You gotta do what you gotta do

   You might imagine that after having my alarm set for 6 a.m. for more than two weeks, it would be likely that I would have a nice sleep-in my first morning at Otters Den.  But, NO!  I had to set my alarm for 4:20 a.m., because that's when I was being FORCED to take my MANDATORY balloon ride! 
     Otters Den is a very small lodge, and they no longer accept guests who are not customers of their main business, which is called Suncatchers Hot Air Ballooning.   Here's a link to their website:  http://www.suncatchers.co.za/index.htm     When I found Otters Den on the internet, I decided I wanted to stay there so much, oh dear, I decided I'd have to take the balloon ride too!  And any of you who have been ballooning know that it's an early morning undertaking, that just when the sun is rising is the time when the lift is most conducive to good travels.  And in March, the sun in northern South Africa rises a little after 5 a.m.
   
 Maritza was the pilot for my excursion--well, mine and the two British women who arrived for the balloon trip only.  Here what she is doing is heating up the air in the inside of our balloon in the early morning light.  She had two helpers preparing the balloon, and one could tell immediately that this was a highly professional and safety-minded enterprise. 

 I remember their filling a regular balloon with helium and letting it ride the wind upwards into the night sky, all the while shining a strong flashlight beam on it, in order to get a sense of the direction and velocity of the wind from land surface upward.  It seemed so poetic to keep watching that little white balloon climb higher and higher into the darkness--it seemed we watched it for several minutes.













   After some brief instructions, we were off!  and right on schedule, the sun popped over the eastern horizon, giving us all an opportunity to get some nice early morning photos of the Blyde River from the cool morning air. 
    I have so many photos and videos of this one hour long trip that it's hard for me to select which of them to post, but here goes just a couple:






    


Here's the view to the west--toward the Drakenburg Mountains.  You can see the river and the neat rows of one of many many mango plantations to the right.

 





And somehow I found it fascinating to contemplate our shadow on the farmlands below:

Our pilot Maritza (in the blue shirt) said it was the first trip she could remember when all the riders were women.  Here we are.








And HERE is the oh-so-traditional glass of champagne that is absolutely required at the end of a balloon ride.  Somehow I managed to get it down!

 

I wish I were able to describe even a portion of the sheer exhilaration of this hour of being in the air.  If I could, you'd all be busy on the internet making your reservations!