Heart of Gold

Never has a place given me such a strong feeling...

As soon as you arrive in Potosi, the city’s hundreds of years of history and struggle hit you like a ton of bricks and the cold climate and high altitude ensures that you feel it all deep inside your bones. The cobblestone streets are narrow and the buildings are beautiful, but dilapidated and they look like they haven’t been touched since the colonial era. A couple blocks outside of the city center, everything disintegrates even more. The rundown historic look changes to torn up gravel roads and buildings/homes that look as though they are under construction and that they have been forever, but this is how people live.

Our first day we went to visit communal bank just 10 minutes from the main plaza. When the meeting was over, as I watched the president walk home, I couldn’t believe that I was standing in what used to be the biggest and wealthiest city in all of Latin America.

The second day we visited another communal bank . It was one of FONCRESOL’s largest and oldest communal banks and the members were cheery and excited to see us. They even shared their lunch with us, which was a small bowl of pasta and root vegetables cooked in aji- a deliciously spicy sauce made from hot chillies.

Speaking of Potosi cuisine, the morning we arrived I tried K'alaphurka- a traditional soup made from maize, served in a ceramic bowl with a hot volcanic rock in it to ensure that it arrives at your table bubbling and steaming. It is a savory, filling dish eaten in the morning and it is apparently best enjoyed with Paceña Negra, a dark malt beer that my boss ordered for us at 9am.

At 4070m Potosi can actually be relatively warm during the day because of the extreme UV rays, but as soon as the sun sets the cold is almost unbearable. At night the streets are lined with food vendors and restaurants offering hearty meals to ward off the nighttime chill, but it doesn’t do much to distract one from Potosi's frigid vibe. The problem is that there’s a dark shadow haunting Potosi- the Cerro Rico (rich hill). It's the mountain that made Potosi Potosi and it's a constant reminder of the city’s past and present dependency on the mining industry.

I decided to take a mine tour on my last day in Potosi. Mine tours are readily available for tourists, but they are not highly recommended. Lonely Planet says that if you are willing to inhale asbestos and large amounts of dust for a couple hours while climbing through claustrophobia inducing mine shafts, then you’re in for an unforgettable experience. Otherwise, the guidebook strongly suggests that you should refrain from entering the mines if you have any doubts whatsoever. I definitely had my doubts, but it was just one of those things I knew I had to do, even if I was going to hate every minute of it.

The mines that run tours are cooperative mines owned by the workers' unions. My guide, Ronaldo, used to be a miner, but his family made him leave the industry because of the horrible working conditions and the estimated 45-year lifespan of most miners. Instead, Ronaldo decided to study tourism and give mine tours.
Given the terrible conditions of the mines, mine tours aren’t the most popular tourist activity. My tour just consisted of myself, Ronaldo and another girl from Germany. I was extremely grateful for the small group size, not only because it gave me a chance to harass Ronaldo with all sorts of questions, but also because it meant that Ronaldo could give us both an extra helping hand as we struggled to pull ourselves through tiny crevices on our stomachs while rocks slid from underneath us.

Our morning began with a trip to the miners market where the miners stop on their way up to the Cerro. Here you can find stands selling dynamite, mining equipment, alcohol and coca leaves galore. The purchase and sale of dynamite is completely legal in Potosi because of the mining industry. It was pretty crazy to see it all just sitting there in bulk though, and it was even crazier to buy some. It’s recommended that tourists entering the mines buy some ‘treats’ for the miners that they will meet along the way. The mines are totally active and work does not pause for tours. The tour includes pressing yourself up against the mineshaft walls as mine carts pass by and explosions can be heard from within the mountain throughout the tour. For this reason it’s a good idea to bring some provisions with you as a peace offering for the miners whose work you are interrupting. My offering consisted of some sticks of dynamite, a 2L bottle of Coca-Cola and a big bag of coca leaves to top up everyone's stash.
This is Ronaldo in the miners market holding a plate of coca leaves:

After the market we went to the refinery plant where we learned about how they turn rocks into silver. It was weird because the stuff they extract from the mines really just looks like gravel, but upon closer inspection it has a bit of a glitter to it. In the refinery they melt the rocks down and then separate the liquid waste from the actual silver. The silver surfaces in the form of foam and then the foam is somehow turned into a sand-like substance that is basically pure silver. Ronaldo stuck his finger in it and gave me a ring. How sweet.

Arriving at Candelaria mine I couldn’t believe how primitive it looked. Outside the mine entrance were little mud huts that the workers use to put their belongings in during shifts. It seemed as though nothing had changed since the colonial era. When I shared this thought with Ronaldo he said that’s because nothing has changed. The equipment and technology used in the Potosi mines is pretty much the same stuff they used back in the day. Some of the refinery technology has evolved, but basically they are just struggling away down there like they did hundreds of years ago. The only difference is that now the mines are no longer employed by African/Indian slaves, and the workers no longer stay down there for 4 months at a time. Today miners work a much more reasonable shift from about 5am to 2am and they aren't thought of as slaves anymore- just really low paid laborers working in nightmarish conditions.

A couple meters into the mine we saw a shrine to Tío (Uncle). Appropriately so, the miners think of the mines as hell/the underworld and therefore Tio is the devil who watches over the mine. Miners pray to Tio so that he will keep them safe while they are working and they also make offerings to Tio of coca leaves and alcohol in order to ensure their safety.

Most mines in the Cerro have 3-5 levels. Candelaria has 3 and we worked our way down all of them. The Cerro is of volcanic origin so the further down you go the hotter (and dustier) it gets. This factor combined with the 4000m+ altitude made the tour pretty challenging. There were points where I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to catch my breath due to the exhausting effects of the high altitude and all the debris I was inhaling. To visit one group of miners we had to slide down a mineshaft on a wooden ramp that appeared to be from the beginning of time using our legs to brace ourselves along the edges. After this we crawled through a passage that didn’t look like it was made for humans, but somehow we managed to contort ourselves and make it through. Throughout the entire tour I had no idea how Ronaldo was navigating the mine. It seemed like a labyrinth to me....We ended up in an opening where we found a group of men with big lumps of coca in their cheeks, hacking away with their picks at the rock walls. They were actually relatively happy to see us and enjoyed the coca refill and the extra stick of dynamite.

This is a very strained smile. Ronaldo thought it would be a great action shot, but I was just hanging on for dear life and wondering if I was going to get splinters through my fashionable mining pants.

After this we went to visit two men who spend their days shoveling rocks into rubber buckets that go up to the first level on a pulley system. These men are called the paleros (shovelers). Below you will see a video of them working and then a photo of me shoveling with them for a bit. They thought it would be funny to see my attempt at working and they were right… it was pretty pathetic and very entertaining for them. I didn't mind the laughs at my expense though, I figured I was doing them a favor by providing them with some entertainment. They could spend the rest of the day laughing at the spoiled gringa who came to visit.

At this point I was pretty ready to go. My muscles were weak from the altitude and I was tired of breathing in chemicals and dust. I was so happy to see the light of day when we climbed back out of the mine. I felt pretty lame though considering we were only down there for 2 hours and I already wanted to die. The miners stay down there for about 18 hours on average without eating or drinking. They just chew wads of coca leaves to ward of hunger and stay energized.
Here’s a photo of Ronaldo and I. Another thing I learned on this tour is that I am way too tall to be a miner. I think ideal miner height is about 5 feet.

I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to visit Potosi, but after 3 days I was already missing Sucre. Potosi is a fascinating, hard working city, but for an outsider it's dark history and struggling present situation makes it a somewhat difficult and eery place to be.

Everyone I met in Potosi was friendly and happy and very proud of their city- which they should be. It truly is a magnificent place that deserves more attention.