Friday 7th October

The alarm woke me at 4 a.m. prompt and I jumped out of bed to get ready, trying not to wake my poor hubby who was still in the land of nod!!  I gathered everything together, remembering to take a hat and scarf to protect my head and neck from the fierce heat of the burners.  I learned my lesson on my first flight after the chain of my necklace got so hot that it left me with a burn mark!!  I met Suzie and KV-Explorer on the front terrace at the hotel then it was off on the mini bus to be taken to the motor boat for the crossing over to the West bank.  It was very encouraging to see that there were a few boats doing the same crossing, so it looked like the flights were going to be busy.  The balloon pilot was with us in the boat and explained everything to us while we had our breakfast which consisted of coffee and cake.  It was a lovely clear morning as we saw dawn slowly break over the Nile as we crossed.

 We were then taken to the designated site where all the balloons take off where there was a definite air of excitement.  We watched as other balloons took off and floated into the air and then we watched our balloon being inflated

 

After the balloon was inflated, we all clambered aboard the basket for our flight.  We were one of either 10 or 11 balloons in the air that morning.  What a great sight it was!  All the flights appeared to be full, and certainly everyone in our balloon appeared to be having a great time.  I think there were approximately five people in each of the four compartments of the basket and the pilot took his time to show us the various sights below, and spun the balloon slowly round to make sure everyone had a good view.  The cameras were snapping ten to the dozen to capture the scene all around us!!  In fact, an elderly frail looking gentleman was helped into one of the baskets complete with his oxygen tank, so don't think having a disability of some sort would ever stop you from doing this sort of activity as they seem to bend over backwards to try and accommodate you.

It was so good to be able to see two of the places from the air that we were scheduled to visit the next day

Medinet Habu

Ramesseum

I lost track of time up there and have no idea how long we were in the air, although it must have been about an hour.  I could have stayed up there all day - and that's from someone who can't stand heights!!  I think I saw most of the views through the camera lens however, but I had a fantastic time and loved every minute of it.

Here are a few more photos (again though, there are loads more at http://community.webshots.com/user/marlscat )

Floating in the air

Donkeys in the field

One of the local ladies having a better look at us!

I think perhaps we might have woken her up!!

I took this to show the livestock, but actually took a shot of the toilet/shower room!!  Spot the soap and flannel on top of the wall!!

Local children running to meet us

Time to deflate the balloon

Getting the balloon deflated

Local farmers

We were soon back onto the mini buses to be taken to the motor boats to be ferried back to the East Bank - after giving tips to the ground grew of course!  We were discouraged however from giving any money or gifts to the children - who were really very persistent and a little more aggressive than I have ever seen before.

I spent the rest of the day sleeping and resting at the pool to re-charge my batteries for another highlight of the holiday - dinner at our friend El Shazley's house later that evening!!

We contacted a taxi driver that we had used before in Luxor - his name is 'Donny Osman' - what a character, but reliable and friendly and wow, has he slowed down a lot!!  He terrified us one time by driving up a one-way street the wrong way and he used to drive like a lunatic, but now he's calmed down and I think we had the slowest and most leisurely taxi ride that we've ever had in Luxor!!

On arrival at El Shazley's we were given a huge welcome as always and a feast to eat - the table was groaning under the weight

As always, the meal was delicious and we were all full to bursting!!  Family and friends all gathered around and many photos were taken before we headed off back to Luxor in the taxi with 'Donny'.  Here is a small selection of photos

The back yard

Family & friends

Family & friends

Alley from house to main street

The main street!  (the spots are dust particles caught by the camera flash)

The corner shop

So, after a busy day, it was back to the hotel for the nightly nightcap on the balcony before bed - another night where yet again I think I was asleep before my head hit the pillow!!!