Up Up and Away……!!!!!

Sometimes I wonder if I was a bird in another life because I love anything to do with flying and the sky. I’ve always wanted to take flying lessons, I love para-sailing, I’ve promised Kenny that once he graduates we will do skydiving together and I’ve always wanted to ride on a hot air balloon….well scratch that off my bucket list….done! What better opportunity to ride a hot air balloon than over the Nile River, the Valley of the Kings and Hatshepsut’s Temple.  It was truly a unique experience!

 It started with another day of waking up before the crack of dawn, this time at 4:15am to be picked up at 4:45am in my hotel and taken first to the pier where we get on a motor boat to cross the Nile from the East Bank to the West bank then a van to the takeoff area.  When I get to the motor boat I find a welcome surprise that a small breakfast is set out on the boat and we have a choice of tea or coffee with biscuits.  And off we go down the Nile drinking tea and biscuits, very English/Egyptian!...

Breakfast tea and biscuit

Tea anyone?

When we get to the takeoff area there are about 10 balloons getting prepped for takeoff.  The one I will be on is a huge green and yellow one by the company Dreams Balloon.  It’s interesting to see the process of laying out the material and getting the hot air/fire ready.  You can see how the balloons begin to fill up rather quickly.  The baskets under the balloons are quite large and have 4 rectangular sections with one square one in the middle for the navigator and his assistant.   I get assistance climbing into one of the sections with 2 navigator trainees and the cameraman.  In the other sections are a group from Boynton Beach, Fl, England and 2 sisters and their spouses, one form Colorado and one from Virginia. 

Again, security information is very brief.  Basically the Pilot tells us don’t touch the controls and when I tell you to get into landing stance, grab the ropes in front of you and squat down back..??? Okkkkkkk…..  And up up and away we go….It’s exhilarating to say the least and before you know it we are about 1500 feet above ground flying towards the Valley of the King. 



Hatshepsut’s Temple



The only noise we hear is the occasional blast of the torch/furnace (whatever it’s called that blows the hot air in to the balloon) and the Pilot shouting out the things for us to look at.  I just enjoy the experience of it all and marvel at the quietness and beauty I see below.  I can see the Nile stretch ahead of me for miles and I see the East and West Bank of the Nile.  In some areas it is lush with greenery, filled with both plant and animal life and in others you see how urban development has encroached on the environment.

We fly over the Valley of the Kings and really don’t see much because most of the treasure and interesting things to see there are all underground.  But we also see Hatshepsut’s Temple and that is truly majestic to see.  Built into the rock of the mountain, it stands 3 floors high and it’s architecture’s style is very different from many of the other Egyptian temples.  I’ll tell you more about this when I write about my visit there….now back to the balloon ride.

So we keep flying and seeing different things for about 45 minutes.  We reach maximum flying height of 2000 feet above ground.  I notice that we begin to descend but its not where we took off…..Hmmmm …we keep dropping and we are over like a farm area and I see the same boys and men that where in the takeoff on the ground below us.  The Pilot throws down a think rope and one of the men below grabs it and starts shouting  for the others to do the same.  So about 12-15 men pull on the rope while the Pilot is literally yelling out instructions to them in Arabic and they proceed to pull down on the rope to pull the basket down.  Now this is no easy matter, the balloon is swaying against the wind, the men  at times seem like they will be pulled off the ground with the balloon, all this while the Pilot is shouting and yelling at them from above and to us to get in our landing stance. The balloon is suddenly being pulled into a piece of land with crops in it and an old turbaned man with a cane in his hand and waving it at us and  yelling …I suppose telling us to get the hell out of his field….it is all hilarious and part of a movie!...they finally manage to move the basket and the balloon in a flat area with no crops and we land safely on the ground with not even a little bump.  A very smooth landing!!  I have never seen such an example of organized chaos in my life.  Truly amazing!

We then all clumsily clamor out of the basket relieved and giddy with nervous laughter but happy to have made the trip.  And I guess because it is truly a cause for celebration that we landed safely the  “ground crew” whip out musical instruments and begin asking the women to dance and we start dancing in the middle of this crop field!!!  LMAO…..I of course try to incorporate salsa moves and turns and the Egyptian man keeps looking at me strangely because again it is all organized and planned and I finally catch on to the steps he want me to make and we bow and raise our hands and repeat the words they are saying until the dance is over.  What a wonderful experience!  I am so happy to be here and share and learn from these amazing people…….:-)