Potosi mine, Bolivia

In the morning we got kitted out with our wellies, overalls, helmets and lamps ready to visit the mine. Our Bolivian miner talked to us about the mine, its history and how it works today - as a collection of cooperatives. We were taken to the miners market to buy gifts for the miners to take on our trip. While we were there we each toasted mother earth and our group with a drink which was 96% alochol. It burnt from the lips and all all the way down, real fire water! We were also introduced to coca leaves, and tried our best to chew them up (a little, without the stalk) and make a ball in our cheek ready to face the mine. I managed a small ball, but have no idea how the miners themselves create them bigger than golf balls - they must spend at least an hour doing so. Did I say that we also played with dynamite at the market?

The mine was hell on earth. The locals believe that God looks after everything above (there is a Cathedral and lots of churches in Potosi) and the devil looks after everything below. So just after entering the mine we had to visit the devil and toast him and the miners with more 96% alcohol.

The conditions in the mine were horrendous. There was no light anywhere, except for our helmets. They were repairing holes made from all the recent rain and flooding. It was very wet underfoot. Initially it was freezing cold and then it got very hot and airless. The air was thick with dust, which we´re told was noxious. There was little in the way of roof support for the tons of rock above us.

All the miners we met were working manually. They used picks, shovels, hammers and carried their loads in trucks - pulled by rope and pushed from behind. The life expectancy of the miners is not great, both because of the day to day danger and lung disease from the dust. They don´t earn much money either. They start work in the mine as young as 15.

We walked for a while along a tunnel, frequently having to duck under the roof, bits of wood or assorted other things. There were occasional big holes along the way and shafts going up - just big enough to take a man (we realised when we saw someone disappear up one).

After we´d been going for a while our guiding miner declared that the last part of the visit was only for those who were young and stupid, and suggested I wait with some other´oldies´. I thought about this for about 10 secs and decided that I was definitely up for anything and he let me join the young (stupid) ones! I´ve been caving before so I knew what it might be like. We crawled up filthy tunnels, clambered up loose rock and down rickety ladders. We eventually came to a miner working in a very tiny space with a small hammer, just picking up bits of rock, examining them and then tapping them with the hammer. Our guide told us he was a real expert and was looking for bits of silver. Getting back to the main tunnel was a bit worse than going in, as we had to go ´downhill´on loose ground and were told not to hold onto the rocks as they just broke off - as I found out!

We got back to the main tunnel and started making our way out but were blocked by miners doing their work so had to wait. We were very tired by this point, and it was stuffy and dusty. One of the young members of our small group almost passed out and we got a little worried about her. Once the working miners realised we had a problem they let us pass and we made our way out. Glad to see the light and breathe the fresh air.

It was a hell of an experience and not one I´d want to repeat. Those poor miners who have to go down there every day ... what a life they have.