I arose at 05:00 hrs after only 4 hours sleep (due to excitement of the day ahead). We headed to the very posh Domaine Chandon Estate where we were safety briefed over coffee and croissants and signed our rights away before heading out to the launch site. I felt like an astronaut being driven to the shuttle as we were led to our respective balloons for take off.
Once in the “basket” the balloon was inflated and we sailed into the air on a gradual climb over the trees and to a height of around 1000 feet. It was really peaceful and we glided over the vineyards and estates of the Napa valley. It was STUNNING and the views of the sunrise over the mountains took my breath away.
The journey was made even more entertaining due to the continued ignorance of some of the American passengers – to quote after seeing a balloon descending and then hovering at tree height for the passengers to take some pictures – “hey is that balloon crashing, it can’t get over that tree”. The pilot cooly responded "yes it's out of control but luckily they are getting pictures of the tree tops as it goes down". “How fast can you get this thing to go?” The pilot dryly replied “well that depends on how fast the wind is travelling”.
In total we travelled for 7 miles at a height of around 1800 feet in formation with the other balloons. The views of the well manicured vineyards and wine estates were spectacular and my trigger finger was hammering the shutter of my camera. I learnt that at different heights the wind blows in different directions so the height you travel at depends on the direction you wish to travel. Also the cost of the balloon is $100 000 and lasts for only 500 hours of ballooning!
Landing was really smooth and I have not shut up about how good it was all day!!
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