Mission: Go down into the mines and assess the situation...!So, after an extremely (no exagerration here!) cold and bumpy 6 hours on a bus ride from Uyuni...through what Warren swears was gunfire and what I am certain was death defying feats of driving...we arrived in Potosi. Cathy and I, the brave and courageous young lasses that we are, set off for the mines today....we were the only ones who wanted to go out of the group.....the rest speculated about the dangers involved.... the gases, the collapses, an explosive wrongly installed, silicosis, asbestosis...where´s your sense of adventure people?! So, all suited and booted (yes, in our jeans and trainers) and ready to go at 8.30am this morning, when Warren walked into the breakfast room. We managed to convince him that it was def not to be missed, didnt take too long. And by 9.30am we were bundled into a wee van on our way. Our first stop, still in the city, involved our guide banging (very loudly) on a rusty, corrugated gate. After a while, we were ushered through and really suited and booted...flimsy trousers, and jacket, a helmet and some gumboots...right now I feel ready (!). Cathy and Warren looked strangely comfortable in their outfit...natural born miners! Back in the van (after harrassing a little puppy) and away we went to the next stop, where we were each issued with a torch. They weren´t your average Magnalite kind, but rather the sort of lamp that fits onto a helmet (though ours didnt) and are attached to a pack which weighs about a kilo....so I´ll be able to run if one of the galleries collapses yeah?! So away we go, in search of the mineral rich mountain of Cerro Rico. Once at the mountain, I start to feel a little bit self conscious in my miners garb...surrounded by real life miners...oh well... We stop at a little shop, and but some presents for the miners that we are about to meet...not your average bottle of wine and bunch of flowers but rather a huge bag of Coca leaves, (they chew them to stave off hunger, tiredness and cold) some cigarettes, (eucalyptus, cinnamon, tabacco among other stuff!), some crackers, (for the kids who work the mines and dont chew the Coca leaves) and some dynamite.... So, we have our bag of goodies and away we go...hang on...dynamite....what the hell?! Yep, you got it the first time, we bought the guys dynamite. Often the miners (who have to buy all their supplies themselves) cant afford to buy enough dynamite and when trying to economise on the stuff...accidents happen. Each inch of the fuse gives you a minute...so they have to run pretty damn fast if they decide to only use a couple of inches of fuse! The mine that we entered has about 6000 miners and 5000 different entrances. Our guide led us to one of the entrances and away we went. I was a bit nervous at first as it was really quite dark despite our lights. After a couple of hundred metres, we stop and have a chat with a couple of miners and Cathy turns to me "Priya, so you really think its necessary to keep your shades on...?!" ...."Oh, yes, right...was wondering why it was so dull in here!!!" Shades off...onwards and downwards we go! The mine that we entered has 14 different levels. Those who work in the mineral rich, lower levels are given about 10yrs to live, whilst those in the upper levels (where it isnt so mineral rich) have a life expectancy of about 45-50yrs of age!! We got ourselves down to the 6th level and while we chatted to a few 17 yr olds, about 7 rounds of dynamite went off. It was LOUD!!! At first, it scared me senseless...panicked, I looked around at the others...once I realised that everyone seemed at ease with the explosions , I relaxed and enjoyed the show!! It is an extremely scary sensation to have the dynamite go off...the pressure down in the mines changes significantly and your ears pop...not only that but the whole mountain seems to shake and it kinda feels like the air is closing in around you....not sure mining is the job for me!! So after the excitement of the explosions, our tour guide pointed out an entrance which lead further down into the mines. She told us that she wouldnt be able to take us down there as it was too dangerous...ok fine, no problemo....no sooner had she said that, a group of people surfaced from the pit and I was horrified when I realised how old they were. The youngest was a 12 yr old and the group of 5 couldnt have had a collective age of more than about 70!! That was pretty tough to swallow. All miners work at least 12 hours per day (for a daily rate of about 30 Bolivianos (divide that by 8 to get their daily wage in dollars!)) whereas the kids work for 8 hours per day and attend 4 hours of school every evening.... We probed them with questions and handed out some of the crackers we had bought and then slowly made our way back through the mines.
Stopped of at a shrine of the Devil and paid homage to him...entailed us having to light a funny ciggy, which had eucalyptus, tobacco and cinnamon among other ingredients, taking a toke and then giving it to the Devil to smoke. If he smoked the lot...we were in for a good mineral rich day at the mines. If not....well....maybe I wouldnt be here to tell the tale! Needless to say...the Devil smoked ours, didnt need much encouragement either...I reckon he was gagging for a smoke!!
Outta the mines...after scrambling along little tunnels and UP vertical entrances through to the levels above....I was left to ponder the situation of Bolivian miners and be grateful for mine!!
