Potosi

While traveling through South America we were told that Bolivia is the real authentic South America and Potosi was the first place we agreed with this statement. We stayed in Potosi mainly to chill after a busy few days on the Salt Flats Tour however it was certainly a place that I actually really loved. We found out that Bolivian people are very relaxed as none of the restaurants opened on Monday for breakfast until after 11:30. Therefore we sat in the main plaza watching the Bolivian people go about their day. We admired the beautiful attire and dresses that the Bolivian women wore and watched in amaze as they carried their children or a pile of food from the market in a shawl wrapped around their back.

Potosi is a mining town and we decided to go on a tour of this mine which was organised by our hostel. We were given over-clothes, helmet with a light and wellington boots before driving to the mine on the outskirts of the town. On the way we stopped at a small market and were told to buy a present for the miners. We were given a bag containing 98% alcohol, dinomite and cocoa leaves. During the tour we learned that the miners chew on the cocoa leaves to help reduce hungry and tiredness, the 98% alcohol is used the rinse their mouths from all the dirt in the mine and the dinomite is used to blow holes in the mine. It was an odd tour. In one sense it was good to see how the majority of Bolivians work and how a mine runs. However it was horrible seeing the dry dusty and dirty conditions that they work in and the methods that they use to reduce tiredness and hunger. It's easy to see why the life expectancy of these workers are quite low.Read more