Seriously: Natasha is holding two bars of dynamite, also known as TNT. We buy one bar for approximately 2 USD (including the fuse). From the same shop we also buy a gift bag containing: dried coca leaves, very strong "potable" alcohol (96%), and a pack of cigarettes without filter. Who are we visiting with such scary presents? The miners of Cerro Rico in Potosí.Cerro Rico has been mined for over 400 years now. This mountain is rich in silver, zinc, lead and tin. During colonial times, Cerro Ricco used to be the richest silver mine in the world. In fact, in early 17th century, Potosí was the largest city in the Americas. Today, about 8,000 miners are still crawling into the mines to extract the riches. The mountain is owned by the government, and worked by groups of miners organised in cooperatives - they work 24 hours in shifts.
With our guide, we descend into the mountain and enter the underworld. We crawl through small holes, desend crooked wooden ladders. The only light comes from the lamps mounted on our helmets. Deep down, we meet some of the miners, shovelling rocks into a cart. These men work eight hours without interruption or eating. They keep focussed by chewing coca leaves (also surpresses hunger), and the odd sip of high percentage alcohol. The tools used are mostly shovels and picks, hardly any power tools. The small tunnels are secured by either stone arches (dating from colonial times), or wooden beams (nowadays). We have to give a present to each miner we meet, usually two hands full of coca leaves - only the younger ones (17 year old boys) prefer cookies. We are happy to resurface from this dark and claustrophobic world....and decide that a job in the office is not that bad after all...
You wonder what happened to the dynamite? We blew it up, of course...
Inserting the fuse...
...lighting it...
...good luck with this!Gaudi is wondering, "How fast will this fuse burn down...?"
Turns out there was enough time to put it in a safe place ...
Pictures from the mine and Potisí here.
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