After that we headed up to see the various mineral plantations and from there on to the real adventure. I was feeling quite apprehensive about the trip because I had heard various stories about if you get claustrophobic then it´s not the kind of trip you should do. Now I´m not someone who feels like that but it made me panic a bit knowing that getting out of the mine would be such a problem if I did feel uncomfrotable. Obviously adding to this was the whole Chiliean miners story -just to make me feel that bit more at ease.
We started walking into the mines and it was so far so good . We saw miners at work - some work for 24 hours when they do a double shift. Just incredible how they can work in such conditions. Most of them don´t wear masks so after years of working there (some boys start at the age of 15) they often have problems with their lungs. Also the constant bending to get around and pulling the carts with all the rocks in must really take it´s toll on their backs as well.
There were various points during the trip that we had to literally scramble on our hands and knees to get through holes. I was so out of breath afterwards (not from being unfit! - altitude I´ll have you all know - this is the highest city in the world after all). I had got a bandana to put around my mouth and nose to not breath in all the dust (and potential asbestos) but this did not help the breathing situation at all, in fact it just made it worse. There was a moment where I had to calm myself down because I thought I was going to go into panic mode. It all worked out ok though.
We got to one point where there was a "Tio" God/Devil. They worship the "Tio" in the mines, like the devil, because they are underground, and God is for over ground. There were offerings to him which mainly included cigarettes and alcohol. We then all had a swig of the alcohol that the miners drink - just a standard 95%. Obviously in England this would be used to clean wounds but here it´s to have a good time - a bottle costs just 10 bolivians (1 pound).
After two or so hours walking / ducking / climbing / crawling around the mines the "light at the end of the tunnel" so to speak, was in sight. Then came another health and safety carefree activity - dynamite explosions! The guide showed us how to make a bomb (in under a minute) with the dynamite. He then proceeded to light the dynamite and pass it round all of us and take photos. Obviously this had to be done rather quickly as we had previously been told there was only a mintue per metre of fuse. It bought a
whole new meaning to the word hot potato the way people were passing it along. haha. The guide then ran very quickly down the hill and back up again and then... BOOM.
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