Up, Up, And Away!!!

Leo Our Pilot And Me Having A Good Time Above The Masai Mara



 

      I feel that I have been truly blessed in my life to see so many remarkable things and to have the opportunity to experience so much.  Over the years, I have snorkeled in The Great Barrier Reef, rode on top of an elephant to an abandoned palace in India, savored incredible wine in a Tuscan hill town, and soaked up the sun on some of the most sublime beaches in the world in Brazil.  So when the opportunity to ride in a hot air balloon over the Masai Mara in Kenya arose, I jumped at it.  It was the first time that I was able to ride in a balloon and it was truly amazing!

   Like most balloon rides, you have to start out early in the morning.  This is critical, because the very early hours of the morning are the least windy and thus ideally the time to fly.  So, my lovely wife and I, headed down to the lobby of our hotel and filled up on that necessity of fuel, coffee and pound cake.  The breakfast of champions as the old Wheaties ads claim.  As we slowly devoured these delicious little treats in the rustic lobby of our hotel, a humongous bat whisked by our heads.  This fury guest, had to be a at least a foot long.  It was extremely quick and darted left and right throughout the lobby as it made this unique squeaking sound.  I immediately thought to myself, this is why I travel half way around the world, for these types of experiences.  Just then our driver pulled up to the front of the lodge.  After spending a couple minutes of exchanging pleasantries, we boarded the jeep, in anxious anticipation for what was about to become a truly memorable experience.  The balloon site was only about a mile from the lodge, but it felt so much farther as we bounced back and forth across the ruff dirt roads.  After only few minutes, we arrive at the launching site.  At first it was hard to make out where we were.  It was just before dawn, yet it was so dark that it could have easily been midnight.  As my eyes adjusted to the environment, I happen to notice that we were on a soccer field at the edge of the compound.  I guess, this was the best place for them to set up the balloon.  Our driver suggested that we wait in the jeep as the crew prepped the balloon and also it meant that we could get out of the slight drizzle that was moistening the air.  It was the beginning of the wet season in The Mara, so I was not at all surprised by the refreshing rain.  As we sat comfortably in the jeep; our fun loving Korean pilot Leo, instructed his team to unravel the ginormous balloon.  His energetic team of locals stretched the nylon to it's full extent as several crew members turned on two industrial strength fans on full blast.  The sound was absolutely deafening as the balloon began to inflate.  The brightly colored balloon started to rise slowly, like a chocolate souffle in the oven.  Once the balloon was filled up to about a third of it's capacity, Leo calls us over to the large, brown, wicker basket.  It was large enough to hold seventeen enthusiastic riders, but today we numbered only eight, which made it even more intimate and enjoyable.  Us lucky few, gingerly crawled into the basket as it laid on it's side.  As we settled in, Leo gave us a quick run down of the safety instructions.  After we were clear on the do's and don'ts of riding in a hot air balloon, Leo and his crew conducted his last safety checks. How bizarre it was, to see a small Asian man, walking inside a kaleidoscope of colors as I am lying on my back, taking in the whole scene upside down. This is when Leo eagerly mounted the engine and blasted a large flame into the balloon. As this makeshift flamethrower spewed out red glowing fire, we could feel the intense heat. It was incredibly hot! Without the metallic heat shield above our heads, I am certain that my hair would easily have singed right off. This continued for a minute or two until the balloon was so large that it pulled the basket up right with an alarming jerk. We were actually flying, be it a mere three feet off of the ground, but we were still flying. The crew members scrambled to detach the ropes that were keeping us tethered to the ground and at that moment, we began to swiftly rise towards the heavens.

    The balloon gently glided in a southwest direction as we reached a relaxing 1,000 feet in elevation.  As we cruised at this altitude, everything appeared to be so inconceivably small.  Roads and rivers appeared as abstract line and we barley can make out a cape buffalo grazing along the grasslands.  But as you looked off into the distance, you can see how impressive The Masai Mara truly is.  Not only is this land extraordinarily large in size, about 750 sq. miles in length, but it is exceptionally beautiful.  With the sun rising gracefully above the grasslands, the whole scene takes on an almost ethereal quality, and quite simply took my breath away.  Several times, I had to remind myself that this was not a dream, and that I was actually here in Africa!  As we progressively glided along, Leo would descend to about 400 feet or so, in order to provide us with fresh perspectives of the land and it's amazing wildlife.  That day, we were fortunate enough to see zebras galloping at full speed across the Savannah, a herd of elephants feeding, and even a lone giraffe feasting at the top of a wooded hill. 

    After an hour and a half of extensive site seeing and photography, Leo began our decent back to earth and the reality it holds.  The ground seemed to be in an absolute hurry to meet up with us, as it accelerated towards us.  We quickly sit and brace ourselves for the landing as the basket finally makes contact with ground.  After a few bounces we come to a complete stop and Leo's crew members begin to tie down the balloon.  They have finally caught up with us after Leo radioed them our location about half an hour ago.  After some neat photo ops, the crew loads us up into the jeep and drives us down the road for about two-thirds of a mile.  Along the way, we stopped to watch a jackal cross the road.  This is a sobering reminder that we are still in the middle of the wilderness, and that the unexpected is around every corner.  After leaving our canine friend, we quickly arrive at breakfast.  As the crew was disassembling the balloon, another group was preparing breakfast for us.  To think that was were going to have bacon and omelets in the middle of nowhere.  This was so cool!  How could you ever top this morning?  That is when Leo pulls out a bottle of french champagne and uncorks it.  For my wife and me, this was a truly memorable experience, to have a champagne breakfast in the middle of The Masai Mara after riding in a hot air balloon.  How absolutely amazing, indeed!



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