On June 25th, Rich and I got up before the sun and took a ride with 12 others from our group to a launch site for some of the largest hot air balloons on the planet. These baskets (gondolas) carry 16 passengers and a pilot. They are huge! There are four compartments for four people each and you are tethered into the hot air balloon by a seat belt around your waist with a cord attached to the basket. You are able to move around freely, but you supposedly can’t fall out. Rich and I, having gone to college in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where the annual balloon fiesta happens every October, have both been in hot air balloons before. These balloons are so big, and with such a big basket, that the riders start laying flat on their backs on a chair and holding onto built in loops on the sides. That is how you take off and land. It is like being on a spaceship. We watched the sun come up and then watched the animals and camps from above. Our pilot, Rosa, is the only female hot air balloon pilot in Tanzania. She is originally from Barcelona, and she is a spit fire! She speaks Spanish, English, French, Swahili, and Arabic to name a few. We were in the air for about 90 minutes, and she even served coffee to those who wanted some. After we landed, she told the story of how hot air ballooning started and shared a toast with all of us with champagne. Rich caught the cork, which is supposed to bring good luck. We were then bussed to a large, tented area for a big English breakfast. The native Tanzanians who were the chase crews sang and danced for us, as seems to be the custom anywhere you go in the region. There was about 30 mongoose who came up to the tent expecting the scraps. A tiny bird landed on the table and helped himself to part of my muffin. This was such a magical ride….to see the Serengeti from the open air in a hot air balloon. It was so quiet and still. I would 100% recommend it!
Messina Musings 
That is SO cool! You are very brave!
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