Bolivian buses, how adventuresome you are...
Except this time instead of me looking out the window and waiting to plunge to my death, the bus just...didn't go. Last night we went to the bus station with every expectation of leaving, and then our bus got canceled, along with every other bus to La Paz (and who knows where else!). We wandered amongst the mayhem taking place in the terminal and Anthony managed to exchange our tickets while Cami and I kept our eyes open for sneaky hands wanting to steal our bags (C & A both witnessed a theft while we were out by the bus--don't know how I missed that!).
Now here we are, still in Potosi, with the man-eating mountain leering at us in the distance. Okay, I need to elaborate a bit more on this mining. I don't know the number of miners that work there at the moment, but there are said to be approximately 300 children working in the mine. I think I mentioned that the miners, after beginning their mining lives, have a life expectancy of 10 years, most dying from silicosis due to the amount of dust and other toxins they breathe in down in the mines. All of their working techniques are very primitive, and to refine the metals, they actually still use mercury and cyanide. It's really crazy and inhumane. And they have turned this into a tourism industry, taking tourists on "adventure tours" of the mines where they get to blow up dynamite and witness first-hand the working conditions. To me, it would be pretty much be equivalent to watching slavery. That may be a bit extreme, but these people don't have much of a choice as to what they can do in the work force. 90% of the workers work there due to lack of other options, certainly not because they want to be there. They tolerate the visitors because they receive gifts and a small portion of the tour costs. But seriously, what are they really working for? Silver. A silly metal used for jewelry and money, and it all seems so pointless! I'm not oblivious to the fact that I personally am adorned in this particular metal, on my hands, on my ears, sometimes on my neck...and I feel hypocritical about it, I feel like an even bigger hypocrite when I walk in the markets and see silver jewelry and am tempted to buy it. How sad is that? I know how badly these people are exploited, just so I can have some silly piece of jewelry to flash around. That just goes to show how deeply ingrained consumerism has gotten in our society, to the point where we can see the wrongs being done and yet we're still not as affected as we should be. Hmm.
Well, outside of the mountain in the background, Bolivia has proved to be challenging in and of itself. Anthony and Cami have both gotten stomach sick (Anthony spent our first day in Potosi in bed all day after having thrown up eight times that night) and I still can't seem to adjust my lungs to the altitude. Walking one block uphill leaves me breathless, worse than in Cuzco. Let's not even talk about when I walk around with my huge pack on my back, that's just ridiculous! Sometimes I wake up at night and almost start hyperventilating because I feel like I can't breathe. Ooh, let's also talk about hygiene again, though this time less explicit. :) My hair is super frizzy and is shedding much more than usual, so I end up with sticky hairs all over my black fleece (well, Marcus' black fleece, but for now it's mine!). My skin is also terribly dry, and my hands get to feeling about twice their age, super dry and hard, kind of chapped. Bolivia is certainly not a place for luxury vacationing. :)
I know there were other things I wanted to write about, but I think that's it for now. Hopefully by this time tomorrow, I'll be in La Paz! Keep your fingers crossed.
Now here we are, still in Potosi, with the man-eating mountain leering at us in the distance. Okay, I need to elaborate a bit more on this mining. I don't know the number of miners that work there at the moment, but there are said to be approximately 300 children working in the mine. I think I mentioned that the miners, after beginning their mining lives, have a life expectancy of 10 years, most dying from silicosis due to the amount of dust and other toxins they breathe in down in the mines. All of their working techniques are very primitive, and to refine the metals, they actually still use mercury and cyanide. It's really crazy and inhumane. And they have turned this into a tourism industry, taking tourists on "adventure tours" of the mines where they get to blow up dynamite and witness first-hand the working conditions. To me, it would be pretty much be equivalent to watching slavery. That may be a bit extreme, but these people don't have much of a choice as to what they can do in the work force. 90% of the workers work there due to lack of other options, certainly not because they want to be there. They tolerate the visitors because they receive gifts and a small portion of the tour costs. But seriously, what are they really working for? Silver. A silly metal used for jewelry and money, and it all seems so pointless! I'm not oblivious to the fact that I personally am adorned in this particular metal, on my hands, on my ears, sometimes on my neck...and I feel hypocritical about it, I feel like an even bigger hypocrite when I walk in the markets and see silver jewelry and am tempted to buy it. How sad is that? I know how badly these people are exploited, just so I can have some silly piece of jewelry to flash around. That just goes to show how deeply ingrained consumerism has gotten in our society, to the point where we can see the wrongs being done and yet we're still not as affected as we should be. Hmm.
Well, outside of the mountain in the background, Bolivia has proved to be challenging in and of itself. Anthony and Cami have both gotten stomach sick (Anthony spent our first day in Potosi in bed all day after having thrown up eight times that night) and I still can't seem to adjust my lungs to the altitude. Walking one block uphill leaves me breathless, worse than in Cuzco. Let's not even talk about when I walk around with my huge pack on my back, that's just ridiculous! Sometimes I wake up at night and almost start hyperventilating because I feel like I can't breathe. Ooh, let's also talk about hygiene again, though this time less explicit. :) My hair is super frizzy and is shedding much more than usual, so I end up with sticky hairs all over my black fleece (well, Marcus' black fleece, but for now it's mine!). My skin is also terribly dry, and my hands get to feeling about twice their age, super dry and hard, kind of chapped. Bolivia is certainly not a place for luxury vacationing. :)
I know there were other things I wanted to write about, but I think that's it for now. Hopefully by this time tomorrow, I'll be in La Paz! Keep your fingers crossed.
Comments