The mine workers all have huge wads of coca leaves packed into their mouths. Chewing the leaves alleviates fatigue and hunger. Some of the miners also drink homemade booze inside the mine (I brought a bottle of water in, the guy I went with brought a bottle of hooch). Many of the miners start working in the mines as teenagers. Average life expectancy for these young men is 14 years after they start working in the mine. Everyone who works in the mine knows someone who has died of black lung. All of them are hoping to strike silver before meeting a similar fate. I lasted about three hours in the mine and felt like I had thoroughly poisoned myself.