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Arrived in Potosi very late,the hotel is very nice.Potosi sits at 4070m so I´m still high,it is the highest city on earth and was declared a UNESCO World Heritage sight in 1987, in recognition of it´s tragic history as a silver mining centre during the time of the Spanish Colonisation.
It is still a mining community, mainly zinc.We did a trip into a mine to see the conditions the miners work in,they still use hammer and pick and bring the minerals out in a wheel barrow not too sure about that visit!! The President of Bolivia, Eva Morales was visiting that day,he was campaigning for better conditions for the miners,the place was heaving,we saw the bus he was in and the next day when we were heading out of town his plane was at the wee airport.
Also did a tour around the mint museum,wonderful,Alison the accountant and I did it together,the tools that they used were all brought over from Europe,the coins were all very interesting.It was interesting to note that Bolivian silver used to make all the Spanish currency ,now all Bolivian money is made Spain and France.
Next day we were on the move again,we put 30 Bolivianos each towards our fare kitty and hired two taxis to take us to Sucre. (15 Bolivianos to the pound.) journey two and a half hours.
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