Our initial stop in Bolivia was Tupiza, three hours north of Villazon, to ease ourselves into the country and better acclimatise to the high altitude. A small village nestled in a valley surrounded by a dramatic landscape, the town is nice but there wasn't much to do. Many tours of the Salt Flats, Bolivia's most popular attraction, leave from here on a rough four day journey of perpetual sitting in a jeep, something we were not in the mood for.
Instead we decided to head north to Potosi located at 4090 meters of altitude and said to be world's highest city. The road is mostly paved but large sections have been washed away causing the bus to divert into valleys and ride dangerously close to edges hanging over the steep cliffs. The mountain overlooking Potosi is rich in silver and since the arrival of the Spanish it is estimated that over 8 million people have died working in the mines. The mighty mountain has so many tunnel excavations that it is beginning to cave in. Local cooperatives offer mine visits but conditions are difficult and unsafe so we decided to pass. For a good insight into the lives of the miners working in Potosi we recommend watching The Devil's Miner, an award wining documentary that follows the life of a child working in the mines and displays living conditions in the local community.
We unfortunately didn't have the chance to visit the recommended Casa de Moneda, an elaborate colonial building where coins were minted by slaves during Spanish rule. This historic city is truly beautiful but we found that exploring it in the blistering cold and shortage of breath can become an unpleasant undertaking.
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