the miner's life

(pictures coming soon)

I am rich Potosi,
The treasure of the world...
And the envy of kings.

So says Lonely Planet of Potosi, once one of the richest cities in the world due to huge deposits of silver (plata) in Cerro Rico, the mountain that overlooks the colonial city.

I was immediately struck by Potosi's narrow streets, yellow buildings, and steeply graded streets. My chest was struck by a difficulty breathing - the city is at roughly 4070 meters, which turns the simplest chores, like climbing a flight of stairs, into endurance sporting activities. Tancredi, an Italian guy we traveled with for a few days, had a heart problem and wore a heartrate monitor to warn him when his heart approached 180 bpm. That thing was going off every two seconds, which meant we had to take it easy. I wasn't complaining.

THE thing to do in Potosi is tour the silver mines here. Although the mines have largely dried up compared to what they once where, they are still very much active. Over 40 cooperatives employ 16,000 miners to work in appalling conditions to extract zinc, silver, and lead, while being exposed to arsenic, silicon, and asbestos. Miners usually acquire some sort of poisoning after only 7 to 10 years.

The tour included visiting the miners' market (they each have to buy their own mining supplies, including dynamite). We bought gifts of coca leaves, cigarettes, and soda for the miners. Then we suited up in outfits becoming of miners, complete with hardhat (which yes, was very necessary) and headlamps. We headed into the mine.

Our guide, Wily, a former miner, showed us the statue of the devil inside, to which the miners gave daily offerings of coca leaves, cigarettes, and alcohol, and asked for permission to mine and protection from the dangers within the mine. Only a few days ago two miners were killed in a cave in. Of course, we were in one of the safe ones ;)

At distances of up to 2 kms inside the mine, we got to speak with miners, learn about mining techniques (it's all done by hand), identify strands of both minerals and poisonous substances, climb up and down ropes and ladders between various levels, and peer down 60 m holes. Back outside we got to set off some dynamite. Gringo-tastic!

Wily gave us some really interesting perspectives on the life of miners. They love their jobs for the most part. The mines become their lives, and even when [those that survive] retire, they hang out outside the mines with the miners and smoke cigarillos. As Erin and I learned in Nicaragua, the world view of poor people may be very different than that of those more educated. The miners had little interest of the future. As many of us may see our lives in a linear fashion, hopefully trending upward as we age, these guys take each day for what it is and have little thought for what life for their families will be after they die of silicosis in 15 or 20 years. The most unfortunate part is that there really isn't a lot else to do here, and there are always others willing to take the jobs of those who die or quit. There are no benefits, no health insurance, and no official life insurance, though many of the mine owners pay families for their silence when their fathers or brothers die.

As somber and sad as all this is, the tour was incredible and enlightening. I coudn't imagine going back the next day for another tour, let alone day after day of work. As Wily said, that is the miner's life.