The morning after our Intrepid tour, we woke up at the crack of dawn to go hot air ballooning just outside Marrakech. Due to a scheduling issue, it was already sunrise when we were approaching the takeoff point, but with a dozen or more balloons already in the air the anticipation of joining them was almost palpable!
We had breakfast in Berber tents and waited for the balloons to come back for the second flight. Seeing the balloons go from a big bag of nylon to a giant balloon about 20 metres tall in a matter of minutes was pretty impressive. We clambered aboard into a wicker basket holding 16 passengers (and a pilot!) while 6 or 8 helpers and an SUV with a tow cable attached held us to the ground. And then suddenly the cable was released and we were aloft. No sudden rush, no seatbelts required, just a smooth ascent into the early morning sky.
We’ll let the pictures do most of the talking, but the overriding impression was just how calm and quiet the ride was. There was no wind since we were moving at the same speed as the light breeze, and unless the gas jets were roaring to maintain our altitude it was completely silent.
All too soon, the little white toy vehicles that we could see below on the sand turned into full sized trucks and trailers ready to pick us up; the ride was ending! Our skilled pilot found a nice long stretch of sand with no rocks or scrub bushes so that the balloon could be deflated without damage. We came skidding to a halt with the chase crew rushing up to the side of the basket to grab on and attach the anchor cable to the SUV again.
We were presented with our certificates as balloon aeronauts, but Morocco being a Moslem country the tradition post-ballooning champagne was absent. But no matter; it was a bit early for that since we were driven back to our hotel in time for a second breakfast!
We spent an hour or two changing hotels from our tour group hotel to a traditional “riad” (a big house with a fountain and trees in an inner courtyard) inside the medina. The next two and a half days were spent seeing lots more of Marrakech; see our next post.
See our ballooning photos on Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/100countries/albums/72177720326434377
