(NB. Photo not Potosi!!)

In the afternoon on 15th May I got the bus to Potosi. It took 5 hours and I arrived just before it got dark. At an altitude of 4070m it was colder and whilst walking to dinner at a local restaurant with some people from my hostel I could feel myself getting out of breath even just walking on the flat. At dinner I cut my finger on a chair, caught between the leg and the seat - hate the sight of blood and was worried about how deep it may be so I went to the red cross clinic the next morning to get it looked at, cleaned and dressed for the bargain price of 50 bolivianos- about 45p! I hoped it would heal ok but as I write this 3 weeks later it is still looking a bit iffy :-(

One of the main reasons tourists come to Potosi is to visit the mines as Postosi is a mining city, set against the backdrop of the mountain, Cerro Rico (Rich Mountain). They used to mine for silver there but with the silver having been mined they now mine for ore. The miners lead a really tough life and conditions are awful- I had heard about it from other people who had done the tour and decided I didn't want to visit. Whilst in Sucre though I had the chance to watch a documentary film called "Devil's Miner" about a boy who works in the mines to support his family. It was a very interesting but sad story; through this I got more of an idea what it is like and it really is a hard life for little money. The miners' lungs are constantly exposed to deadly chemicals and often die of silicosis with 10 years of starting working in the mines….

So instead of the mine tour I spent my time in Potosi visiting a couple of other places, a trip to the cinema and also wandering around the town. It has some nice colonial architecture and would be a nice place to wander, if it wasn't for the altitude, which at 4070m makes me feel tired with a constant headache. I did a tour of the "Casa de la Moneda" which I thought would be all about the mint (money not the sweet variety!) but it included some other random stuff too. The mint section was interesting and we learnt about how they made coins in Potosi between 1733 and 1951, and made produced coins for Spain until 1825. Originally they were hand made from silver by hammer and had irregular shapes but then machinery was developed, making them uniform in shape and design. The coins are now made in Chile and notes in France as it is apparently cheaper.

I also visited the Santa Teresa Convent and if I had to recommend there or the Casa de Moneda I would recommend the convent as I thought the whole tour was really interesting. It is in the beautiful old building of the former convent where 21 nuns used to live and work. It was opened in 1685 and the rich people of Potosi used to send their daughters there, paying a lot of money to enter at the age of 15, after which they would never leave. The nuns were buried beneath the convent and once a nun died another could enter to replace her. Today there are only 7 nuns and they enter as a vocation and do not pay. The nuns' families could visit once a month but could not see their daughter and if they were bringing any gifts they were received through a window with a big wooden spoon! After 1962 (I think!) things changed a bit so families could see their daughter and vice versa but still through a grate. They were allowed to talk for 2 hours a day in their 'free' time but the rest of the time they were in silence. I wonder whether the girls actually wanted to enter or if they were just sent by their parents with no choice.