I visited a working mine in “Cerro Rico” in the city of Potosi, which is the mountain where incredible amounts of silver were taken out since the Spanish colonial times.
There is still mining activities going on, and although it´s findings are not as rich as they used to be, there are still about 10000 people working there. The tour I did was a pretty short one, but very striking to me. The way miners work today has not changed in practically 400 years.
Some of the miners spend 8, 10 or 12 hours working in tiny spaces hammering the rock in hopes of getting some good results. Some of them don´t even see the light or they see it for just a couple of hours before or after work.
This experience made me feel so blessed that I can have a life that I enjoy and feel very comfortable with.
Here are a few photos from my visit: