Up, Up and Away
Sunday 21st September 2014
This morning everything runs smoothly. The balloons will fly at dawn, around 6am here. We are all ready for our 04:50 pickup. Because of yesterday's cancellation Charly and I will fly with Kapadokia Balloons and Karl-Heinz goes with our original company, Göreme Balloons.
After a simple breakfast we are bussed out to the take-off field where lots of balloons are preparing to fly.
It is still dark and blasts of flame spit noisily from burners as the balloons start to inflate. There are maybe 20 balloons at this set off point and it is an extraordinary sight. At first they take shape lying on their sides. Then as the hot air is directed into them there comes a point where they rise majestically to an upright position for all the world like giant beasts shrugging off sleep and lumbering to their feet.
Underneath hangs a basket, aluminium struts with thick leatherette padding, divided into five compartments. One is across the centre directly under the burner mechanism and contains four large gas bottles, and the pilot.
The other four compartments have room for five passengers each. Most are young Chinese girls, all giggles, with high tech cameras on sticks so they can take long distance selfies. Which they seem to do throughout most of the flight.
There are also a few Japanese couples, slightly older and more reserved.
We all clamber in and in the approaching dawn we are up and away. The flight last for about 80 minutes, high, low, high again then a slow descent for landing.
At the top of the first descent, at around 5,000 ft, the sun comes up over the distant mountain peaks. It is a truly glorious sight, one that will stay with me all my life.
We float serenely down and into one of the cave villages, below the level of the 'roofs', almost brushing the rocky sides.
All flights are at dawn and There are 70 or 80 balloons in the air all around us. Recep, the pilot, darts from left to right, making adjustments in height and direction, constantly on the look out for near-miss incidents.
I was in Göreme 4 or 5 years ago. I saw the balloons in the sky one morning, but I was on a tight budget and decided it was too expensive for me. I always regretted it and now I am putting that one right.
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We leave the Travellers Cave Pension at 10:30 and head along the D300 through Kayseri and Malatya to Elâzığ where we stay the night in the Mayd Otel, in a small street in the bustling centre.
It's all fast four-lane roads through the mountains, a very remote and empty landscape but for a few busy villages and small towns. There is little traffic and we complete around 500 kilometres in the day on the high Anatolian plain, with just a few breaks for fuel and the ubiquitous cay.
I go into the hotel and complete the negotiations. The hotel rises from the first floor, shops and cafés below. The room has three beds, big enough and with bathroom and shower. We are permitted to park the bikes in the corridor from the street. Breakfast included, the cost is 160 TL (£43.60) all in.
In the evening we stroll along to a nearby restaurant for köfte, spaghetti and kebab. After the meal the Turkish coffee is served in ornate sliver-plated cups, with water and Turkish delight. Delightful!
This morning everything runs smoothly. The balloons will fly at dawn, around 6am here. We are all ready for our 04:50 pickup. Because of yesterday's cancellation Charly and I will fly with Kapadokia Balloons and Karl-Heinz goes with our original company, Göreme Balloons.
After a simple breakfast we are bussed out to the take-off field where lots of balloons are preparing to fly.
 |
| Majestic sight |
 |
| Chocks away |
It is still dark and blasts of flame spit noisily from burners as the balloons start to inflate. There are maybe 20 balloons at this set off point and it is an extraordinary sight. At first they take shape lying on their sides. Then as the hot air is directed into them there comes a point where they rise majestically to an upright position for all the world like giant beasts shrugging off sleep and lumbering to their feet.
 |
| Looking down |
Underneath hangs a basket, aluminium struts with thick leatherette padding, divided into five compartments. One is across the centre directly under the burner mechanism and contains four large gas bottles, and the pilot.
The other four compartments have room for five passengers each. Most are young Chinese girls, all giggles, with high tech cameras on sticks so they can take long distance selfies. Which they seem to do throughout most of the flight.
 |
| Sunrise over Cappadocia |
There are also a few Japanese couples, slightly older and more reserved.
We all clamber in and in the approaching dawn we are up and away. The flight last for about 80 minutes, high, low, high again then a slow descent for landing.
At the top of the first descent, at around 5,000 ft, the sun comes up over the distant mountain peaks. It is a truly glorious sight, one that will stay with me all my life.
We float serenely down and into one of the cave villages, below the level of the 'roofs', almost brushing the rocky sides.
 |
| Down among the fairy chimneys |
 |
| And back up to 5000 ft |
All flights are at dawn and There are 70 or 80 balloons in the air all around us. Recep, the pilot, darts from left to right, making adjustments in height and direction, constantly on the look out for near-miss incidents.
I was in Göreme 4 or 5 years ago. I saw the balloons in the sky one morning, but I was on a tight budget and decided it was too expensive for me. I always regretted it and now I am putting that one right.
++++++++++
We leave the Travellers Cave Pension at 10:30 and head along the D300 through Kayseri and Malatya to Elâzığ where we stay the night in the Mayd Otel, in a small street in the bustling centre.
 |
| Long empty stretches through Anatolia |
 |
| Doing what comes naturally |
It's all fast four-lane roads through the mountains, a very remote and empty landscape but for a few busy villages and small towns. There is little traffic and we complete around 500 kilometres in the day on the high Anatolian plain, with just a few breaks for fuel and the ubiquitous cay.
I go into the hotel and complete the negotiations. The hotel rises from the first floor, shops and cafés below. The room has three beds, big enough and with bathroom and shower. We are permitted to park the bikes in the corridor from the street. Breakfast included, the cost is 160 TL (£43.60) all in.
 |
| Pass summit |
In the evening we stroll along to a nearby restaurant for köfte, spaghetti and kebab. After the meal the Turkish coffee is served in ornate sliver-plated cups, with water and Turkish delight. Delightful!
 |
| Lobby parking |
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| Silver coffee service NEXT POST |
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