Potosi - Cerro Rico 4280m

After almost 3 weeks we finally managed to say "Adios" to Sucre (after I passed my intermediate Spanish exam and finished "alto"!!!) and made our way upwards to Potosi. At 4080m above sea level this lovely town is leaving us a bit breathless! But it has a beautiful center with lots of huge beautiful buildings, an amazing collection of beautifully carved front doors and lots and lots of churches. Potosi once was the biggest city in the world after the Spanish discovered the seemingly endless amount of silver ore in Cerro Rico (see picture).

Potosi did not flourish for long but you can still imagine what a grand place it must have been.

The famous Museo de la Moneda which used to be the first mint in Bolivia active until 1953 is one of the most impressive museums I have visited so far. It is freezing in there, the walls are over a meter thick! See picture. Very impressive building and unusually well restaured.

It is unbelievable how many people had to die in terrible circumstances because the Spaniards could not get enough. Apparently, nowadays Bolivianos are minted in Berlin out of all places!!!

Tomorrow morning we are going on a tour to visit the silver mines in Cerro Rico which will take us up to 4500m to the peak of the mountain and then about 450m down into the ground on ladders. Very scary! We are expected to bring explosives and coca leaves as presents for the miners. Craig is very excited about the prospect of purchasing some sticks of Dynamite! BOOM!
My dad has spent a lot of time working in Potosi on a KfW project to ensure drinkwater quality. It is really nice to imagine that he has been strolling those streets some years ago and we are meeting one of his ex-colleagues for dinner tonight (and his entire family)! About time to put our new Spanish certificado to test!