Potosi and the mine

After an icy, inhuman Altiplano busride we eventually arrived in Potosi. We rewarded ourselves with a football game [reigning champions Real Potosi lost against La Paz CF]. In the back you can already see Cerro Rico - the famous mining hill, were already the Spanish have exploited the mines for centuries.

Up to present times, an estimated number of 8 million miners had to die to fuel the spanish royal empire with gold and silver. On the topright you can see the shape of Cerro Rico at night.

In our breathtaking tour we experienced that working conditions have not improved much. Due to asbest and other toxic substances average life expectancy of a miner in Cerro Rico is less than 45 years.

Here are two miners dragging no less than 2.000 kilos of stone rubble.

Mr. T during our crawl\climb\drift tour through the mines.

A miner, chewing the traditional coca leaves, which are meant to give him strenght at work.

Having had a good time at the Salar, we took our new indian travelbuddies directly with us and dragged them into a shabby Whiskeria, not knowing by any means what a rough day in the mines expected us.