After a freezing night here in Potosi I was up early getting ready for my early morning mine tour with my friend Pedro's company; Big Deal. I sat and had a late breakfast with Charlotte before making my way into the centre to meet my tour group at 8:45am. On the tour there were 5 other guys joining me from France, Germany, Switzerland and Argentina. First up we piled into a van and headed to the Miners market where the miners load up on their supplies from sticks of dynamite to 96% alcohol to cigarettes and coca leafs. Pedro gave us a brief run down of the market and then the option to by gifts for the miners which included bags of coca leafs, sweet drinks and sticks of dynamite. After buying some gifts we piled back into the van and drove to Pedro's house - halfway up the mountain where we were decked out with our mining gear. We were given loose pants, jacket, boots, helmet, headlamp, scarf and bag of which we would need to wear from this point on. From Pedro's house it was a short walk to our first stop - the refinery where we watched how the silver and other minerals is extracted from the rocks. Jumping back in the van we headed up to the Mountain Cero Rico where we walked around a small settlement where many of the locals were sitting around chewing coca leafs. The miners certainly didn't look like tough man and to be honest most of them were overweight and you could see they spend more time chewing coca and drinking then actually working. Pedro stopped and chatted with a few of the workers and a few of them put their hands out for gifts - which I didn't like. Headlamps on and breathing scarfs we headed into the mine and wow; it is dark, dusty and incredibly small, in some places you almost had to be on your knees to get through. We walked alongside miners heading in and out of the mine; pushing carts of minerals, wheelbarrows full of silver and so fourth. I had the impression these would be poor people working very hard but I think it was quite the contrary; rich Bolivians barely working. I kept thinking how much harder the drillers work in Australia on the mines - here they work 4 - 8 hours a day maybe 5 days a week, at home 14 hour days and 14 days straight. The other thing i found incredible was the amount of alcohol and coca consumption going on - literally all the workers consuming as much as possible. At a few points we stopped and had swigs of the 96% alcohol which as you can imagine was anything but pleasant. The whole time we were also chewing coca leaves which really did seem to give a kick of energy and help with the poor conditions. The conditions were anything but pleasant and the dust was really bad in areas and the height of the tunnels were constantly changing and hitting your head became a very common occurrence. We stopped and chatted with miners, giving gifts and watching them work - not very hard mind you. At one point we stopped and had a rest whilst Pedro explained a lot about the miners and how they were all quite rich in Bolivian standards (some making as much as $1000-$2000 a week. The reason they work by hand and do the work manually as opposed to machines is because they want to protect their asset and when machines came before many miners lost their jobs whilst the others became lazy. Pedro also explained how the risks of death were low and life expectancy is not as bad as people make out and more related to the drug abuse and bad nutritional habits of the miners. Pedro had worked in the mines from age 10 to 18 and had explained how his Grandfather had taught him all the important points of mining. From learning how to find the silver to eating correctly and avoiding the alcohol and cigarettes one could become very wealthy from the mines and this was apparent. We walked for kms through the tiny tunnels and then up vertical ladders until we finally arrived at the famous Tio - the statue of the Devil. The devil reminded the miners this was still a dangerous job and that care must be taken. To be honest I don't know how much I believe of all the info but one thing is obvious the miners are choosing this lifestyle and are rewarded well for it, their health will certainly suffer but like at home if they are smart they will save their money and get out with their health still intact. Eventually after 3 hours we came out the other side of the mountain and boy was I glad, my lungs were feeling the dust and my back was aching from all the crouching - underground mining is not for me. We walked back down to the base of the mountain and headed back to the city in the van. After dropping our mining gear off, saying farewell to Pedro we made out way back to the centre. I had a good chat with a few of the guys on our tour who were from and had been travelling across Argentina - picking up some really useful tips and ideas. I made my way back to Charlottes and got to see her hard hard at work with all the kids. I made some lunch and then took it really easy as I was feeling knackered from the mine tour. Later Charlotte and I headed into the city to buy some things for dinner and see the madness on the streets - with people, dogs and cars stammering in every direction. Tonight Charlotte made Chicken Ossobuceo - a very typical French dish using vegetables and some form of meat steam cooked in wine. It was absolutely delicious to say the least, with the chicken falling apart in your mouth and the sweetness of the wine matching the vegetables and meat perfectly. The plan is to head to Tupiza on the 7am bus (5-6 hours) tomorrow so I have the time to have a look around for tours and somewhere to stay.