Prima volta in volo in mongolfiera in Portogallo

Come with me during my first time flying in an air balloon in Portugal

The first documented flight of a hot air balloon without passengers in Europe was by a Portuguese engineer, Bartolomeu de Gusmão, in 1709 in Lisbon, who managed to launch a small air balloon about 4 meters above the ground in front of the court of King John V. It was instead in 1793 in France that the first flight with passengers took place.

It was the first opportunity for explorers to observe the world from above, like birds, but with much more uncertainty: at the mercy of the wind, although the pilot with skill could steer the direction of the balloon, one knew the point of departure but not exactly those of arrival. And that is still the case today.
I find it an old-fashioned romance.

For me, the first time on a hot air balloon was last week, in Portugal's Alentejo, where I flew over the Great Lake of the Alqueva Basin, one of the largest man-made lakes in Europe, more than 250 square kilometers, which allowed the development of agriculture in the area.

The silence of the day dawning before our eyes was interrupted only by the puffing of the burner that kept us suspended, in a wicker basket, between the earth and the sky, admiring the colors of nature changing with the light of the rising sun.

An entirely contemplative way of exploring that requires a good deal of trust in the wind, in the Archimedes principle, and in the talents of Guido, our pilot, especially during the dragged landing (no, there are no brakes, the basket impacts and crawls on the ground ????).

Thanks to Wind Passenger and Amorim Cork for this unforgettable experience!

#balloon #airballon #mongolfiera #visitportugal