Get the Mules!

We were all a little sore the day after our hike down. Descending 1,300 meters in 3 hours will do that to you.Still, we did another short hike and checked out some of the immediate surroundings. Bode was more interested in swimming.

We decided against any long treks, so it was time to hire some mules for the ride up. Apparently the poor mules do this trek twice a day, and we were not inclined to leave on the first trip at 5am. So, we got to enjoy the oasis all afternoon. Fred and Regine handled all the logistics for hiring 3 mules and 1 donkey. The donkey carried our 2 backpacks and the mules carried us and the kids. Fred and Regine took turns walking up, they are far better hikers than we are!

Riding up was unstable at best, but the mule did their job and kept us safe.  We had a guide and his mule with us, which was good because the mules liked to take a break anytime they could. He would yell, “muelle, muelle” and they’d finally get moving.

About 1/2 way up our 3 hour mule ride, the skies decided they couldn’t wait for the normal evening storm. It started slow, but the last hour the rain was pretty hard. We stopped once to put on our jackets, but quickly found out they were not as waterproof as we would like. Once we finally got back up the canyon and back into town it was a complete downpour, the streets were rivers and our shoes were holding water.

We decided to spend another night in a hostal since it was dark and we were wet and cold. A good wood-fired pizza might do the trick. Problem was, we only had the clothes on our backs, which were soaking wet and the temperature kept dropping.