27th November 2023
After my 40 days and nights in Bolivia, I was ready for some R&R by the pool in San Pedro. But not without first getting up at 4.00am the day after arriving and hot air-ballooning over the Atacama Desert at dawn.
The day promised to be clear and sunny and the dawn spectacular, so I was quite happy to make the effort. I was picked up by bus and after collecting some other passengers we drove out into the desert on the outskirts of town. One of the passengers, an English lady, was staying at the swanky resort to the east of San Pedro, so I got a glimpse of the good life on the way.
When we got to the site, the moon was setting and the two balloons were already being laid out. A picnic table had been set up with hot coffee, and we all piled out and poured ourselves one; the English lady saying oh no, I never drink coffee when I don't know where the water is from. A bit rude - the water had just boiled, but hey.
We were divided into two basket-sized groups and given our safety instructions. Pedro the balloonist asked where I came from and when I said Australia he said 'Ah, Australia. The balloons are much bigger there, because you have more room.' He was serious, and it was an odd comment; I don't think they are any bigger, and room doesn't seem to be an issue in the Atacama Desert. I let it go (the comment, not the balloon).
Unlike the English woman, who clearly had trouble letting go of stuff. She now asked for a cup of tea, but not tea made with local water, bottled water please. Someone donated their bottled water and it was boiled up for her. When the tea was delivered she said 'Oh sorry, no, I can't drink Tetley tea.' So using the remaining water they made her another tea, which she turned her nose up at, but drank a little.
I was sharing my basket with the pilot's girlfriend, a German couple from Bonn, and a Costa Rican couple who couldn't keep their hands off each other. During the flight when the Costa Ricans weren't pashing they asked the rest of us to take cute photos of them; they were so self-focussed I'm not sure if they were aware they were in a hot air balloon at all.
Pretty soon we took off. I've done this before, over Melbourne with my sister Katie, and I remembered how gentle it all was. No wind or breeze, because you're floating with the breeze. And in between blasts from the gas jet, complete silence.
At first we tracked North only a few meters above the ground. Pedro explained that the local farmers don't like the balloons going overhead and making noise, so he steers the balloons away from the farms at a low altitude for a few minutes.
Then we rose. Dawn was just breaking as we elevated slowly to a full kilometer above the ground. The only sound now was the heavy petting of the Costa Ricans.
Predictably, the sun struck Mount Licancabur first. Stunning. While it began to glow and cast shadows to the West, rays splayed out from another volcano on the Eastern side, over the only active volcano in the area, which was producing a small plume of smoke. Everything below was silhouetted in shadow.
When Pedro told us we had reached a full kilometer bove ground, the sun was above the eastern volcanoes and striking the famous 'Lunar' landscape just north of San Pedro, known as Moon Valley, as well as the massive mountain behind it, which glowed pink at first, then orange.
The German woman announced she was afraid of heights. Odd thing to do, ballooning, if you're afraid of heights, but at least her fear was now out in the open. Pedro diverted her (and the rest of us, except of course the Costa Ricans) with an Incan legend about the Atacama volcanoes. I can't remember all the details, but it went something like this:
Long ago, when the land was still new, Mount Licancabur grew to become the tallest volcano in the region (it still is). It fell in love with the mountain we could all now see glowing on the western horizon (context: Incans believed volcanoes are male, mountains are female). But its younger brother, one of the volcanoes we could see in the distance behind Licancabur, became jealous. (Younger brothers in these fables always cause trouble @AndrewPeck). The younger brother erupted and created a ridge between Licancabur and the mountain. Licancabur erupted right back at its younger brother, and for a while there was a total lava-fest all over the valley. So the father volcano - the huge one that is still active on the eastern horizon - decided neither volcano could have the mountain, and moved the mountain permanently to the west, to take a good look at herself and stay away from the boys. Both Licancabur and the mountain were devastated, they cried for 10 centuries, creating the salt lakes in the valley (which you can swim in on a fairly pricey day tour). However, at the winter equinox the rising sun is in the exactly correct position for Licancabur to cast a shadow that reaches all the way to the mountain, and for one dawn they are reunited. The Incans had a festival and celebrated that day, the one day a year when unrequited love is fulfilled.
We all reflected on the story in semi-silence (Costa Ricans were still at it), broken only when the German woman said: 'Will there be champagne at breakfast? I am allergic to champagne.'
So down we went. The sun was now filling the whole valley and warming everything up. Down below we got an excellent view of the farms. I'm not sure how that 'not going over the farms' thing works, as we were directly above them now. Our landing was soft, on a dune, and we didn't even need to brace. We jumped out and were given an opportunity to step inside the balloon itself as it deflated. Everyone did; the Costa Ricans asked us all to take cute photos of them, but no one did, we were over them now.
Breakfast was more a chatceuterie board than breakfast, but no one except the Englishwoman cared. We nibbled at the food, drank the champagne (well, almost all of us did), I attempted conversation with some Brazillians from the other basket, who really wanted to talk, but we couldn't break the language barrier.
Then we piled into the bus. The Costa Ricans were beside me. They instantly fell asleep and leaned all over me all the way back to San Pedro.
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