So what was it all about ??? |
| My 50th Birthday |
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| When I got up I opened a couple of Birthday Cards friends & family had given me before I left the UK and a litle present. The present was a small Swiss Army pocket knife, with my name engraved on the blade. Which I now, always, take with me on holiday. |
| Then it was down to breakfast. Followed by loading our luggage on the support vehicle and back on the Bikes. |
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| The area we were riding through was very arid. Our first stop of the day was the Chuquisaca bridge. It was quite spectacular. It wasn't exactly on our route but it was impressive enough that Mark, our Guide, took a little detour to show us. |
| Then it was back on the road. The miles rolling by. |
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| Eventually we reached our destination for the evening. The Hostal Colonial, in Potosi. |
| As we got there quite early there was an oppertunity to wander around the town and go on a tour of a working mine before dinner. |
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| I plumped for the mine tour. As I hadn't done one before. |
| For this we got a Mine Guide. The first thing he explained to us was. The miners were very superstitious and it was bad luck to visit the mine without taking gifts for the miner !!! |
| You have to admire their ingenuity for getting the most out of tourists. |
| It wasn't a case of buying silly thing. The Guide took us to the "miners" store. Where we could buy things the miners actually needed and used. |
| Water for when they are working |
| Masks to stop them breathing in all the dust |
| Cocca Leaves, something that just about everyone in Bolivia chews |
| Oh, and we mustn't forget . . . |
| A stick of dynamite !!! |
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| On a more serious note. Bolivia (and other South American Countries) don't have many Health and Safety Laws. |
| Working in the mines is extremely hazardous and with all the dust (silica I think) in the air (you can see it reflecting in many of the photos) very bad for the lungs. |
| Even with masks, working day in day out, in the mines reduces the life expetancy of miners to about 45. |
| You may wonder why anyone does it but, compared to other work, it is so well paid the locals are willing to do it to support their families. |
| Really brings it home that the things we moan about in our working conditions are rather trivial. |
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| Come the evening we all went out to a restaurant. |
| Now, I though no one on the trip knew it was my birthday but Mark (or Guide) had spotted my date-of-birth on my passport when he check all the paperwork, before the trip started. |
| Not only did he know it was my birthday, he also realised it was my 50th. He had kept it quite from the group and arranged a cake. |
| Now I walked around Potosi. It was definately not a tourist destination. It was just a working mining town, with no frills. So, where he managed to get the cake from I have no idea. As, it was all arranged that evening. |
| As you can see in the photos. They didn't have cake candles . . . so opted for fireworks. They didn't have a 5 and a 0 . . . so I was 5? years old. And, to top it all, the person making the cake didn't understand English very well . . . instead of Colin on the cake it read Carol. |
| For days after. All I heard from the other was, "How's it going Carol??". |
| However, it was, without doubt, the best birthday cake I've ever had and the whole thing was such a lovely surprise. |
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| All-in-all it was a great way to spend my 50th birthday. A huge thanks to everyone on the trip for making it such a memorable day. |
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