CAPPADOCIA IS ONE OF THE WORLD'S PREMIER destinations for a ride in a hot-air balloon. And there are more than 100 balloons to choose from. The sight of dozens of brightly colored balloons rising in the pre-dawn light, propane burners whooshing them into the sky, is hard to beat. Unless, of course, you are watching from one of the gondolas!
The Dawn Patrol
We had considered ballooning before but we were too drunk in Napa and too broke in the Serengeti. But this morning everything seemed just right. If we needed an excuse it would be a belated anniversary/John’s birthday present — pricey but one of those “must do” things in life.
Primative — but seldom wrong
The driver from Urgup Balloons picked us up on schedule at 4:30, a good sign. We thought the hour a bit ungodly until we realized dozens of balloons were already in the air. As it turns out, our balloon was the last one to lift off. What time did those earlybirds get up?
Flying sardines
I imagined six or eight people intimately cocooned in a wicker basket. Ha! The gondola was wicker but there were 20 of us sardined inside. Takes a lot of hot air to lift that mess into the sky! Hot air from four huge propane burners supplies the lift but wind determines the direction. Pilots “steer” by searching out favorable air currents at different altitudes. Too much wind is bad so accurate weather forecasting is essential.
It's just hot air
Once aloft, everything moves in slow motion. Pilot anticipation is everything — a burner blast takes a while to have any effect. Sometimes we climbed to 1500 feet, floating above other balloons; at times we were drifting below the rock spires. It was so quiet we could hear conversations on the ground below us. Then a roar from the burner would lift us again and the heat would sear the top of my thinning head. Sould have worn a hat!
In the passing lane
Getting back to earth is easy, just vent hot air from the envelope and down you go. Landing in a particular spot is more problematic, especially if it is breezy. Even on this windless morning it took us three tries and fifteen minutes to rendezvous with the trailer. Once down it’s time for a glass of champagne, a 300 year-old tradition.
Happy landings! Third time's a charm. More photos in the Cappadocia album.
POST SCRIPT: One week later we saw on CNN Turk that a balloon crash left 13 injured in Cappadocia. Details were spotty since everything was in Turkish so we checked online. Seems there was another crash in March and many fatalities in 2013. Maybe keeping your feet on the ground isn't a bad idea!
