11.08
Bolivia didn’t start too well as I got the flu. My first stop was at Copacabana on the Lake Titicaca where I managed at least to have one of its famous trouts even though I couldn’t taste anything. I spent the following two days in bed basically but in La Paz this time. When I started to get better it was time to go to Potosí and here I am now. At 4090m above sea level, this is considered to be the highest city in the world. I planned to visit the mines here, located beneath the 4,824 meters-high Cerro Rico (Rich Mountain), accessible with local tour guides normally ex-miners themselves. I got to town in the morning after a 10 hours bus journey from La Paz and I had to join the last tour of the week in the afternoon. I thought that the Lares trek and climbing the Wayna Picchu was hard but this one was a killer. We had to walk fast and duck and squeeze though passages while breathing mineral dust – including arsenic apparently.
It was Saturday afternoon and unfortunately we missed lots of miners and as a consequence, photo opportunities for me but anyway, here’s the outcome. I took some videos too which probably give a better idea of what it’s like “down there” but my connection at the moment doesn’t allow big files uploads. The spooky figure is a representation of the Devil which the miners worship to help avoid fatalities and bring minerals. Last year 45 people died in here. traduci >>
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