Bird’s eye view: Sitting at the small balcony next to our room, having a cup of hot chocolate while watching the lazy Alaknanda shimmer by, we can truly say that it was a relaxed day, although we drove more than 70 kms from Sari village in Chopta Valley to Rudraprayag, the famous sangam of Mandakini and Alaknanda. We left around 8.30 am and reached our hotel here close to 12.00 noon. Roads were mostly good, the weather sunny. Rudraprayag, at a mere 3,000 ft, was roasting at 26 degC. Leaving Chopta Valley (8.30 am): Although today’s jaunt was known to be small, we wanted to leave early, so that we had enough time to reach. What with the continued days of rain (including heavy showers last night) increasing the risk of landslides, and the country conducting ‘readiness’ exercises on the 7th, it would be prudent to expect that there might be delays on the road. Mahavirji’s two kids, Akshit and Vaishnavi, said goodbye to us at 6.30 am before they left for school, exh...