Hola eveyone.

This is coming to you from Santa Cruz in Bolivia. We travelled here last night on a 15hr bus ride from Sucre. Before Sucre we spent a couple of days in a place called Potosi. Potosi is supposedly famous for the being the highest city on Earth. Its built up around a silver/zinc mine. We went on a tour with an ex-miner called Freddy who took into the mine.

We had to take various gifts down for the miners, and so we stopped at the miner's market before going in. We bought 2 bags of coca leaves, 2 packets of cigarettes, a bottle of 96% alcohol (!) and some dynamite!!!!!! (all legally)!!! When we got to the mine, all the entrance had been sprayed with lama blood. The miners are really superstitious and the lama had been used as a sacrifice to "mother earth".

The mine itself was really scary!!! The tunnels were really small and the mountain seemed to be held up with bits of old wood!!! While we were down there we came across an old miner. (He wasn't that old but most of the miners have to retire through illness much earlier). The miners actually make small holes with hammers and chisels and then use the dynamite to blast away big chunks!!!!!

Anyway, when we made it out Freddy gave us a demonstration of a dynamite blast. He set the fuse and everything, then wrapped the whole lot in a bag of ammonium, just to make a bigger bang!!!! We've got the whole thing on video, so I'll post it around when we get home.

Sucre was a really nice little place. We actually bumped into the German guy we cycled the death road with in La Paz!

Anyway, I think thats about it for now! We've got loads of photos to go up on the blog, but the computers here are SOOOOOO SLOW!!!!!!!

I hope you're all well and having fun with the floods!

Caio