info on Bolivia ...
http://earthtrends.wri.org/text/population-health/country-profile-23.html

we passed through some struggling areas ...

and the contrast with other south american countries is noticeable

Bolivia has a long way to go to raise the game

shoe shine

we have to leave the meat eaters cinema before the end ...cant hear the words with all the cracklin ...

off to visit the working mines at San Rico

we buy sticks of dynamite & ammonium nitrate for £1.20 a set ...

anyone can buy it openly ...

the 'complex' ore is crushed

and mixed with liquids & chemicals at various stages to extract the different ores tin, silver & zinc

Sara with a silver ring

a Bolivian worker here is on a very good salary of £80 per month for 12 hr shifts

rejects from Star Trek

the underground museum lists Canada as the main source for mining companies, with several from Europe

conditions are pre-Victorian

spaces are small, cramped, hot, dusty, claustrophobic

we take a break after a crawling section

2000 metric tonnes in a dolly

blown at 5pm and manhandled 20m & 700m along to a winch

60m below ground ... we hand out pop which is gladly received from visitors

the mines were privatised several years ago

and miners work in teams taking turns on all tasks in rotation

current market prices bring the miners a fortune of £134 each a month (it was £200 not so long back)

chewing cocoa leaves relieves hunger pangs

ladder on the way up

we lark about but it's a moving experience ... requiring some downing of cups to discuss

mine workers who insisted Scouse share their beer & 96 proof alcohol ... well, it was Friday afternoon ;)

lit fuse, live dynamite ...

The mines at Potosi have seen enslaved labour, armed repression, and privatisation ...

Julian with some 96 proof alcohol ...

Dutch Steven who was riding a Honda 125cc from Buenos Aires ... previously rode from Holland to West Africa on a pizza delivery moped :)

an ethnic entertainment evening

we find the fastest chipper in the continent as we look for a club

we visit the mint before we depart ... unfortunatelty coins are not made here anymore ...