Nov 15, 2006

Las minas: cuidado! (engl)

I was a bit scared by claustrophobia, asma, the contamination of minerals and gases, but i finally went to visit the mines in Potosi. A terrible experience, it's an hell, they work in a terrible and really dangerous situation. Under the earth, narrow tunnels full of dust, the noise of the perforations and the explosions, the dark. At a certasin point, while descending a ripid ladder, some stones dropped into my head (fortunbally i had the helmet) and a big one in my harm...auch! Fortunally Teun, a cute dutch doctor,was part of the group and bended my harm...really confortable now to travel with an harm handed on my neck, but licky because it could have been a lot worse.
Under the earth they workship and venerate the diablo (devil) 'tio', offering him coca leaves, cigarettes and pure alchool. We brought some presents to the miners, they could not resist without chewing coca all the time. It's really a terrible work, and there are young guys of 12 working in the cooperative mines. An hard experience.
Now I'm in Sucre, the capital of Bolivia. A nice city with an incredible market (don't miss the fruit salad and the tumbo juice!).
Tomorrow morning I'm in La Paz...

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