3rd April: Hot air balloon 700 metres above Cappadocia

Our morning started early with the 5 a.m. call to prayer from the nearby mosque. A rather unconventional but efficient alarm; since the windows were far from sound proof, it was very loud. Up and out quickly, we were ready for the minibus to take us to the hot air balloon agency's HQ for breakfast. The buffet was good and plentiful, but we were not particularly hungry that early in the morning. In addition, the excitement was combined with a slight apprehension (at least for me; you'll have to ask John whether he was nervous).

Fifteen minutes later, the minibus drove us to our balloon. The staff had just started laying the balloon out on the ground so we were able to follow the full process, which took only 10 minutes. First, they blew air with powerful ventilators to expand it, and then used hot air to straighten it up and raise it from the ground. Once the balloon was up, and safely tied to the basket, we hopped in (3 people in each of the four compartments). We had been upgraded to a "King" flight, meaning that there would only be 12 people in the basket instead of 16, and that the flight would last for approximately 90 minutes.

Preparing for take-off

Ready to go

The flame roared up into the balloon as we rose smoothly from the ground to an altitude of a couple of hundred meters and joined the other sixty or so balloons. So far so good. Our attention was focused on the awe-inspiring scenery, the sun rising over the fairy chimneys, and the colourful balloons.

Setting off

Emerging from the valley

Rising sun over Goreme and Uchisar

Love valley and the shadows of many balloons

The other travellers were friendly; we shared our little compartment with a lovely Australian lady, while next to us were an enthusiastic Cuban couple and a fun Chinese girl. On the other side of the pilot was a couple from Sao Paulo and some very discreet Scandinavians.

The jumbo basket of a neighbouring balloon

We rose above the valleys and enjoyed the magnificent view of the area surrounding Goreme: the distinctive rock citadel overlooking Uchisar, the carved-out cliffs over Cavusin, and the town of Nevsehir in the distance. Our pilot then took us down closer to the rock formations in the Rose Valley, and even managed to show us the details of paintings on a door carved in the rock. At this point we were quite close to the ground and to the various chimneys. We recognised the paths where we had been walking the previous day. The flames poured up again and we started to rise back out of the valley, and beyond.

Don't look down

Dipping down into the valley

Almost touching the valley

Peek-a-boo

Down in the valley

Windows in the rock

Our shadow as we climbed back out of the valley

We then steadily gained some altitude so as to be able to enjoy the panorama, as well as to catch the wind (which varies by altitude, we learned). We first reached 1300 feet, which offered an impressive view over the reliefs of the valley. We could hear the bursts of flame continuing above us, and could see that the relief was getting smaller and smaller. The pilot finally announced that we had reached 2300 feet, around 700 metres. By this point we could clearly see the whole region of Cappadocia and in particular Erciyes volcano, one of those responsible for the creation of the magical landscape.

Rose Valley

Looking back over Goreme

Erciyes volcano in the distance

As most of the other balloons started to land, we rose above the high plateau beneath which we had walked the previous day. At the time, it had looked pretty high to us, but it was now a detail in the scenery. The sun was shining on us, and the experience was mesmerising.

Rising above the plateau

Other volcanoes that helped to create this landscape

Goreme and beyond

Flying high in the sunshine

The path we hiked the previous day

Above the plateau

Let's go higher

Ludicrously high

The pilot had a great sense of humour, and remarked with a smile that he had forgotten to ask if anybody was afraid of heights. He then told us the story of a man who was so scared that he had spent the whole flight sitting in the basket holding his wife's hand. Well, at least I was not quite that bad; I was still standing, trying my best to look in the distance and to avoid looking down.

He explained that he normally would not go quite so high but that today it was necessary to catch a stronger wind to cross the plateau. The wind up there measured at 27 km/h, but it felt very gentle. After a little while (maybe only ten minutes or so, but it seemed longer to me) he announced that we would be landing in 10 to 15 minutes. The time had passed quickly and I would have enjoyed flying longer, albeit slightly closer to the ground.

Spot the landed balloon ...

... yes, that one

We made our way down gradually, enjoying the last few minutes of spectacular scenery. As we got closer to the ground we saw another balloon landing and heard people screaming (or shouting) as it bounced on the floor twice. Hoping our landing would be smoother, we grabbed the ropes in front of us in the basket and bent our knees. Our landing was indeed much smoother, although we did bob up and down a few times before the basket settled on the ground. The "crew", who had driven to our landing spot, tied a rope to the basket and pulled us onto the trailer so that we could climb out.

Another balloon landing just before us

About to touch down

Another balloon being loaded onto a trailer

Crew pulling down the balloon

Our pilot explained that it is a tradition to honour the Montgolfier brothers by enjoying a glass of champagne after a successful flight. The sparkling wine (not Champagne, of course, but I refrained from correctly him) was produced locally and was quite nice, even at 8:30 a.m. We were also given medals, and I won the "award" for the bravest passenger (the pilot definitely had a great sense of humour).

"Champagne" to celebrate a safe landing

We were then taken back to our hotel, where we enjoyed our second breakfast. We relaxed for an hour or two before going out for a walk in the Zemi Valley, just outside of Goreme. The scenery was again magnificent, although we had to navigate a path that was rather sodden from the melted snow. With the sun blazing down, you would never have guessed that the valley was covered in snow not long ago. At the entrance to the valley we met a friendly puppy who followed us for the entire two-hour walk and with whom I could not resist sharing part of our picnic.

Hoodoos on the way to the valley

El Nazar Church, just before we reached the valley

Frescoes inside the church

Entering Zemi Valley

Through the valley

Our new friend stops for a rest

Hoodoos that are still inhabited

More phallic protrusions

View over Cappadocia

View over Goreme

A late riser

Back at the hotel, we gathered some energy before leaving an hour later for a short walk up to a lookout for sunset. We found a little cafe with a great view over Goreme and celebrated with a beer. It was BBQ evening at the hotel and we enjoyed a very tasty dinner while sharing a table with a friendly American-Canadian couple, who taught in the American school in Madrid.