It´s poisonous for your lungs´´….DO YOU THINK????
Next we walked into the mill and crusher room across elevated boardwalks above the machinery without handrails. At this point Renee and I agreed it was good to opt out on the mine tour. There are NO safety standards or regulations in Bolivia, especially in mining. As part of the tour our guide wiped a streak of processed Silver Oxide across our cheeks to make us look like warriors, it looked great…. Wait, isn´t one of the main additives to the oxide; Cyanide??? I shouldn´t get a pimple there for years.
COLIN
PS Bolivian computers don't like cameras and we and many other travellers can not upload pictures....but we'll keep trying :)
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