The Montgolfier Method

I've wanted to go on a balloon ride for a long, long time.

As a child, my favourite book was a novel called The 21 Balloons, that had belonged to my mother as a child herself. It was a sort of Arthur Conan Doyle-type adventure involving exploration, diamonds, the Krakatoa volcanic eruption and, yes, 21 hot air balloons.

Today, I finally got my chance, gently lifting off from the Sonoran desert and flying for a couple of hours above the breathtaking landscape before landing, just as gently, a few hours later. The 4am start didn't seem quite so early after a 30 year wait.