Cochabamba and El Poncho

Having learned a fair amount of Spanish in Sucre I still felt fairly unpractised. Probably because the majority of my time was spent drinking rum and talking bollocks in English. So, feeling like I should be more constructive with my time, I wanted to find somewhere to volunteer where I could practice my Spanish and possibly get involved in a proper project. Nothing too strenuous of course, just something more constructive than going to Mitos three times a week and gorging on dodgy street burgers. I did some research and found an interesting ecotourism organisation called El Poncho outside the city of Cochabamba. So I bid farewell to Laura, Byron and Ginger Mike and caught a night bus from Potosi to Cocha.

Cochabamba itself is a warm, friendly city but is not much of a tourist destination. There are some awesome buildings and a beautiful plaza but not much else worth mentioning. So after one night I was ready to get to El Poncho.

El Poncho is an ecotourism lodge based 20kms outside of the city in a beautiful, tranquil setting at the base of an epic mountain range. It was set up with the idea of using local and ancient building techniques and natural materials to present a real alternative to modern forms of tourism. The family who started the lodge are passionate about sustainability and the importance of ancient Bolivian heritage. The buildings onsite are absolutely amazing having been built according to a variety of traditional Bolivian methods. Each one is significant for a different reason and there’s an emphasis on where the buildings are placed in relation to certain constellations. It has an amazingly calm, relaxing energy and it was a great place to spend a week. It was slightly disappointing to find I was the only volunteer and/or guest because I was hoping to volunteer on a proper project. But it did allow me (and my liver) a week of relaxation. My volunteering time was spent mainly on gardening and maintenance. It was awesome to work outside in such a beautiful setting and I managed to practice a little bit of Spanish with the staff. There were countless dogs running around and they even had a few llamas. One of the llamas was seriously aggressive and every time I got near it spat a mouthful of grass at me. Luckily its aim was terrible but I’m convinced it had some sort of personal beef. It became routine to round the corner and have a hissing llama with a mouthful of grass looking like it wanted to kill me.

So it was an excellent week of reading, writing, taking photos and stand-offs with the llama. The staff were extremely friendly and I had plenty of time to myself. I also learned a lot from Daniel, the guy who runs El Poncho, and it was amazing to hear a little bit about the lodge and some of the ancient beliefs and customs. By the end I felt properly relaxed and slightly in party-withdrawal. Next stop: La Paz.

Check out the photos here: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150180973061890.303139.514871889&l=e0f25bf26f

Potosi

After getting a bit stuck in Sucre I decided to head for Potosi to get back into the travelling vibe. I headed off with Mike the Ginger Tosser and an awesome couple, Laura and Byron, who were also teaching at Fox Institute. I wasn’t really sure what to expect but I was told that Pototsi was worth checking out for it’s historical importance. Plus it’s only three hours from Sucre, which was manageable with the sizable hangover I was packing.

At 4060 meters, Potosi is the highest city in the world. It’s a strange mix of colonial architecture, typical Bolivian urban culture and tragic history. Towering above the city and dominating the skyline is the pock-marked cone of the Cerro Rico, or ‘Rich Mountain’. It is the single richest source of silver in history. Unfortunately the bulk of its bounty went straight to colonial Spain and never benefited the people of Bolivia. It was such a rich source of minerals that theory has it that the Spanish could have built a bridge stretching from Bolivia to Spain entirely out of silver. And there still would have been silver left to carry across the bridge. From the time it was discovered until the end of colonial rule, roughly three centuries, an estimated nine million slaves died. Not cool.

Somewhat perversely, the main attraction for travelers to Potosi is the mine tours, which take you down into the heart of this tragic piggy bank. The majority of the silver has already been mined but it’s still a source of work for some 10,000 miners. It’s notorious for the shocking and dangerous working conditions. Before going in, they make you sign a waiver which expressly stipulates that there’s a fair chance of getting trapped and/or killed. I had my reservations but I figured it was something that needed to be seen. Nothing could have prepared me for the reality. The first part of the tour took us to the processing plants. Despite the heavily toxic chemicals used in processing the minerals, absolutely no environmental controls exist. This results in all the surrounding rivers being void of any life and dangerous to the surrounding communities. This rather depressing reality set the tone for the tour of the mine itself. Decked out in the most awkward miners gear and looking like ‘Village People’ rejects, Mike, Byron and I, along with a few other brave gringos, ventured into something akin to hell. As we got further in, the tunnels got smaller and more cramped. The temperature steadily increased. It got harder to breathe. At points we were on all fours squeezing through tiny spaces, which took us further into the labyrinth. Most of the tunnels were supported by bits of strategically placed wood. ‘Health and Safety’ is clearly not a term often used. It was fascinatingly unpleasant.

The craziest thing was while we were marveling at how extreme and unbearable it was, miners of all ages were getting on with their work. A lot of them start working as young as twelve. Due to exposure to dust, the average life expectancy of a miner is roughly fifty. An unforgiving and tragic way to make a living. It’s depressing to think about and it was a harsh experience but I’m glad I went because it really put so much into perspective. The next time I hear anyone complaining about work I’ll tell them to go sit in a dusty cupboard with the heater on for 12 hours and then see how tough they have it.

The rest of the time in Potosi was spent walking around and checking out some of the grand colonial buildings. And drinking copious amounts of singani in a karaoke bar.

All in all a rather bizarre, eye-opening experience.


Check out the photos here: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150170473881890.300208.514871889&l=4c3a8b78eb