Oruro, Potoí: 21.08. – 03.09.2010

Actually was our extended visit in the garage exactly at the right time, we could not have continued anyway. During that time there were strikes in the poorest region of Bolivia, in the mining center of Potosí. Already since a week thousands of miners and farmers have been on strike for an economical development of their department, for a construction of a cement factory as well as for a new airport. As well as the government had to solve an old border dispute between the neighboring department of Oruro, about areas ‘full’ of gold, uranium, copper and lithium.

How something like that looks in Europe we know, but here in Bolivia such a strike is something else. If here roads get blocked no entry- not to talk about exit of a town is possible anymore. Tree trunks, Busses, giant fireplaces or whatever is around is used to block the roads and locals armed sometimes even with explosives, but normally with stones and shovels stop everything that wants to get past. Beside that it was about to escalate as opposing communities in Oruro started to block the roads into Potosí and eliminated food and gasoline supply for the department. In smaller town it might be possible to buy your way thru but with protests in these dimension one better waits or plans its way around it. Even if these strikes normally do not solve any problems we can at least understand the people. Bolivia is one of the richest countries on mineral recourses, but its people are among the poorest in Latin America. With an exception of the almost empty silver mountain Cerro Rico in Potosí it all seems to be sold out to foreign companies. In the first half year 2010 Bolivia exported mineral recourses worth 923 Million Dollars (according the national statistic board). The people get nothing of it. Only because they ran out of food supply the blockades stopped after 17 days. Besides three ministers agreed to talks with the activists. If they brought any results, we do not know. But we definitely wish it for the people.

Now our journey could continue to one of the highlights in South America the Salar de Uyuni. With 12’106 square kilometer at 3’653 meter above sea level it is the largest salt flat on earth. It developed from an ancient ocean that dried out as the altiplano got lifted and what’s left call the locals not for nothing ‘white ocean’.

Past the volcano Tunupa we dove ‘into’ the white floods and drove crosswise towards the horizon. Only the blue sky, a flat white plane and us, this gigantic salt flat is simply impressive. Very easy one looses orientation, but thanks to GPS we did not get lost. And found our way to the two islands in the middle of the salar. Those are full of very tall and old cactuses (up to 1200 years). There are also to be Viscachas, a Chinchilla Species to be found here. And indeed just as our dinner was gone and Sonja wanted to take the sunset picture she almost stumbled over a pair of these rabbit like animals.

After three days on the Salar we headed towards civilization again. On the way we stopped at the Salt Hotel, it closed because of waste water problems, but you can still see how everything is constructed of Salt even the  wall clock. In Uyuni we also visited (and declared it as our night quarter) the train cemetery, as the diesel train was invented, the steamers got ‘disposed’ here on a side track, among others also Bolivia’s first train and the one who got robbed by Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid.

But the southwest of Bolivia has more to offer. The area between Uyuni and the Chilean border is full of Lagoons and smaller Salares. This hardly developed area we did not want to miss. However we did not get very far, a lost nail thought our tire might be a good way to continue its journey. No problem we still take it along (we are nail friends) but with the hole that it produced and the tool to fix it breaking, it took Markus over an hour improvising a new tool to get the plug into the puncture. So we could continue for 6 days in a surreal, moonlike (yes we know there are no lagoons on the moon!), miraculous landscape all above 4’000 meters above sea level. In the meantime the thin air was no problem anymore but the nights got with -15°C painfully cold. However we got compensated with Lagoons in all imaginable colors full with Flamingos and surrounded by Vicuñas.

After this fairy tale excursion we headed for our last destination in Bolivia, the town of Potosí, which received us with grey skies and sleet. But we held out to the cold and strolled thru its alleys of the very pretty colonial center all above 4’000 Meters. Its existence lies solely on the facts that the nearby mountain Cerro Rico was 1545 found full of silver. Only till 1660 16’000 tons and till today an estimate of 46’000 tons of the precious metal were taken out of it mostly to fill the greedy Spanish treasures. For that more than 8 Million mostly indigenous people lost in slave like situations their lives. For them it was entry to hell and if they didn’t get killed in the mine, they sooner or later died because if the inhuman work situation or poisoning or mercury that was used to separate the silver from the ore.

After the mines got nationalized in the beginning of the 20th century Cooperatives of mine workers took over in the 80ies. But the situation did not change much since the discovery of the silver. Till today the miners work with hammer, chisel and dynamite that can legally be bought on the public miners market (3$ a stick) in Potosí. Only sometimes Jackhammers, to drill holes for the dynamite, and rail carts are used to get the ore out. But they weight over a ton and have to be pushed manually thru the mostly only 1,5 meter high tunnel. For other improvements or even safety equipment money if far off. To prepare for their shift workers chew Coca Leafs or drink high percent alcohol (96%) to just bear the pain and fear of their hard labour.

We also booked a tour thru one of the 300 still working mines guided and explained by ex-miners. All the time we had to run in one of the few bays, they were normaly only ceremonial places like a church or a place to team tio (uncle devil) or there was a mud hole to step in to let the worker by pushing the carts. While we protected us with scarfs or napkins from the dust, the workers normally go without any protection, they are useless, too expensive or too hard to breathe thru. Of the poisonous gases we are not even talking. For us Europeans it is hard to imagine how one can voluntarily expose himself for such a threat for 14$ a day. On the other side there is not much math needed if you know that the average income of a Bolivian worker is 90$ a month. All too soon it is forgotten that the average life expectancy of a miner drops to only 35 years. The most common cause of death is dust lung. Also in Bolivia officially minor work is prohibited but nevertheless some kids start to work in the mines at the fragile age of 10. On muddy slippery ground we crawled or climbed 80 meters into the depth. Sometimes there was only a slippery beam across a 10 meter deep hole to reach the next not always intact leader. We have been glad to come out to daylight alive and kicking after one hour and now imagine working there for 15 or 20 years. We have been pondering about this excursion for quite some time and we won’t forget it so soon.

Two more days we needed to get to the border of northern Chile that we have missed out so far, but these impressions are to come in the next report

Till soon.

Sonja and Markus

Here it goes to the pictures...