Up, up and away...

This weekend I got to fulfill a lifelong dream: a hot-air balloon ride! Six of us headed out from Arusha before sunrise on Sunday morning to the balloon launch site about an hour and a half away, near Lake Manyara. When we arrived the balloon was inflated and ready for us. We met our captain Jesus (pronounced "Hesus") and ground crew and the four other people who would be sharing our trip. Then with great excitement we climbed into the basket! The balloon quickly rose into the air -- it was astonishing to see how fast we gained altitude as we looked down at the ground crew waving to us. For the next hour we soared over the planes toward Lake Manyara, cruising at a low altitude in order to move in the right direction. As our captain explained, the only steering possible in a balloon is up or down. The altitude determines the wind current it will travel on. We had to fly low in order not to end up in the lake. The view was spectacular: wide expanses of open space dotted with trees, Maasai bomas where cows scattered in alarm and people came out to wave at us, zebras and impala running from the shadow cast by the balloon on the ground, light from the rising sun shining on the mountains ahead of us. As we approached the lake we were told to prepare for landing, which meant bending our knees and keeping our arms inside the basket. When the basked touched down it tipped over, resulting in a truly hilarious exit! We were met by two transport vehicles who took us to a spot where a wonderful breakfast was waiting, complete with champaigne. While we ate we listened to our captain's stories about flight adventures all over the world. Then it was time to board the shuttle to ride back to our launch site, and then the van back to Arusha. All this and it was only 11am!