Bolivians love to place their cities in the sky - Potosi at 4,090m above sea level

I had heard from other travelers in Argentina that Boliva was an entirely different bag of toys and boy were they right. I´m not sure if it´s the poverty or the altitude or the fact that I´ve been on the road now for 8 weeks but I definitely notice the difference in culture.

The rules I was taught in Argentina, by other single femal travelers, were 1. Never take a night bus since the roads are a disaster in Bolivia and  
2. Never take local buses. Take the Tourista buses that blend locals and tourists.
3. Try not to travel alone.
Hmmmm okay so I broke rule 1 and 2 on my first trip but it was my way of following rule number 3 so that evens out I think. 

My plan was to skip Potosi all together because I had heard there wasn´t much there except a town at an elevation of 4,100m (highest city in the world) with tours of active tin mines. Having been to a closed asbestos mine in Lennoxville, Qc last summer I already knew I didn´t like it in the center of the earth and that wasn´t paired with men (and sadly children as young as 10) who were risking their lives for less than 2 dollars a day with a life expectancy of 35 thanks to lungs filled with dust (of course they don´t have proper gear).

However, since the crew was headed that way before going on to Sucre I figured I´d stick with the crowd. Strength in numbers and all that. 

On the left is a view of the city of Potosi. Basically all the buildings in Bolivia are made of red brick and aren´t more than a few storys. The landscape is continuous rolling hills/mountains so traveling distances takes much longer than you´d think looking at a map with all the weaving along the cliff riddled roads.
 We made it safe and sound though and the five of us all huddled into a cab together  (yes 5 adults with backpacks the side of small sedans all loaded into one station wagon that had seen better days). This is what we were willing to do to stick to rule number 3.
 After living it I can tell you I would have HATED myself if I´d done it alone. 

Plan was to stay for two nights including the night we arrived so it was a brief visit. Day One we wandered around the markets which sold mostly socks and underwear, soap/sun block and cheap watches. Not really the markets one travels for weeks to find but interesting none the less. They also of course had food stalls selling fruit and meats (snout and horns intact). We enjoyed a snack of Saltinas and Empinadas from the stalls on the street.
Later on we came across the Potosi futbol (soccer for my
N. American friends) stadium and it wasn´t locked so we took a peak inside. Tara got chased away by a dog so we knew out time should remain short but it was fun to check out.
We´ve since learned that Bolivia is no longer allowed to host games because no team can beat them at this altitude.  I can´t decide if I think that´s fair or not. I mean use what you´ve got right?

Potosi was once one of South America´s riches cities, when the Spanish showed up and forced the native people´s to work in the mines which previously had silver reserves but they´ve since exhausted that metal and are left with mostly  tin now.  You can tell there was wealth based on the churches and some of the buildings but it´s mostly run down now.   The miners believe that the underground belongs to the devil `Tio` (because the original people´s didn´t have a D in their alphabet) and have subsequently created shrines/statues of Tio in each mine where they offer coca leaves, and booze plus the random stick of dynamite so he will protect them when they work. Over 8million people have died in the 450yrs the mines have been open (about 50 a day) so once again I´d argue the religious angle is not helping but I`ll keep that to myself. 

I chose not to visit the mines but, on our second and final night, did watch a documentary at the hostel about a child miner who started at age 10 and worked until he was 14 (his father had died so he had to become the breadwinner) thankfully became tour guide after the film was released.  The sunset on night two was a stunner and reminded me that no matter where you are you can find quiet moments that allow you to reflect on how amazing the world really is. I´m happy to have seen Potosi but ready to get on to Sucre, one of the two capital cities in Bolivia. Hoping it´s more advance and secure. xox b