Potosi

Potosi is a town you may never have heard of, but should have. It is located near the largest mine of silver ever found, called Cerro Ricco. The Spanish mined it for centuries and now, there is no silver, but the locals still mine it for other minerals. At its peak, the population was larger than Paris and about equal to London.

We took a taxi from the bus station to the hostel we had picked out ... only to discover that it was closed. The sign on the door said closed for rennovations. We then went to La Casona Hostal Potosi, a short walk away. We are paying 80 bolivianos for a clean room with 2 twin beds and we get breakfast. The hostel was really pretty and interesting architechture.

After arriving, we went to the Koala Cafe and had a set meal for less than $5. We started with a crepe, then I had quinoa soup. Our entree was lemon pepper llama and mashed potatoes. Yummy! For dessert we had banana cake. Delicious. We then went across the street to the Casa Nacional de Moneda. It is the former royal mint and now houses one of the better museums we have visited. We once again recieved a guided tour with our admission price of 20 bolivianos. It took about an hour or so to take it all in. The museum has a collection of religous art, contempary art, and artifacts from it's time as mint.

Sundays in South America are remind me of the fall in the US. Its all about football!! Of course, football here is what we call soccer at home. A friendly local told us that it was a super classico game this Sunday, April 19th. Super classico is a big match between rivals. It was Potosi Real vs. Potosi Naçional. The match was fun, only cost us 30 bolivianos ($4.20), and ended in a 1-1 tie.

We then had the opportunity to enjoy lomitos for dinner--little sandwiches with some beef, tomato, and papas fritas (of course!) on a bun. Its quite tasty and uber cheap, only 5 bolivianos.

Monday we went to Cerro Ricco (the silver mine). The first stop on the tour is to get all of the gear you need: jackets, pants, helmet, boots, headlamp & battery, and bandana. They dont tell you to bring a scarf or bandana, but are ready to sell it to you. After you get your gear, you are treated to a visit to the miners market. You are able to buy drinks, dynomite, coca leaves, 96% alcohol, or other goodies for the miners. Its not required to buy anything but its encouraged by our guide, Ronaldo. Ronaldo worked in the mines from when he was 16 until about 19/20. He was very lucky to get out of the mines. (The conditions and the money are crap.) We then went to the refinery. After the minerals are drawn out of the mine, they are brought to one of the many refineries for processing. Next, the bus climbed up the mountain and we went into the mine. The first part shows Tio, the devil, that the miners leave offerings to in order to ensure their protection and hope bestowes them with the good luck of finding valuable minearls. The mine shaft gets smaller and smaller the further you clamber in. Shortly after the light fades behind you, the dust starts to penetrate your lungs. It burns and continues to burn the rest of your `visit.´ The first miner we met was a 13 year old boy. He works in the mine because his family is poor. His father is the head miner in one part of the mine. It was very heartbreaking watching this poor child work so hard. He said he did want to go to school but that he couldnt afford it. When we finally climbed out of the mine, I was short of breath and my lungs burned. I have never been so excited for fresh, clean air. I coughed the rest of the day and we were only in the mine for 2 hours or less. Needless to say, the miners do not live long lives.

When we got back to town, we got lunch and had the opportunity to see an amazing church. Our tour of the chuch included some information about the church AND we got to climb up to the roof for a great view of the city. Then we got to go all the way down into the crypts of the church. It was quite the all-inclusive tour.

After we finished the church tour, we quickly headed out of town to the Eye of the Inca. It took us about an hour to get there -- we took two buses and climbed up a hill -- but it was totally worth it. It was a hot lake that overlooked the mountains. As we approached, the sun was setting so we did not get as long of a swim as we would have liked. We climbed down the hill with two Argentinians and split the cab back to town. The whole trip cost us only 13 bolivianos and was worth every centovos.