Ric warned us of a minor amount of danger and to watch our head and feet. He said it was not a cave, but a man made hell. After my visit I understood what Ric meant.
I kept my hardhat on good and tight. The special issue boots were a sorry piece of equipment. My feet slipped around inside because the boots were so big and I never felt like I could trust my footing. Nevertheless, I was game and joined the tour for the first four levels in the mine. At one point we had to almost crawl through a three and a half-foot tall, narrow, downward-sloping tunnel that was about twelve feet long. I got claustrophobic and was ever so thankful to be on the other side. It took me a while to calm myself down. I focused on breathing and tried hard not to think about being trapped four levels deep in a mine somewhere in the bowels of Cerro Rico. After the rest of our group made it through this narrow passage, we walked over to Tio, the god of the mine. Each mine has it's own image of Tio. Our guide explained the miner's ritual for Tio. They thank Tio, pour alcohol on him and place lit cigarettes in its mouth. The imagery reminded me a bit of the Guatemalan cult of Maximón.
Our guide conducted the ceremony and as he spoke he poured alcohol on the corresponding part of Tio's anatomy. He concluded by pouring some of the alcohol on the ground as an offering to pachamama. Then, he took a drink and passed the bottle around the group for us to consume. I had tasted this powerful stuff before at Sajama and did not like it. My entire portion went to pachamama. Here are the words from our simple ceremony:
Thank you Tio.
For you, Tio, in your eyes so that you can help me see the mineral veins.
For you, Tio, in your arms so that you can give me strength in my work.
For you, Tio, in your penis so that you can fertilize the earth and give us minerals.
For you, pachamama, that we have no accidents.
After our ceremony, we learned there was a group of miners working another level down. I inquired as to what the terrain was like and after learning it was like the tunnel we went through and that the way out was essentially straight up, I begged out. Two guides had led the group through the mine and one of them, Beirmar, led me back out the way we had came. Going out I had to climb up all the levels and pass by a deep gaping hole I had passed earlier. On the way out, this hole was problematic because the angle of the narrow path, the slanted rock wall and the positioning of the hole made it difficult to escape without falling in. Beirmar gave me a little push that helped to lengthen the reach of my step and I was safely across. I cringed as I watched dirt slide into the abyss and narrow the path even more. I cringed again when I heard the debris land at the bottom and realized its depth. After this we had another two levels to climb. Beirmar and I made our way slowly and carefully. At times my light dangled into wicked angles and lay bulb-side pressed against my red slicker. Darkness loomed. When this would happen, Beirmar was there with his light at the ready to help me see. I was quite thankful for his kind assistance and for pachamama that there were no accidents.
Light at the end of the tunnel was sheer delight to see. Ah, the great out-of-doors!
Once on top, I went to our bus where I took off my boots, slicker and hardhat. Ah, my own safe shoes --delightful! I waited and watched the mining activity taking place out of doors. I saw old women sorting through the rocks for meager treasure to provide income. Children either played with wheel-barrows and/or mud puddles or sold rock trinkets to tourists. Men took breaks and chewed huge amounts of coca leaves.
When the others arrived back to the bus about an hour later, they resoundingly told me I had made a good decision. Thanks to God! We had all made this short trip to hell and back with no accidents. Although I enjoyed the experience of visiting San Miguel mine, I think in hindsight, I might have truly delighted in exploring Potosí on my own.
In the afternoon we did a walking tour of Potosí. We passed the Cathedral, the main plaza and then toured Casa de la Moneda, Bolivia's first mint.
I enjoyed the visit at Casa de la Moneda. The architecture of this museum is a fantastic design in stone and brick. We saw a huge collection of coins and their molds, the large presses, art collections and artifacts. It's always interesting to me to see what is chosen for display in large museums and how these items are displayed.
The oil painting I found to be most interesting in their collection was the painting of the Virgin of the Mountain. In this large 18th Century painting, the Virgin is shaped like Cerro Rico, and designs on her red garment depict both the history and heritage of Potosí.
The rest of the afternoon was spent with a short visit to the post office and then up and down city streets. We stopped at Arch Cobija and enjoyed the view of Cerro Rico. Arch Cobija is a beautiful stone arch which had been built by the Spanish to separate the Spanish and Indian portions of town. Unfortunately daylight was slipping away and there were some churches I had wanted to see. So Ray and I left the tour to explore on our own. We walked through the large sprawling market in front of San Lorenzo church. Next we admired the mestizo-baroque carvings and fine stone architecture of San Lorenzo. I admired the stone-carved mermaids who stand guard at its doorway, the decorative carved foliage and birds as well as the many mudijar-like carved geometric designs. On the way back to our hotel, we stopped at a wonderful textile shop across from Casa de la Moneda and purchased another piece for our textile collection. Then, after a brief break in our hotel room we ventured out again to explore the fabulous textile shops on Avenida Sucre. I enjoyed the Friday night hum of Potosí's main plaza, Plaza 10 de noviembre, while I waited for Ray to return our latest purchases to our room.
Seeing the magnificent colonial architecture as we walked though the city, I understood why UNESCO declared Potosí a World Heritage Site in 1987.
Dinner at El Meson was delightful. Sleep came quickly. Yet, another magnificent day in Bolivia.
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Come visit with me at http://travelerstogo.com/ by posting your follow-up questions in the Carribean, Mexico, Central & South American forum. My alias is Sharon Mc1, and I am the destination moderator for that forum -- I love talking about travel!
I recently wrote a practical travel guide for the Peruvian and Bolivian high Andes. I had a great deal of fun writing it, and particularly enjoyed writing the restaurant reviews. Here is the link:
http://p104.ezboard.com/feuropetogofrm21.showMessage?topicID=40.topic
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Articles in this series include:
Miami, Jupiter, & the Everglades (Florida) http://www.worldisround.com/articles/141804/index.html
La Paz, Tiwanaku & Valley of the Moon (Bolivia) http://www.worldisround.com/articles/141500/index.html
Oruro Carnival (Bolivia) http://www.worldisround.com/articles/141977/index.html
Sajama National Park (Bolivia) http://www.worldisround.com/articles/143197/index.html
Salar de Uyuni (Bolivia) http://worldisround.com/articles/143714/index.html
Train Graveyard - Uyuni (Bolivia) http://www.worldisround.com/articles/141742/index.html
Train Graveyard - Pulacayo (Bolivia) http://www.worldisround.com/articles/141647/index.html
Along the Road from Uyuni to Potosí (Bolivia) http://worldisround.com/articles/143868/index.html
Potosí (Bolivia) http://worldisround.com/articles/145509/index.html
Sucre (Bolivia) http://worldisround.com/articles/182068/index.html
Tarabuco (Bolivia) http://worldisround.com/articles/182063/index.html
Jatun Yampara (Bolivia) http://www.worldisround.com/articles/169005/index.html
Lake Titikaka (Bolivia) http://www.worldisround.com/articles/261030/index.html
Copacabana (Bolivia) http://www.worldisround.com/articles/261498/index.html
Along the Road - Copacabana (Bolivia) to Puno (Peru) http://www.worldisround.com/articles/261584/index.html
Cusco, Sacsayhuaman & Lima (Peru) http://www.worldisround.com/articles/270254/index.html
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