Once silver was discovered in the mountains in 1500s, the town grew at a rapid rate. During the early to middle part of last century, with the high silver price and it being plentiful in the surrounding rocks the town was possibly the richest in S America. There is even an expression here which roughly translates ‘As rich as Potosi’. However, as the supply dwindled so did the fortunes of the town which now has increasing unemployment.
The city is cool (colder than La Paz), so dress for the weather. The area contains well maintained colonial heritage with grand buildings overlooking narrow and winding streets, radiating from a central plaza. While there are 133,000 inhabitants, there is not the sense of a big city and the streets feel safe to wonder around.
I took a tour to the mines (Curtosy of my friend Jackie who runs Claudia Travel in the centre of the town [I swapped the trip for tips on renovating her shop, so if you don’t like the colour scheme, blame me!]). You are told, quite correctly, before you enter, that the mine is not a museum but a fully functioning enterprise, as such you need to be weary of those working there (and get out of the way of the rapidly passing waggons!). The guide also says that the mines are very warm, so I wore a T shirt under my jump suit… they aren’t warm!
Before you sent off for the mine you stop at a shop and are encouraged to buy supplies for the miners. In my case this included: a soft drink, coca leaves, hand made cigarettes (DON’T imagine a Cuban cigar, more tabacco rolled in newspaper) and near 100% proof alcohol.
You amble through the mines with the guide trying to rush you along to avoid the waggons which use the same route. The tunnels are cool, dark places with watery mud under foot (the tour provides Wellington boots). Along the route you are introduced to ‘Tia’, who is a statue, with a large ‘manhood’ proudly on display. The Spanish conquistadors wanted the local indigenous population to worship the Christian God so put the statue in the mine to represent the devil of the underworld. Interestingly the locals don’t see the devil as pure evil, more as a person who fell out with god and was banished below ground. As such the miners offer gifts to the statue: coca leaves, beer, candles, etc so that they can be safe while working there. At this point the guide encourages you to drink the 100% alcohol. First you pour a bit on the ground as thanks to mother eat (she must get blind drunk most days!) and then sample the liquid… considering what I’ve drunk through the years in my expert opinion- Not bad! The tour lasts for about an hour and gives you an interesting insight into the town.
Warning: there are two terminals in the city, make sure you know which one to go to. From Potosi to Uyuni it cost Bs30 ($4/£2) and left at 11am (they leave quite regularly, other examples are 9am, 2.30pm and 8pm). Journey times are appox 4hrs and the road there is tarmac (a real novelty in these parts).
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