We had one of the most sobering and educational days visiting the Cerro Rico (rich mountain).

Cerro Rico de Potosí mine is the world's largest silver deposit and has been mined since the 16th century. In 1545, during Spanish colonization, the Spanish started mining and enslaved the indigenous people to work in the mine.

Bolivians still mine here today and we were able to go inside an active mine and see the challenging and dangerous working conditions. The mountain is at approximately 4,782 meters (15,689 feet) so between carrying heavy (up to 300 kg or 660 lbs) wheelbarrows of rock/minerals through the small tunnels and breathing in constant dust at such a high elevation, the work extremely difficult and very bad for the miner's health.

Miners suffer from lung disease from breathing in dust constantly. Our guide, who was a past miner, told us that only 1% of miners live past 60 years old.