Potosi

From Uyuni took a very uncomfortable 6 hour bus to Potosi on a dirt road. It was funny on the way there, there were some donkeys on the road, and the bus driver would beep and beep at them, and they would run as fast as they can, but stay on the road. So for like 5 minutes the bus was driving and beeping like crazy. Poor stupid donkeys :) but who knew they could run that fast :)
Potosi is the highest city in the world with altitude of 4060 meters. It needs a 5km runway for the planes due to air density, and the planes have to have special engines to land in there. A few centuries ago, it was also the largest city in the world with population over 200,000.
Here is some interesting history about the town:
No one is certain how much silver has been extracted from Cerro Rico (the "rich hill" in Potosis' backdrop) over its four centuries of productivity, but a popular boast was that the Spanish could have constructed a silver bridge to Spain and still had silver left to carry across it. The Spanish monarchs, who personally received 20% of the take, were certainly worth more than a few pesetas.
Although the tale of Potosi's origins probably takes a few liberties with the facts, it's a good story. It begins in 1544 when a Peruvian Indian, Diego Huallpa, was tending his llamas. When he noticed that two of the beasts were missing, he set forth to search for them. By nightfall, however, he still hadn't found them and the cold grew fierce, so Diego stopped to build a fire at the foot of the mountain known in Quechua as "Potojsi" (meaning "thunder" or "explosion"). The fire grew so hot that the very earth beneath it started to melt, and shiny liquid oozed from the ground.Diego immediately realized he'd run across a commodity for which the Spanish conquerors had an insatiable appetite. Perhaps he also remembered the Inca Huayan Capac had been instructed by a booming voice not to dig in the hill of Potojsi, but to leave the metal alone, because it was intended for others.At this juncture, accounts of the legend diverge. One version maintains that Diego kept his discovery secret, lest he upset the mountian apus (spirits). Others relate that he informed a friend, Huanca, of the discovery, and together they formulated a plan to extract the silver themselves. According to the account, the vein proved extremely productive, but a dispute between the partners escalated into a quarrel about the division of profits and Huanca, now weary of the whole mess, told the Spaniards about the mine.
Whatever the case, the Spanish eventually learned of the enormous wealth buried in the mountain of Potojsi and determined that it warranted immediate attention. On April 1, 1545, the Villa Imperial de Carlos V was founded at the foot of Cerro Rico and large scale excavation began. In the time it takes to say "Get down there and dig", thousands of Indian slaves were pressed into service and the first of the silver was already headed for Spain.
The work was dangerous, however, and so many Indians died of accidents and silicosis pneumonia that the Spanish imported literally millions of African slaves to augment the labor force.
In order to increase productivity, in 1572 to Viceroy of Toledo instituted the Ley de la Mita, which required all Indian and black slaves over the age of 18 to work in shifts of 12 hours. They would remain underground without seeing the light of day for four months at a time, eating, sleeping and working in the mines. When they emerged from a "shift", their eyes were covered to prevent damage in the bright sunlight.
Naturally these miners, who came to be known as mitayos, didn't last long. Heavy losses were also incurred among those who worked in the ingenios (smelting mills), as the silver smelting process involved mercury. In all, it has been estimated over the three centuries of colonial rule 1545 - 1825 as many as eight million Africans and Indians died from the appalling conditions.
Inside the mines, silver was smelted in small ovens, which were fueled by wood and spiky grass. The silver was then transported by llama train to Arica (Chile) on the Pacific coast. From there was carried by ship to Spain, providing spoils for English, Dutch and French freebooters along the way.
In 1672 a mint was established to coin the silver, reservoirs were constructed to provide water for the growing population, and exotic European consumer goods found their way up the llama trails from Arica and Callao. Amid the mania, more than 80 churches were constructed, and Potosi's population grew to nearly 200,000, making it one of the largest cities in the world. One politician of the period put it succinctly: "Potosi was raised in the pandemonium of greed at the foot of riches discovered by accident".
As with most boom towns, Potosi's glory was not to last. During the early 19th century independence struggles in Alto Peru, Potosi was naturally coveted by both sides. The city's many churches were looted, its wealth was removed to Europe or other parts of the Spanish realm and the population dropped to less than 10,000.
At the same time, Cerro Rico, the seemingly inexhaustible mountain of silver, began to play out, and by the time of Bolivian independence in 1825, the mines were already in decline. The mid 19th century drop in silver prices dealt a blow from which Potosi has never completely recovered.
In the present century only the demand for tin has rescued Potosi from obscurity and brought a slow but steady recovery. Zinc and lead have now taken over from tin as Bolivia's major metallic exports. Silver extraction continues only on a small scale, but reminders of the grand colonial city are still evident throughout the city.
The mining reforms of 1952 brought the Pailaviri mine under government control, and mining conditions improved immensity. Most of the Cerro Rico operation, however, are now in the control of miner owned cooperatives. The government mine was closed, having been plagued by strikes, protests and general dissatisfaction, while the cooperatives continue operating under conditions that have changed shamefully little from the colonial period.
In 1987 Unesco named Potosi a World Heritage Site in recognition of its rich and tragic history and its wealth of colonial architecture.

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I think this was the only city which I've seen so far where I felt something. This was kind of a heavy feeling that I felt in my heart for the whole duration of my stay in there. I also felt very embarrassed not having a single clue about the history and significance of this place. And after learning more and more of history of South America, I dislike the Spanish more and more. Would've been nice if Spain provided some sort of compensation for what it did.
Went for the tour of the mines or "the mountain that eats the men alive". On the way there we stopped at the store to buy presents for the miners which include coca leaves and soft drinks. Oh, and we also bought a dynamite to explode. Currently there are 5000 miners of whom 800 are children. I think they bypassed a law which states that children under 15 cannot work in the mines, but I don't think it enforced what so ever. All the workers die after 15 years of working from a condition that develops from too much dust. That's very sad :( They lose about half of their lung capacity only after 7 years.
The tour itself wasn't too exciting. Inside we walked through the tunnels full of mud, low ceilings, some loud hissing sounds that come from some tubes, and temperatures ranging from 5 - 45 degrees. Saw 3 carts that carry approximately 2000 kg, with 4 miners pushing/pulling it, and a few workers. The carts don't have any breaks, so the guide was always walking in front, and told us to hurry up on the corners. And then FAST FAST FAST go to the walls, and watch your knees! The working conditions haven't really changed much since almost half a century ago because the mines are cooperative, meaning the miners will have to pay out of their own pockets. In some areas there were toxic gases, and all of us started caughing right away. For all 2 hours that we were there, I had a strong feeling that I want to get out as fast as possible. Inside the mine we visited the devil. Every mine has one. The workers believe that since the conditions are so terrible inside, then there is definitely no god in there, so they worship the devil. They offer the devil (which is a statue made out of mud with 2 open palms) coca leaves, 98% rubbing alcohol (which the miners drink), and put cigarettes in its mouth. Once a year for 3 consecutive weekends, they sacrifice llamas, and throw it's blood on the entrance walls to the mines so that the devil will drink it, and not the workers blood. As they say "we sacrifice to the devil, so he won't take out lives instead". When we got out, we blew up the dynamite, but that was only as a presentation. The guide lit up the cord and was just standing there explaining us stuff while it was already burning, we all got a bit nervous. But she was so calm, talking, then bringing it to the explosion area, barely in hurry. When it finally blew up, all of us jumped a bit, since we put some other chemicals in there to make the explosion stronger :)
There is a documentary movie "el minero del diablo", about a 14 year old child worker. It really shows the life in Bolivia well. It's with English subtitles. Here is a link to the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqk-Scp6Lw8

Megan and myself went to the super posh restaurants, with candles, and a beautiful decor, and had the best salad ever for $1.80. I love Bolivia !! :))
Afterwards went to the coin museum. We had a 1.5 hour tour in there. So interesting ! Potosi was producing silver and coins for all the world. First just slammed the silver with a hammer producing shapless coins, then Spain brought in the machines to produce round perfect coins. The machines were huge, each one of a size of 5x5 meters, and 3 meters high, working like a clock system. And a level below, there would be 4 donkeys walking in the circle, thus spinning the wheels.One ship sunk with millions of dollars on the way to Europe beside Florida. They just discovered it, and recovered all the treasures. Instead of sending it back to Bolivia, they opened a museum in Florida, and only sent back 1 coin.Inside the museum was a big room with minerals. I've never seen so many rocks before. It was amazing! And the way that they form, it doesn't even look real. One rock looks like gold, but it's made out of little perfect squares. There were also baby mummies, and they were fully dressed, so only the feet, hands and face were visible, I felt like in a horror movie !
There were also super cool chests which I've never seen before. They require 3 keys to open. The whole top on the inside of the box is a huge lock, so if someone tampers with it, it will break the lock, and the chest would never be opened. The chest by the way, is made of 100% silver, so it's shipped back to Spain tax free.
Currently it's too expensive for Bolivia to make it's own currency, so now ironically Spain, Canada and Chile make coins and bills for Bolivia. A country which made coins for all the world is now accepting the coins made for it from the whole world.Unfortunately there are no pictures, although I downloaded some from the internet. Here is Bolivia while everything is super cheap, they tend to charge you for anything they can. So in almost any museum you go to, there is almost a double charge for a permission to take pictures. And since I don't want to pay for something when I don't know what I'll get, I never purchased the permission.

Next day went to a monastery. Since Potosi was one of the richest cities in the world, this monastery was one of the best. There were lineups to get in since there was a space for only 21 nuns admitted at age 15. The only way to get in was if somebody inside the monastery had passed away. Also they had to pay 2000 gold coins, which is today's equivalent of $100,000. Each young girl would be admitted with one maid (slave) who would look after her till the rest of her life. They got in in a very expensive dress, which was cut up on the entrance along with their hair, and the material was used to decorate various religious figures, like for ex virgin dolls. The nuns were allowed to speak only 2 hours a day while working, had no contact with outside world, parents could only visit for half an hour a month, the contact was established through some door and with a presence of another nun. Since they spent all their time praying and sawing, they had to learn all the crafts before entering the monastery. So before the age of 15 they already knew how to saw, sing, play, languages ... They prayed 7 times a day anywhere from 15 minutes to 1 hour.
Slept right on the wood.
In the dining hall there is a skeleton, which would remind them of death. At the entrance to the dining hall they say "we're all going to die", and the answer would be "yes, I know".

While visiting the monastery, a group of Russian tourists came. They were so rude, and disrespectful. Everybody else tried to keep their calm not to tell anything to them. They left in the middle of the tour, and everybody got so relieved. I think I met Russian tourists 3 times, and all 3 times were very bad experiences. I don't even approach them, or pretend to know Russian.

Both tours were in Spanish, and I understood it all. I was so happy :))

link to the song that I like: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VbFaFm7yO4

pix at: http://picasaweb.google.com/evadikushin501/Potosi#