The local bus we caught to Potosi was crammed with people. After our bags were put on the roof and the dog was kicked off, old men began to sit in the aisle. It was a late bus but we didnt see any need to stay in Uyuni for another night. We arrived in the town at 1am and made our way to a hostel booked for us by our tour guide. We were less than impressed when they informed us they had no availability. After trying a few other hostels we could see we tried to get a taxi. They refused to take us anywhere as we were right beside so many hostels. In the end we booked into a hotel for the night as there were too many drunks wandering around. The hotel only cost us twenty five pounds each, but when we are capable of surviving on twenty pounds a day, paying that much for sleep was a pain. The beds were comfy and the showers were hot! We managed to scrub most the dirt off of ourselves before falling into a deep sleep. Sunday morning came too quickly and we found ourselves some alternative accommodation. (We were now paying four pounds for bed, hot shower and breakfast! Much better!) After we ate we booked ourselves onto a mine tour for the afternoon. At two o'clock we began our tour. After being kitted out with wellies, helmet and overalls, we made our way to a shop to buy some gifts for the miners. Me and Si bought some dynamite for one pound fifty! Head lamps were attached to our helmets and we made our way to the mine enterance. Being Sunday, the only workers were those desperate for more money. Despite not seeing many men at work, it did mean that there was less dust in the mines. Before we entered we were shown a look out point over the town and also where the material is sorted before being taken to the refinerary. The entrance to the mine was the right height for small Bolivian men, not Europeans. The floor was muddy water for the first few minutes. Sadly my wellies had slits in so my feet and jeans became wet and smelly. Simon was a little nervous, especially after the Chilean mine collapse. Our guide reassured him by explaining that it was a gold mine that collapsed, which is surrounded by soft rock. The mine we were in was a silver mine and surrounded by hard rock so we were safer. After a few minutes we passed a miner who had just finished work. He'd worked in the mines for seven years and had just finished an eight hour shift! We asked a few questions, took photos and gave him some pop and coca leaves. (Miners don't eat during their eight hour shift due to the amount of dust. Instead they chew coca leaves for energy). We continued on, ducking beneath wooden beams and rubber tubes full of air. The floor became dry and the air slightly dusty. We proceeded down the mine, and stopped off at a devil like statue with a Spanish face and horns. The miners have certain rituals and beliefs which they carry out weekly. They drink 96% alcohol beliving that if they mix the alcohol, minerals they find will also be mixed rather than pure. They pour some of this alcohol onto the statues - on its head, four times on its body (for workers in the north, south, east and west) and more on its penis for fertility of the earth. The head was covered in streamers from previous celebrations. Cigarrettes are lit and if the statue appears to smoke then it means good luck. Alcohol bottles and coca leaves were dotted all around. Additionally, there was a llama faetus, similar to those we previous saw in the witches market, laying by the statues feet. As we passed one area the guides picked up several rocks and showed us the zinc and silver. As there was so much lying around the guide gave us a few small rocks to keep. Walking along we also passed tin, copper oxide and iron oxide which had began to form stagmites. We were shown the sorting room where minerals are lifted to the surface. Outside this room were some of the trolleys pushed by the miners - me and Si couldn't resist jumping in for a photo!! Although the mine felt safer than I expected, it was still a very unpleasant place to work. They get paid between eight and ten pounds a day, depending on the quality of their work. They spend up to eight hours a day in dark dusty conditions with no food. Many miners die after working in the mines due to lung problems caused by the nasty particals they breathe in daily. Although the miner we met was an adult, we have been told stories from other travellors of children working in the mines and attending classes in the evenings. Unlike many western mines, everything is done by hand. The explosions, the sorting of minerals and the pushing of the heavy trolleys along tracks. At the end of tour we blew up our dynamite. Simon rolled the green explosive into a ball. The guide then placed the fuse inside and then placed the dynamite ball in a bag full of small pink balls of immonium nitrate. After lighting it we held the fuse and bag of explosives whilst posing for photos. The guide then placed the dynamite far away and we waited for the explosion. I jumped when it exploded as the noise was so loud. A big cloud of smoke rose as the sound echoed in the valley. Both of us were glad that miners weren't working in the mine with dynamite during our tour as the noise would have been deafening and frightening! Monday was spent wandering around the town. The area felt really safe and we were never pestered by locals selling us items. In one of the main plaza's a band began to play and boys danced infront singing and raising their hats. As they passed the corner, they circled a woman who lay on the floor. Neither Simon or myself could tell if this was some sort of reinactment or if the woman had really collapsed. The boys faces didn't appear shocked or worried, some were even smiling, but a man tried to give the lady mouth to mouth and rang an ambulance. Seconds later the ambulance arrived and carted her off. It was all very bizarre. There were crowds of people watching this happen, yet everyones reactions were calm as if they were observing a reinactment. There was no hostel gossip of the incident so we will never know what happened.