Leaving Sucre behind us we were treated to our first taste of Bolivian roads. Tracks would have been a more suitable description as tarmac hasn't quite caught on here yet. That said, what the road lacked in substance it made up for in scenery and the 3 hour drive was actually quite pleasant if a little bumpy. Arriving in Potosi, the place had a completely different vibe to Sucre. Potosi is a working miners town and beyond that very little. The tourists that come to Potosi do so solely to visit the working mine and as a result some tourist amenities have grown up to support this, but beyond this, I would imagine it has remained pretty unchanged.This was the first place that we hit real altitude at 4,000mtrs above sea level, 15,000ft (compared to Sucre, 2,750 or 9,000ft), the walk from the bus to the hotel and then up the stairs to our room with our backpack, seemed to take a gargantuan effort. It was a Friday night when we checked into the Hotel Jerusalem, Potosi. On arrival, by chance 3 of my friends from London were staying at the same hotel, and it was nice to see some faces from home. With the altitude taking its toll I slept most of the afternoon. That evening a depleted group, as quite a number had serious altitude sickness went out for dinner. After dinner we met up with Max, Asher and Charles, to bring in Max`s birthday Bolivian style.The next morning, we did what most tourists come to Potosi to do. Visit the working silver mines. We were picked up from our hotel and before driving up to the mountain/mine that dominates the city skyline, we stopped off at the market for some gifts for the miners. The miners existence is ultimately a sad one. Whilst they earn more money than average Bolivians (still absolutely nothing) they have a shockingly short life expectancy some no longer than 35years. They spend all day down the mine, sometimes working 10days at a time, subsiding off Alcohol, Cigarettes, Coca leaves and crackers. It is also customary for miners to make sacrifices to Mother earth or ´pachaymama´. These normally constitute llama fetus and other strange offerings. We also purchased dynamite at one of the stalls, as you do, some for ourselves and some for the miners. It was a strange stall with an elderly grandma offering bags of ammonium nitrate and detonator fuses, but alongside the llama fetus they looked pretty tame. Loaded with our 96% volume alcohol and other treats we chugged slowly up the hill towards the mine. About halfway up the hill we stopped to perform our controlled explosion. Two immense bangs later, and we continued to where we would enter the mines. The top of the mountain also gave a fantastic view across Potosi. It was some sort of special day for the miners and in a village just below they were slaughtering a llama as an offering, drinking and dancing.We suited up in overalls, donned our headlights and prepared to enter the mine. The minimum age to work in the mines is 12, and as well as our guide a local 12year old miner accompanied us. The mines themselves were begun by the Spanish when in Colonial rule. Over their 300 year occupation 8million people died working them. The indigenous population was decimated and eventually African slaves had to be shipped in to work after the locals had all been killed. Whilst working there, conditions were non existent, and miners and their families never even left the mines. The tour was clearly labeled as challenging. The tour was to last a couple of hours, in which time we would descend through tunnels and ladders deeper into the mine.After entering an access tunnel where a man was carrying out minerals in a wheel barrow weighing substantially more than he did, we descended a steeper section. Whilst going down, it was necessary to crouch (as it was most of the way), and the exposed beams made me very grateful for the provision of a helmet. Whilst descending this steep path another miner was coming up with yet another wheelbarrow full of rock. We all tried lifting and pushing the thing but struggled to get any distance. How this small guy carried that wheelbarrow up and down this track more than 80times a day was almost a matter of physical impossibility, but he did. The amount of Coca leaves the miners chew is amazing as well. They have literally half their mouths full with a ball of leaves. Having no clocks or watches, it acts as a natural watch, as when the leaves run out of juice, it tends to be around 10 hours. As welling as suppressing altitude sickness coca leaves are a stimulant and also suppress hunger, allowing the miners to cope better. The leaves are legal all over Bolivia and indeed Coca is popular in drinks, teas and sweets. It isn`t technically legal to turn it into Cocaine though. Coca tea is actually pretty good for relief of altitude symptoms. But back to the mines.We continued further, crossing thin bridges that dropped into blackness, crawling and squeezing through tight gaps in the rocks and then suddenly being herded back into a siding as miners were carrying out a controlled explosion below. Don`t worry, as a tourist you don`t tend to go to the most active and dangerous parts of the mine. A huge thud and the walls and ceiling shook as the dynamite went off. The air in the mine is terrible and I spent the whole time breathing through my bandana. The miners have no masks and work much lower down where the air is even more toxic. Dust gets everywhere and on everything. Continuing in the same vein for about an hour we passed various miners offered them our gifts and continued down various tunnels and ladders. Towards the end we went and visited an underground shrine to Pachaymama and also the devil, God of the mines.Scrambling back out into the light was a relief, but it also made you think about what the reality of life is for many people. Not just in Bolivia, but all over the world. It was certainly a harrowing but worthwhile experience.