Being higher than the clouds – a Serendipity Adventures hot-air balloon flight

Another part of our fascinating trip brought us the adventure of a hot-air balloonflight.

As sunrise is the best time for ballooning in Costa Rica, we had to get up very early, our trip started at 5.15am.

Before the big adventure started, there was some work to do for the Serendipity staff. It was astonishing that the huge balloon envelope arrived in a quite small bag. Then, the envelope got stretched on the floor and we got a first impression of its size (see photo).

After that, we started to inflate the balloon envelope. This is a process of about 15 minutes in which a big balloon inflation fan blows air into the envelope. Once it has reached its required size, our pilot, Esteban, started to blow gas to obtain the right pressure. When this had been done, the balloon envelope started to rise up from the ground. 

At this point, we were allowed to jump into the balloon’s basket. First, it seemed to be a little bit challenging, but even our guests, a retired couple from Sao Paulo, Brazil, had no problems to enter the basket. With six persons, the basket was nearly filled up. Then, our pilot started to blow gas into the envelope and our journey finally started. 

 

I was quite surprised in which altitudes such a balloon rises. We went up so high that the clouds were beneath us. Up in the air, there were so many things to see! All the time, we had a great view on the famous Arenal Volcano afar. One of the highlights of the trip was when Esteban let the balloon decline and we were just on top of the rainforest. There we could hear the mystical and fascinating sounds of the jungle, especially the shouts of the howler monkeys. Actually, we either saw them climbing and hanging on the trees. What a gorgeous moment! 

Our whole flight was accompanied by interesting information and stories by Esteban. It seemed if he would know anything about Costa Rica and its nature.

Unfortunately, after about one hour on the air our flight came to its end. Esteban’s advice to hold on had to be taken literally because the landing was quite rough, very close to a river. However, I think this was an unforgettable part of the adventure, too!

Repacking the envelope of the balloon was not as exhausting as the inflation. After some work the whole stuff was back on the truck and everyone was just satisfied and impressed by another Serendipity adventure!