Third Time's the Charm

The Loire Valley is well known for two things: sprawling castles and amazing wine. We planned to take in both over the next two days. But first, we were going to take to the air. Several companies in the valley offer sunrise and sunset flights by hot air balloon, and we'd booked one to begin our next morning.

You drive out to the launch site, were you're invited to assist in the filling of the balloon, and then told to scramble into the basket when the time for liftoff comes.

Except this time... it didn't come. French class doesn't cover technical terms related to balloon travel, but you didn't need language to see what was wrong. Our pilot was pulling on a rope, but the flap at the very top of the balloon wasn't closing all the way to capture the heat inside. Something about a "knot" or a "valve" perhaps? Anyway... out of the balloon, everybody!

As the pilot and ground support staff deflated and re-inflated the balloon, we milled about near the two other groups of passengers with us. There was a group of six speaking such rapid French I couldn't possibly keep up. Then there was a group of four from Italy, with one woman who spoke English as their interpreter.

Soon, all 12 of us were told to get back in the basket: they were ready to try again. But once again, the troublesome flap wouldn't close! Was this today's "travel misfortune," that our one balloon out of a half dozen wasn't going to take off today?

Not to worry, we were told. They'd called in "the big boss," the owner of the company, who knew everything about these balloons and was sure to get to the bottom of the problem. But by the time he arrived on site (perhaps 10 minutes later), the team had figured everything out and reinflated the balloon a third time. And indeed, the third time was the charm. The "big boss" arrived just in time to confirm that everything looked good... and to then hop in the balloon with the pilot and accompany us on our voyage. It so happened he was trilingual -- from Italy, operating now in France, and also fluent in English. He was the perfect guide for the voyage.

It turned out that winds were perhaps a bit too calm that morning. We ultimately didn't travel very far. Still, even a simple up and down afforded us spectacular views of the area, including a look down at the Château de Chaumont-sur-Loire, a lovely sweep of the Loire River...

... and a "big boss"-snapped photo of the sun rising behind us.

If you've never ridden in a hot air balloon, but think to yourself "there's absolutely no way I could do that," know that it's nothing like flying in an airplane. There's absolutely no turbulence at all. The basket rises and drifts so gently that you truly aren't even aware of movement. I felt less vertigo than I do when looking out from atop a skyscraper (that you can sometimes feel swaying ever so slightly). I mean, if you simply cannot do heights, I hear you; but if you only think it sounds scary, I highly recommend choosing a picturesque spot somewhere, someday, and booking a memorable experience for yourself.