POTOSI

We got up early hoping to get a tour to the mines sorted but there was noone to be seen in the hostel apart from one other guy. We got ready and headed downstairs for breakfast at 8.30am. I felt awful and took a large cup of coca tea to try and feel better. Breakfast was just some bread and wasn't too great. Just as we had given up on the idea of doing a tour of the mines we overheard someone talking about the tour they had booked for today. So we asked her about it and the lady serving breakfast overheard and called on Antonio.

Antonio was the guy from the hostel that I had read about because of his recommended mine tours. Although it was a holiday and there wouldn't be any miners he agreed to do the tour and we left immediately after breakfast. He gave us all the gear (bright funky orange trousers and jacket, a hard hat and head torch) and we headed off in the bus certainly looking the part.

We stopped off to buy gifts for the miners such as coca leaves, 90 something % alcohol and fizzy drinks. They work long hours in the mines, don't have access to water and don't eat much at all during a working day which is why the gifts are appreciated. The gifts are also used for the 'tio',which is a devil like figure worshipped by the miners who believe that by giving alcohol, cigarrettes and coca leaves to the figure he will protect them and ensure that they leave the mines at the end of the day safely, return the following day and find lots of minerals.

It was a really great experience to see inside something as spectacular as the mines. It was also quite shocking to see how dangerous they were. We only travelled down 1 level and that was scary enough, squeezing through parts where there were never ending drops inches away and going up and down ladders which felt like they could break at any moment. In a way I'm sort of glad they're weren't any miners as I think it would be really sad to actually see them in action. Especially they start working from a really young age and many don't make it past their 40s.

It was nice to see natural light at the end of tunnel after several hours of being in pure darkness. By the end the light almost seemed false. Overall I definitely enjoyed the experience especially chewing the coca leaves. It was also cool to try the alcohol the miners drink, although I really don't understand how they drink it.

Afterwards we went for lunch at the plaza and had some really great pasta. Then Carina went for a nap as Danny and I went on to explore the hot springs which were massive and so cool! We spent a good half an hour swimming around in them, it was really surreal. Although they were warm they weren't as hot as I had thought they would be. When we got back to the hostel there was only an hour or so to spare before heading to the bus station.

The bus was ok, not as good as ones we had before as it was just a normal bus. The journey was 7 or so hours which would have been ok but the bus drove ridiculously slow, kept stopping/maybe breaking down and could not cope with gear changes. It really wasn't the most pleasant of journies, especially since they turned the lights out at 8 o'clock and I wanted to read! When we arrived there was a driver waiting to take us to the hotel which was definitely a good start to the salt flat tour (well done Rodrigo)! We got to the hotel and Helena and Rodrigo were already in a room. It was late, dark and silent in the hotel with a sort of courtyard between the rooms. To me it was a perfect opportunity to scare the others and that we did hehe. We chatted for a while and headed to bed to sleep up for the beginning of our tour in the morning!