My companions at breakfast spoke little English, and I speak little Spanish, so our conversation was limited to "hello". They returned to the discussion my entrance had interrupted, and I was happy to sit in a chair, eat, and be ignored. After they had finished their breakfast the houseboy came in with their bill. I was amazed to hear him speaking Spanish to them. He had written the bill out in English, but they weren't satisfied with that, so he rewrote it in Spanish. I was impressed with his linguistic ability, but I think he viewed his mastery of several languages as just a job requirement, nothing special.

After breakfast, I needed to resolve the laundry situation. We really needed to have our clothes cleaned, but I had to be positive we would get them back again! The problem was solved by the man who supervised the staff of the houseboats. He promised that wherever we went, he would tell the laundry man; we could be sure that our clothes would be returned. I was enthused about the possibility of having really clean clothes again! So the laundry man and I sat on the dining room carpet and counted out the pieces of dirty laundry I had for him.

I wondered where we would spend Thursday night. Scot had gone to see Mrs. Kumarr at 9:00 A.M., to discuss the possibility of arranging a new trek for us. Before he left he had stopped by to tell me not to worry about the accommodations, something would be worked out. However the houseboy told me we'd better pack our bags, because the new guests were due to arrive about noon and Rob and I would have to leave then. Since Rob was asleep and I didn't want to wake him, I put the houseboy off and hoped that Scot would soon return.

No one was around for me to talk with, so I looked through the houseboat's selection of reading material. After choosing The World According to Garp (the likeliest looking of the bunch) I went out on the porch to read and enjoy the beautiful weather. We had been gone from Dal Lake only thirteen days, but a lot had changed. The level of the lake had dropped perceptibly, perhaps as much as two feet. The houseboats that had been floating before (or had appeared to float) now rested in the middle of green lawns. The plank walkways that had crossed the water to tie the houseboats together were now superfluous, as visitors could walk across the grass. Flowers were in bloom everywhere, including water lilies on the lake, and the first few lotus blossoms were opening up. The sky was a vivid blue, the air was balmy and a gentle breeze was blowing. I found it difficult to concentrate on my book; I was content to simply sit and look around me.

An interesting drama was unfolding on the porch. A fur salesman had come to the boat to show his wares to the Spanish guests, who were looking over the furs, trying them on, and discussing their merits. The coats seemed roughly put together; perhaps the buyer was supposed to have them resewn. None of them had linings, and I couldn't tell from across the porch if the skins had been well cured or not. I also didn't know what kind of animal had donated most of the samples. It is important to be careful that the furs (or other animal products) one purchases in other countries are not on a prohibited list in the United States. No matter how attractive the price of the coat seems, it is no bargain if the owner has to give it away to the Customs inspector! I think this was the concern that the potential buyers were discussing with the salesman, as he explained what kind of animal each of the furs had come from. Some of the fur was really beautiful, but I couldn't afford a coat, no matter how reasonable the price, so I tried to ignore the transaction.

Group members began to appear. Gerry, Fred, Ann and Jim had gone into town and they returned on a shikara before noon. Mary and Nat had been resting. I joined them for a while; they had already been moved to new rooms that were available for their use overnight. Fred and Gerry were likewise taken care of. I began to feel forgotten, and I spoke to the houseboy, who could tell me nothing. Stout Brother came by to tell me that Rob and I must pack and prepare to leave, as the new guests were expected momentarily. I wanted to know where we were going; he asked me to be patient, he'd come back in a minute and show us to our new room. I woke Rob, he got dressed, and we packed our duffels, but no one could tell us where to go. The new guests arrived - oohing and aahing at the charm of the boat, they were obviously new to Dal Lake! - and we sat in the living room with our packs and duffels. I began to feel more and more irritated. I couldn't understand why everyone else had been moved, while we sat with no place to go. Rob was in a mood to be patient, and he sat and read while I went out to find the owner. He was not to be found, but the head houseboy told me someone would be over to help us in a minute. That minute stretched and stretched; I went out to complain again, to no avail. Finally Rob got angry, and his anger produced some quick results. I felt offended at being ignored, but there wasn't much I could do but shrug it off. We were moved just next door, to another Manora Houseboat.

Scot had come back from his talk with Mrs. Kumarr, and we were all anxious to find out what they had decided. I talked briefly with Fred and Gerry; they had made up their minds to leave India as soon as possible. They had been to Srinagar airport to check on flights to Bangkok, and it seemed that they would be able to get a connecting flight the following day. I had been expecting them to make that decision. They told me that Jim had also decided to leave. He had checked on connections to London, and there was a flight leaving Srinagar that afternoon that would put him in Delhi in time to catch the flight he wanted. I wasn't surprised at his decision either, but I was surprised to suddenly see him hurrying from his houseboat with his baggage. Leaving so soon! He was in a tremendous rush, he was afraid he would miss the plane, and we barely had time to say goodbye to him. We all thought that he might not make his flight, and though I didn't want to wish bad luck on him, I hoped we might see him again later in the day. But he never returned.

Scot asked the remaining trek members to come to his houseboat to meet with Mrs. Kumarr and to discuss the alternatives open to us. Rob and I walked over to his porch to join Ann, Mary, Nat and Colleen who were already talking with Mrs. Kumarr and Scot. When Rob and I arrived our group was complete and she began to outline the possibilities that existed.

It was possible to arrange a trek in Ladakh, she said. Leh, the capital of Ladakh, was where we would have ended our trek, had it gone according to plan. We all had reservations on a flight leaving Leh for Srinagar on Sunday, July 31. Today was the 21st, so we had nine days free for traveling and trekking. Our staff had agreed to accompany us to Ladakh, hotel reservations could be made, but we had to decide immediately if we wanted to go. She felt that it would not be worthwhile arranging the trek unless we were all interested in going, since our group was already reduced to six people.

How would we get to Ladakh? Rob and I had assumed that we would fly. Rob had told Scot emphatically that there was no way on earth he would consider taking a bus anywhere at all, and a taxi was probably out too - it was an airplane, or nothing. But Mrs. Kumarr was actually suggesting we take a bus. Bus! Our hackles rose at the word. Oh, she assured us, we had no need to worry - the bus she would hire for us was a very nice bus, an absolutely first class bus, a comfortable, reliable, wonderful bus. Hmmm. We remained unconvinced. One problem with flying was that it would be expensive. We had all assumed that we would incur no additional charges by participating in this new trek. We felt that, by arranging a second trek, Mrs. Kumarr and Mountain Travel were only making reasonable reparations for the disaster of the first trek. But Mrs. Kumarr pointed out that most of the money we had paid for our trek was already disbursed. For instance, she had arranged for a mule train to go to Zanskar to meet us after we crossed Umasi La, carrying our food supplies for the second half of the trek. That money could probably not be recovered; the supplies were possibly a loss also, as they could have been sold by the horsemen somewhere in Zanskar for a nice profit. Most of the expenses were like that; the money was already paid, even though we hadn't gotten much value for it. We held different points of view, but for now that didn't matter, as none of the financial questions could be resolved by anyone there, and would have to wait for Mountain Travel's decision.

For the moment, the working assumption was that we would have to pay extra for the second trek. If we took a bus, the additional charge would be about $300.00, which would be billed to us. (Taking a plane would increase the cost even further, and seats might be impossible to reserve at such a late date.) But everyone must agree to go. Mary and Ann wanted to see Ladakh, they weren't ready to cut short their vacation, and they decided quickly. Nat agreed to go along too. Colleen was in a quandary because of her knee. She wanted to see more of India, but she wasn't sure that her knee could stand further hiking. As I thought about alternatives, I realized that I really wanted to go. Bus trip notwithstanding, I wasn't ready to call it quits. Rob was very unenthused, especially about the bus. I told Scot we'd need some time to discuss our thoughts. He told us there wasn't any time; if we were going to leave for Leh in the morning, he needed to know now. He told Rob that the two day drive from Srinagar to Leh was really beautiful. He said that it was definitely worthwhile to drive over the route once, to see the sights. What should we do? I really hate to discuss personal business in front of other people, but we didn't have much choice. I told Rob that I wanted to do it, I wasn't ready to leave, and he said O.K. We were committed. Next we all turned on Colleen. As we pointed out to her, today she could rest her knee totally. The day before, on the bus, it had gotten lots of rest, and it would rest more during the drive to Leh. If worse came to worse, she could skip the trek and stay in Leh while the rest of us went walking in the mountains. Colleen is nothing if not a good sport. She said agreed to go, and the trip was on.

There was nothing more for us to do but relax. Relax we did, and we had a really nice afternoon. Rob convinced one of the boat boys to lend us a shikara, and he tried paddling it around. He discovered that the craft was tricky, and the leaf-shaped paddle was hard to manage for someone unaccustomed to its use - but we had fun. Nat, Colleen, Rob and I took some pictures of one another on top of the houseboat. Late in the afternoon, around teatime, there was no one around but Rob, Nat and me, so the three of us had tea together outdoors on the lawn. The cook made up a batch of little doughnuts just for us.

Many merchants paddled around on Dal Lake trying to interest visitors in their wares. If invited, they would visit the houseboats, as the fur coat salesman had in the morning. Scot knew some of the vendors, and he suggested a few reliable and honest people we could invite to our boats. Rob and I walked into our houseboat to find Nat, Mary and Colleen looking over an impressive display of jewelry. I was too curious to pass by, and I sat on the couch with them and looked at card after card of gems. Everyone bought something. Colleen paid for most of her purchase with a personal check! As I recall she spent about $200.00, and I was amazed that the salesman would trust her. He said she had an honest face. I suppose, since the practice of accepting personal checks is widespread, few tourists pass bad checks.

Such an uneventful, pleasant day was just the rest we needed to recharge our energies for another trek. When our laundry was returned that evening, as promised, I felt ready to tackle whatever adventures lay in store for us. Surely we had exhausted all our bad luck by now!