COLCA CANYON Day 2. A Mule Called Kinky

The next morning I was relieved to learn that my guide had found me a mule for the day, so after breakfast I met my companion who was called Quinquilla, Kinky for short.
The 1st leg of the day consisted of a small descent, a hard ascent and a long descent to our lunch spot. It was baking hot and as Kinky and I plodded along ahead of the group. I saw the bright side of my injury, for those on foot it would be a hard slog.
Kinky was being guided by a rope being held by a short Peruvian called Rusevelt (sound like anyone famous?).

To start it was easy but have you ever ridden a mule down hill? Well, it was pretty hairy. Kinky kept slipping luckily making recoveries with the extra pair of legs, but the pathway was narrow even for humans, and at one side was certain death down the canyon. So every time Kinky slipped he´d get scared and stop, needing a little tug of encouragement from Rusevelt to go on.
Olivia (our guide) had told us the day before that the condors were hanging around because a mule had fallen down the canyon, and they were feeding on its carcass...I daren’t ask if there was a tourist sat on it at the time!
The other thing about Kinky was that he had the personality of a teenager. He huffed when he couldn’t be bothered and he´d try to take easier paths when we got to cross roads.

Two and a half hours and a very sore bum later we got to the Oasis, our lunch stop. We were well ahead of the group and I toyed with the idea of asking them "what took you so long?", but the flushed faces and sweaty t-shirts told me to bite my tongue.
They had a well deserved swim in the pool and a hearty lunch which restored them to a normal skin tone.
For the afternoon Heather and Adam had the excellent idea of booking mules to get them out of the canyon, the rest of the group signed up for it too which meant that all seven of us would ride out of the canyon together. Well...not quite.
When the mules arived for the other five it became clear that Kinky and his brother were more donkeys than mules in comparison. Kinky was much smaller than the rest, and Chris would be riding his even smaller brother Peluche (Stuffed Toy).
The four of us plus Rusevelt went ahead but it wasn’t long before the rest of the group overtook us. What started out being fun soon became unenjoyable to Chris and I. The sun was pounding on the mules, the path was super steep, mostly rocks that acted as steps. The poor beasts started sweating buckets. You could feel their hearts pumping hard and fast beneath you, the huffs and breaks became more and more frequent.

I had no option, but Chris offered to get off and carry Peluche though Olivia and Rusevelt insisted he stay on.
Well over 3 hours later we made it to our hotel in Cabanaconde, with our bums in agony and our minds filled with guilt and pity for the donkeys.
Chris had a shower and I had such a sore bum that I led on my front with it exposed. When Chris came out of the shower and saw it he shouted "Oh my God!! What on Earth was that Donkey doing to you?!". My bottom was COVERED with huge blisters and friction burns. Not only could I not stand but neither could I sit!
I skipped dinner and stayed in bed, went to sleep but then at 3am I woke up itching, a lot! I turned the lights on and Chris said “Oh my God! What is THAT?” I was now also covered with what looked like a thousand bites all over my body.
All I remember thinking at this point was “I´m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of HERE!!!!!!”