Potosi is a mining town in central Bolivia. I liked the town far more than I thought it would and we even ate good food! We only stayed a day and did a half day tour of the working mines of Candelaria. The tour guides are all ex-miners and they kit you up with a helmet, head lamp and protective clothing. It's probably the most uncomfortable I've been in my life. Something like 8 million miners have died down these mines over the last few hundred years. Originally silver mines they also have a lot of zinc and tin. Potosi used to be a prosperous city but never recovered from the tin price collapse of the 1980's. I have a new respect for the miners. They work in horrible cramped, dark and hot conditions all day to earn about 8 US dollars a day. They only live to about 40 years old. The dust down the mines is incredible. I hated every second of it. The weird looking scare crow like thing is the god that they worship by giving offerings such as coca leaves and a 90% alcohol (yes we tried it too) as they believe this "TIO" will protect them. 100's of children also work down the mines. It was incredibly sad and will definitely make me think again the next time I try to be any silver!
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