Potosi

After being told not to stay in Uyuni, I got the bus with Peter and Nicole to Potosi. Although there is a lot of poverty there, it was quite a nice city in the centre. I was told it's one of Bolivia's more affluent cities which unfortunately isn't much of a statement.

I only stayed in Potosi for one night as a stop off before Sucre but my hostel was fairly nice. I was told by others about the mine tours there, which was absolutely terrifying but I'm also so happy I did it.

Our tour guide was an ex-miner and had a good sense of humour. At first we were given overalls, hard hats and wellie boots to put on for going into the mine. We then were driven to the miners market where for 20 Bolivianos (less than £2.50) you can buy a 'goody bag' of coca leaves, cigarettes and 96% alcohol for the miners. We then went to the refinery where you see how the miners extract the zinc and silver from the rocks. This was really interesting, but the main part was actually going into the mine itself.

At first you have to climb down a ladder and into the mine which was actually terrifying. I was pretty scared because at some points the passage was so small and narrow that you had to crawl or climb. My heart was racing but I eventually got used to it.

We went a lot deeper into the mine and were shown different parts of it. There were people working in there and they wheel around the rocks in carts. The conditions are pretty rough as they work 6 days a week from 3am until 6pm. One of the miners started at the age of 13 but they said it's less common for children to now work in the mines.

We met two miners and got to ask them questions, and when we had finished speaking with them we thanked them for having us. They said that they liked having tourists come down into the mine because otherwise they don't get to see people and it makes them sad - especially the ladies haha. As terrifying as it was, I was really happy I experienced it. It felt like I was supporting the local economy and the miners by going and it was nice to know that they actually like the mine tours instead of finding them a nuisance.

As good as it was, it was nice to come back up out of the mine and into the daylight. After, Nicole (this cool Dutch girl I met) and I got a three hour taxi to Sucre for around £5 each! It's crazy how cheap this place is.Read more