A heart in my mouth ride!
Namibia......5am on a freezing frost rimmed morning.
A holiday that I had dreamed of forever is coming true.
Dream holiday or not, I have to throw off my duvet and dress in every item of warm clothing that I have with me, pull a beanie down to my eyebrows and arrange my thick scarf to cover my nose. I am as trussed as a turkey ready to be roasted!
My husband is treating me to a trip of a lifetime. In my romantic dream however, the morning is balmy and my hair is supposed to be lifting slightly in the early morning breeze catching the rays of sun. In truth I am extremely cold and I even fear that my eyeballs might freeze in my head.
Nevertheless here we are on a wide piece of flat ground looking at the sad flat shape of the enormous balloon laid out . The scene is dominated by a large stout basket , I quickly adjust my vocabulary to call it a gondola. Long lines flop over the sides and snake up to the balloon shape.
It all looks hopeless really and I think there might be a problem.
But no, gradually our host, who looked so dashing on our arrival the previous night with a welcoming glass of sherry in his hand, gradually , with help from me believe it or not, aims a searing flame into the mouth of the flaccid balloon.
Before my entranced eyes the hot air begins to slowly fill the balloon.
It is magical and I feel like an excited child at Christmas as the balloon's belly swells with an enormous pregnancy. The roar of the flame intensifies until its stomach is fully distended and the brilliant rainbow colours are glowing from the fire still surging into the open mouth. Gradually it rises from its sleeping position like a sleepy giant until it hovers hugely and expectantly over the gondola.
Then I see that it is tethered to the ground and now is the moment I have been waiting for ...forever.
With my heart in my mouth, all cold forgotten, I am helped to scale the side of the thickly woven basket..... ooops, the gondola I mean. I feel quite safe as it takes me up to my armpits once I am standing inside it. The surge of adrenaline as we are untied by staff left behind to do the job, is one of the most astonishing things I've ever experienced. My husband was fully rewarded, he said afterwards, by the dancing fire in my eyes.
We soar up to heaven and even see the curvature of the earth below. The sea is a vast blue shine to the East. The fiery ball of the sun actually begins to thaw my face and I reflect its glow with my joy.
Our host shuts off the flame and exquisite silence descends, almost like another person in the gondola....a supernatural presence. I am captivated. I hug my husband and it is a superbly romantic moment, suspended in time.
We come down to the sand dunes of this mighty desert and see how the ice has made the ripples in the sand, beautiful. We touch down lightly and then rise with a roaring burst of flame and swoop up over the rim of the ancient, dormant crater of a volcano and once again I experience euphoria as the vast low valley of the crater is revealed.
We sail calmly hither and yon and then sadly it is time for us to land.
It is accomplished smoothly and the team who have driven to this destination in the middle of the red desert sand help me over the rim of the gondola and I stagger a little, mentally and physically, as I re adjust to my feet being back on terra firma.
Tables have been set up in this deserted and wonderful place. Long cloths of African print sweep the ground and the food is exquisite.....all French cuisine, each mouthful a culinary delight. The Red desert Larks trip us up looking for crumbs as our host invites us to a glass of champagne.
As the sun warms us he has removed many of his layers as we all have and with his African suede hat on his head, he once again is the attractive host who is sunburned and oozes the charm of Africa in the wild.
He takes a machete and holding the bottle of champagne firmly in his left hand he sweeps the blade around with a flourish and whips the top of the bottle off precisely.
The bubbles FIZZ and FROTH my glass to overflowing and before taking a sip,
I'm drunk on the atmosphere and happiness of the day that my dream came true.