Dec 2, 2004 - To Potosi

Long drive to potosi, an old Silver mining town. I was feeling a bit ill, so I spent the rest of the day reading in bed. The pedometer reading for the day was only 142....and most of that would have been trips to the bathroom! In Potosi, they used to mint all the coins for Bolivia as well as Spain. Nowadays, the coins for them both are minted in Spain...funny how things change round.

Nov 26, 2004 - Potosi

After mooching around the town for a couple of hours we caught a three hour bus to Potosi, once the richest town in the world due to its large silver reserves. Since then the town has somewhat dilapidated but hopeful miners still dig away in the mine in the hope of escaping poverty. Alas, the average lifespan of such miner is sadly only 50 or so years due to the chemicals deposited in their lungs. It is possible to join a tour to the mines and view the conditions of the miners as well as blow up a couple of sticks of dynamite. Sounds great....

Jul 19, 2004 - Potosi

Why in the hell do I want to go down a mine? This is a question I had asked myself several times since arriving in Potosi. Particularly a mine with 18th century working conditions where the average miner lasts only 10 years before expiring due to ill health? That, I concluded, was the very reason. Firstly, some background on Potosi: - Potosi is the world's highest city at a lung bursting 4070m above sea level. - In the 1500s the spanish found silver here, the silver deposit at Potosi is the largest ever discovered in the world and has...

Jun 29, 2004 - Potosi, the highest city in the world

After a couple of days to rest our weary limbs we got the night bus to Potosi, the highest city in the world at over 4000 metres above sea level. Potosi was famous for it´s silver mines, which no longer yield much metal, and the place has a sad faded grandeur about it. Potosi was once the richest city in the world but most of it was shipped to Europe by the Spaniards. We came here to visit the old mint and go on a mine tour. However, Steve was ill again and he was the only one who really wanted to do the mine tour. Denis gets claustrophobic...