Henry arragned for a couple of taxis to take the 6 of us (Louisa declined) to the Cuicocha Volcano, to hike the 14kms / 8.7 miles around the crater. Given that this was in a remote area which was not serviced by public transportation, Henry made an arrangement with the taxi drivers that he would leave the cash with the hotel reception, and they would be paid only after we were dropped back at the hotel. We agreed to the $60 fare for the 2 taxis for the return journey. We were dropped off at the volcano at 11am, and the taxis agreed to come back for us at 3:30pm after our hike.

We started off with a boat ride around the 2 islands in the middle of the crater - where we saw gases bubbling up to the surface in this still active volcano. After equipping ourselves with a sandwich from the lodge, we set off on our hike on the ridge above the crater. The views and vegetation were beautiful, and we loved the hike despite the weather - the low clouds continued to drift in and out of the lake, and predictably it started to rain about an hour and a half into our walk.

We did not realise that various trails branched off from the main trail, but we were not too perturbed as we continued to follow what we considered to be the main trail. We had split up into 3 separate groups (based on our different hiking pace) - with Summer and Christine taking the lead, Angelica and I not too far behind, and Ady & Shu taking the rear. Independently, we had continued to walk the same trail, adhering to the occasional arrows signposted along the trail .... until we came to a sign that said "Aqui terminar de sendero", or "The trail ends here" ...... right in the middle of a ranch, and at least 2 miles away from the lodge, which was our designated meeting point with the cabbies! It was already 3:20pm by then, 10 mins to our arranged meeting - bummer!!!! Of course, as luck would have it, the light drizzle had increased to a steady downpour by this time.

We met up with Summer & Christine on the dirt road at the end of this trail, and given the pace that Ady and Shu were going, we figured that they were at least 15 mins behind. As we were deliberating our plan of action, a taxi carrying a passenger approached us. Angelica flagged it down, and in response to my question, the cabbie replied that they were looking for a hosteria (equivalent to a hostel) that the lady was booked into. We of course were unable to help, but I asked if he would give us a ride to the lodge - and as soon as he nodded, the 4 of us piled into the back, glad to be out of the rain. Many windy turns and 20 mins later we ended up at the gates to this national park, and we walked the remaining 5 mins to the lodge in the pouring rain. We were by this time about 20 mins late for our appointment, and what a relief it was to see our cabs parked up front waiting for us.

We sent Summer back in one cab to pick up Ady and Shu. Fortunately they had made exactly the same mistake on the trail as we had, and ended up in the same place - it was also fortunate that the van that Ady tried to flag down refused to stop to pick them up.... and so it was that 10 mins into their walk downhill on this stretch that Summer found them soaking under their rain jackets.

As it happens with these dramas, the tale did not quite end happily there. When we got back to the hotel, the taxi was unable to find a parking spot nearby, and so we hopped out of the cab to get his fare from reception. The receptionist found a note marked "Taxi $50, GAP, Henry" - but there was obviously a mistake, as we had paid $60. As we were hashing this out with the receptionist, the taxi driver walked in, and the receptionist asked how much he was owed, and he replied "$50 for the 2 taxis". It dawned on me that we had been duped, and that Henry had most likely pocketed $10 for himself - we were outraged!

I confronted him about this as we walked out to dinner that evening, asking him how much the cab fare was. He said "Oh yes, I heard there was a problem"; he explained that he received a call from reception about the confusion, and after making some inquiries, he found out that the hotel manager had kept a $10 commission for arranging the taxis. I did not buy that for one bit, but I played along. I said that this was not right, and was a dishonest thing to do - hotels never charge commissions for calling a taxi. Henry said he agreed, that he was not aware that this happened, and that he would confront the manager about it. He also said that the receptionist we were talking to was unaware of this arrangement, hence the confusion earlier. I told him I wanted to be there when he talked to the manager, just so he understood that this was wrong, and that he does not do this to other folks at the hotel in future.

Later after dinner, Henry excused himself for a few minutes to drop something off at the hotel ..... presumably it was an opportunity for him to make a few calls to get the hotel manager's story aligned with his. Maybe I am being overly prejudicial towards Henry, but there were too many pieces that did not quite stack up with Henry's account of the incident. As it happened, I was out at the Otavalo market all morning the next day, and by the time I saw the manager at the hotel, Henry said he had already spoken to the manager and got our $10 back. I told him it was not about the money - and that I wanted to ensure that he does not do this again in future. Henry assured me that he has had that discussion with the manager - he was obviously anxious that I did not talk to the manager. So I let it rest ....... the rest of the group still have another 2 weeks of travel with him, and it does not do any good to create an unpleasant atmosphere for them.