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We didn't get any sleep due to colds :(
I walked around town trying to find a supermarket or some fruit but there is nothing here! :(
We started our mining tour by getting kitted up in waterproof trousers and top, wellies and a hard had with a flash light which was rather amusing!
We got a 15 min bus up from the town to the mountain. We stopped via a miners shop where we had the opportunity to buy the miners gifts of snacks, coca leaves, 96 percent vodka or sticks of dynamite!!! I bought some snacks and had a sip of the vodka - what a kick!!!
There is soooo much rubbish everywhere! The mountain was orange but had red, yellow and blue/green stones close up. The entrance to the mine was random and looked so unofficial and unsafe. We had to walk down the centre of the rail tracks.
After 10 mins of walking we smelt smoke and a French guy from another group had lit a cigarette, not only in a confounded space where even the miners don't smoke but whilst others were carrying dynamite! We all quickly told him to put it out...idiot.
I wasn't sure how well I'd do as I am a bit claustrophobic but I did so well. We took it slowly. There was a lot of dust in the air which had a metallic smell so we wore face masks to keep out the majority of the dust. It was pretty creepy not seeing further than 5 metes in front of you. Some parts of the track were flooded and slippery, and there weren't any support beams....!!
We stopped occasionally to catch our breath and admire the sulphur and copper on the walls. Our guide showed us what the silver looked like in the rocks. We saw mini tributes to Pacha Muma (mother earth) along the way.
The further into the mountain we got, the hotter it was. Also being at 4300 meters altitude, it was had to breath especially with the masks.
We passed a few minors working and we have them out gifts. One minor was only 17 years old, and his brother was 21 and had been working down there for 6 years! No wonder they like the vodka! They posed for photos with us, but had no problems putting his hand on my bum during the photo!
The deepest we went was 1.5 km into the mountain where I had to squat and waddle along to avoid hitting my head. And by the looks if all the broken wood and fallen stones, I didn't want my head to disturb them either.
There was a bit of wait while our guide escorted the French frogs out and to our joy she told us that smoking frog said he didn't need his helmet even when she told him to put it on and he cracked his head and had a big cut on his nose...idiot.
During the wait I tried not to think of films like the descent, the great escape, and the lord of the rings with creatures in the tunnels.
There are over 1600 people Woking inside this silver mountain alone and the mountain is the only reason for the city here. The miners all work as freelancers, not as a company.
On our way back we were given the opportunity to crawl through a tiny hole just big enough for a human. I was already proud of what I had achieved and said no thank you. So Greg and I decided to make our way back out of the mines on our own rather than spend half an hour waiting for our guide to escort the confidents out and come back for us! It took us 15 mins and was quite an experience walking that just the two of us! We were happy to see daylight and were the first out in the end. So we enjoyed fresh air and sunshine before the rest of the group joined us and we were told off for not waiting. But we had been down there well over 2 hours and we were told we would only be down there max 1 hour.
We stopped to take a photo of the city from the hill before returning for a much early shower and lunch!! I can't believe I did it!
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