This time I decided I was just going to do it, never mind the nerves. There was a bad balloon accident here a couple of years ago that had the effect of getting the cowboys out of the business, leaving only two very reputable companies, so I booked a ride, and prepaid it, so I couldn't wriggle out of it at the last minute. As it turns out, the worst part of the entire morning was dragging myself out of bed at 4:00am to be ready for the pickup.
It's all very dramatic as they get these things inflated in the pre-dawn dark, flames roaring, men yelling, balloons trying to get a head start on their crews.
And the first ones take off.
We are up, and to my surprise, it is not as terrifying as I thought. In fact, it was actually very peaceful. The balloon just drifts along with the wind, there is no rocking or any real sense of movement other than seeing the countryside pass by underneath.
Here are typical little farm plots, growing a great variety of produce from sugar cane to beautiful fruit and vegetables.
Hatshepsut's Mortuary Temple from and angle I never expected to see it from.
This is a great shot of Luxor Temple, taken just as we drifted eastward over the Nile. And drift eastward is what we continued to do. We drifted right over Luxor, out ino the farmlands beyond the town, and finally came down with some drama in the middle of a sugar cane plantation. We could not land initially where the pilot wanted, as there were overhead wires all over he place, so we skimmed over (and through) the tops of sugar cane through several paddocks before he found an open patch. All very exciting, but not actually too scary as we were almost on the ground for th last while.
The pick up vehicles chased us down, took up back to Luxor, and a motor boat got us back to the West Bank.
I am very glad I made myself do it, it was actually a great experience.
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