Travel, teaching, and time: Hot Air Ballooning over Luxor

Being pretty afraid of heights, I never, ever saw myself going hot air ballooning. Besides for the fear of heights thing, I had once been pinned to the ground by a hot air balloon! Once, around 2000, when our kids were about 5 and 8 years old, my mom had rented the Re/Max balloon as part of an advertising celebration. It was one of those tethered balloons that allow people short rides up and down. It was down at Ludington Park, in Escanaba, Mi. Since this was a Re/Max balloon, my mom and dad were expected to be among the first to take a ride in it. There was some discussion as to whether or not to go up that day because it was getting a bit breezy. They decided to do so anyways, and just as it lifted about 10 feet off the ground, a huge front hit and with it, wind gusts of over 20 mph. I had been standing about 20 feet away from the basket when the wind hit, tipping the balloon and basket and sending the basket skipping along the ground towards me and 8 year old Christopher and 5 year old Cassandra. As we turned our back to the balloon and started running, I saw the shadow of the balloon extending out before me on the ground as it started to flatten out, blocking the sun and making everything dark. Behind me I heard the screams as my parents and others who were in the basket were holding on for dear life, hoping not to get hurt. I pictured us being run over by a basket heavy with people. All of the sudden, Chris and Cassandra were gone. Only the lights on Cassandra's shoes could be seen as they turned and ran out from under the balloon. They were smart enough to look around and run perpendicular to the balloon rather than parallel as I was doing. They were soon out of harms way -while I, on the other hand, tripped and fell - lying prostrate on the ground as the balloon came down on top of me, but the ropes finally held the basket down so it was no longer skipping along the grass.

With that whole event in my mind, and the idea of hot air ballooning over Luxor being presented as an option, I was understandably a bit nervous. But, these last few years have been about letting go of fears and building confidence - so, I agreed to this newest adventure!

Boy, was I glad I did! This had to be one of the most enjoyable experiences I have had so far.

We awoke early, before sunrise, to make our way to the West Bank of the Nile where the balloons were being aired up. The newer-looking basket held at least 20 people. It had a very thick cushiony pad that we stood on, with rope handles all along the inside. The feeling of standing in a basket being lifted only by a balloon filled with hot air was surreal. For whatever reason, my fear of heights was gone. It actually felt safe and natural. Perhaps it was just the fact that I was distracted by the beauty of it all and the realization that I could see the Nile in the distance and ancient temples and the Valley of the Kings down below. People say that SCUBA diving is very quiet and peaceful (though I do not really agree with that) - but riding in a hot air balloon is the most peaceful, quiet thing I have done.

They say the most dangerous part of hot air ballooning is the landing, but we had a perfect day and a very knowledgeable pilot who set it down expertly. Somehow, it seemed safer to be landing on a bunch of sand, in the middle of a desert rather than those horror stories I have seen where balloons get caught up in a bunch of electrical wires on their descent in more populated areas. Several area children raced after our balloon as they saw it begin to land in order to beg for money from the passengers.