Around the World: Honeymoon

Today we went on a mine tour in Cerro Rico, a mine that has been churning out precious minerals for over 450 years and is still chock-full.

Our guide arrived just as we were finishing packing our bags and checking out. Once we stored our luggage, we got suited and booted (literally... pants, jacket, rubber boots, hard helmet with a light) and we were ready to make our way towards the mountain. On our way we made a stop at a miners' market to get some gifts for the miners. Our guide explained the importance of coca leaves for giving energy because the miners do not get breaks or eat lunch, cigarettes for offering to 'uncle', pure alcohol to help measure the air and to offer 'uncle', and dynamite for blasting in the mine. We opted for two gifts of coca leaves and a bottle of soda.

After we bought our gifts, we finished the short drive to Cerro Rico and the mines. There were a few big mine carts outside and lots of piles of what looked like rocks from afar. Up close, our guide showed us the different minerals in their raw form. She pointed out silver, bronze, and zinc. The mountain also contains tin and there used to be a working refinery on site for the tin, but the government closed it in 1986.

Going into the mine, you were immediately hit with all of the different smells and the sticky mud and pools of water between the tracks. Some of the ceilings were quite low and I bumped my head a few times on rocks and air pipes (good thing I had the hardhat). It was also very dusty, even without any digging, the dust just hung in the air, so one can only imagine what the dust is like when they are drilling, shoveling, and blowing things up. We also stopped at a small worship area for 'uncle' or tío in Spanish. The miners give offerings to him for many reasons including safety in the mine from collapse, strength, and even fertile areas to mine (hence the large penis on the statue). Offerings are typically given on Fridays, especially the first and last Friday of the month.

While we were walking, our guide talked us through some of the devastating history of mining in Potosí. When the Spanish discovered the pure silver inside the mine, they used the indigenous people as slaves and free labor to mine. It was a requirement for men to serve in the mine for several years when they came of age. Many men then continued to work the mine after their time was up. The lifespan for these people was very short and millions died. Some women killed infant sons to spare them the work of the mine for the Spanish. Potosí became the largest and wealthiest city in South America because of the mine, but the local people never saw any of the wealth, and still don't (all of the raw material is shipped out of Potosí to be refined and sold). So much silver came out of the mine, that two bridges could have been built with it from here to Spain with leftovers. Conditions for miners were bad back then, and still are. Life expectancy is around 40 for those that work the mines now.

While we were walking through various tunnels of the mine, we encountered two groups of miners. Because it was a Saturday, most of the work is maintenance to prepare for more mineral mining on Monday so the groups were working to clear the tracks and sides of the tracks to make it clearer for the carts to get past with the minerals. It was disappointing to not see them actually mining, but maybe it was for the best. Even the two carts that did go past us echoed loudly through the mine and on a normal working day, the noise, dust, and chaos is probably pretty overwhelming. The carts that went past us are 500kg empty and then normally get filled with 1 ton of material. It is not something you want to get in the way of, and the poor miners have to push those carts in and out of the mines multiple times a day. When we came out of the mine (which I was glad for because my headlamp was flashing and maybe going to die), we went up to a viewpoint that was atop a massive hill made from discarded material from the old tin refinery. We got a nice view of Potosí, and got to go up again when Allan realized the spare iPhone had fallen out of his pocket. Luckily it was there and still working despite being run over by a vehicle.

After the viewpoint, we made our way back to the hostel, got changed, and thanked our guide. As a woman, she didn't work inside the mine (women aren't allowed), but she worked on materials outside the mine like the wives of many miners. She knew the interior of the mine very well though for someone who didn't work inside it.

Once we were changed we went and looked for some lunch and grabbed some salteñas. They're like Bolivian empanadas. They have a thicker, sweeter pastry than empanadas though and more diverse filling. We had chicken and beef, but the filling also included peas, hardboiled egg, and potato. Then, we headed to the mint to try to get an English tour once more.

When we got to the mint and asked for an English tour the ticket woman, same as yesterday, told us that an English tour left at 1230 (it was 1300)! Yesterday she told us come back at 3 so we thought we were being proactive. She them told us next English tour would be at 1430, but only if 5 English speakers signed up. So we left again and spent some time watching some groups dance in the plaza for a cultural festival that was taking place.

We went back to the mint for 1430, but unfortunately not enough English speakers signed up, so we had to take the Spanish tour. We made the most of it by using Google translate for information signs and the transcribe feature when the guide was talking that helped give us a general idea of each room.

There were a lot of rooms filled with silver objects that were made with the local silver in other workshops around Potosí, not in the mint. The guide brought us to the former furnace room where they would melt down the minerals and turn them into bars. We continued through the minting process by seeing the lamination room where 4 miles powered machines with giant cogs that would press the bars into thin sheets. These thin sheets were then passed along to a room where many people worked to make them thinner, cut out the circles for medals and coins, and then stamp them. Of course, it was the indigenous people doing the hard labor.

We got to see a lot of the coins that were minted there and heard a story about a Spanish galleon that sunk off the coast of Florida carrying goods from all over South America, but a significant amount of silver from Potosí. Mel Fisher discovered the treasure and put it in a museum in America, gifting only one silver coin from the collection to the museum at the mint.

After our tour was finished, we had some tasty hot dogs from a street vendor and listened to a band playing in the plaza. Then it was time to get some cash before our trip to Uyuni so we don't have to stress about it in the morning before our tour.

We had a bit of a kerfuffle with getting to the bus station. After taking a while to get a taxi, the taxi driver was adamant that we were meant to go to the old station, not the new one, but I bought tickets departing from the new terminal. Upon double checking, something must have happened, because the ticket said the old terminal, which was frustrating because we could have walked there and it was half the distance. We negotiated a new price once he dropped us off and waited for the bus to depart at 1830. All of a sudden at 1810, a man comes running over and tells us to get on a bus literally pulling out of the station! We half run over and get our bags in and are shoved into seats 3 and 4 and if pulls away. I was confused and worried about being on the wrong bus, but Allan tried to reassure me it was fine because the front says to Uyuni. Maybe not enough people bought tickets for our bus so we got shoved into this one.

Anyway, despite the stressful and strange bus situation, we got to Uyuni ok.もっと詳しく