up, up and away (paarl, south africa)

Jim and I got married about 10 months ago, last June.

For a wedding gift, a bunch of awesome friends pooled together and got us a hot air balloon ride in our new home, South Africa.

Weather finally cooperated last weekend, and we got to head up for our big day. It was amazing! We helped blow up the balloon, then took off just as the sun was beginning to rise above the mountains to the east. My favorite part was floating up into the sky - it was everything you've ever imagined it to be.

We drifted along smoothly, taking photos and enjoying every minute. The sun rose higher, lighting up the fields below us.  We admired the mountains in every direction - we could even see Table Mountain, 50 miles back to the west.

Everything was going swimmingly. We floated past a herd of wildebeest on a small nature reserve, and then I started to notice that we were drifting much lower. Much lower. Udo, our fearless leader (a German man who had been flying in Paarl since the early 1990s) announced that the wind was picking up dangerously, and we'd have to cut the flight a bit short. Some trees reared up ahead, bending in the breeze (it really was just a breeze). Udo had us get into "landing position": squatting on the floor of the basket, wedged against each other, with Jim at the back and me holding a handle at the front. I peered through the wicker watching the ground go past us. It really did feel like we were moving quite fast.

Ka-thunk! Float. Ka-thunkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk! And we're on our backs.

We had safely landed in a dirt field. This was the "fast landing" we had been briefed on. When the wind picks up, often the balloon flyer needs to land the balloon by dragging the basket, behind the balloon, on its side through the dirt. That friction slows the balloon down and it finally comes to a stop, rests on the ground, and the air begins deflating from it.

We got to recount the excitement over a delicious breakfast and a glass of champagne. Some sort of tradition to do with French peasants and dragons and identifying aliens. 

Thanks for a beautiful memory, Seattle friends!! You guys are the best.

Enjoy the photos!

Paarl Rock, home of the monument to the Afrikaans language.

Er, those trees are really quite close...

See where the basket slid through the dirt.

Safe on land!