The Old Candle Factory

Today I awoke at sunrise and looked out of my window at a female Gazelle delicately picking her way through the bush outside my room. A balloon floated past from THESE GUYS and I felt twangs of wanting to be up there with them. But yesterday I had simply the most perfect flight with a maasai warrior who had never been off the ground before - and to watch his reaction was such a privilege. He loved it - until I went low over trees by a river and he ducked down !! This connection is expensive so I'll end by telling you all I christened our new balloon by landing in trees/bushes that smelled of Eucalyptus but I think was more like sage. It was the last clearing before the Ngorogoro crater See above picture). I was SO SO tempted to continue on and down the 1000ft into the ancient crater but i would be fined many thousands of pounds, have the balloon impounded etc etc... so I landed in the trees. Pictures will follow of the day-long retrieve by Maasai muscle...BOY! I was exhausted by th...

Click on images for bigger size. The night beside the Indian Ocean was truly memorable and the sound of the waves so welcome to prepare me for the first balloon flight the next morning. All went and now everybody knows what their balloon looks like The local kids enjoyed it too of course! Last night we stayed in the Coffee House Hotel in Arusha in the heart of coffee growing country. Mmmmmm delicious. And today we are heading for the higher ground of the Serengeti near the Ngorogoro Crater. My first free flight is scheduled for sunrise tomorrow morning. The drive here was a long one and the side of the road provided a constant source of amazement at how people live here in Tanzania. There are endless stalls selling everything, and workshops promising to repair everything. ashops promising every service you could ever want. We have good careful drivers who have keep their wits about them. And last night we had one van modified for the difficult terrain ahead!! This will be the last blo...