Nice 3 and a half hour trip to Potosi from Sucre and the bus station at Potosi was brand new.Stayed at the best hostel so far. The Koala Den was run by a lovely lady and everything worked and the showers were hot and the free breakfast was awesome. Lots of travellers so the word has got around. The Germany-England game was on while I was here and it was sad for the 40 odd Brits but bliss for the 2 Germans!!!
The main thing to do in Potosi is the Silver mine tour. As long as you are not claustrophobic and are quick on your feet you can survive. We nearly got run down by a runaway ore truck in a part of the shaft where there was no shelter point. Our guide stuffed up and we just managed to flatten ourselves against the wall enough to avoid the impact that just caught the hip of one of the guys in our 4 man group. You have to do some crawling through parts and its no wonder that the annual average of fatalities of miners is 35!!! Its like I'd imagine the mines of the 18th and 19th Century were in the developed countries. I t was a near thing and a not to be forgotten experience.
