Messing About In Balloons

We took off from the launch site at Glanworth Mill, Co. Cork. No seatbelts. No life jackets. No talk of emergency procedures. Nothing but our pilot's assurance that hot-air ballooning is the safest way to fly.

Safest and most unpredictable: Intermittently rising hundreds of feet and dropping almost low enough to brush the tallest treetops, we coasted toward the foothills of the Galtee Mountains, our final destination at the discretion of Mother Nature.

Below us, children stopped their play...cars drew to a standstill along the winding country roads...families came out from their homes--all captivated by the sight of our elegant craft. But the best views of all were to be enjoyed from our wayward basket: patchwork fields bordered by stone walls...still rivers...the ruins of an old Norman castle... frightened rabbits darting for cover...the red-gold sun sinking slowly behind the mountains. This was the Irish countryside at its best, shared by just a handful of like-minded adventurers.

We made our landing in an abandoned field, leaving a light trail in the overgrown grass. Having packed up the craft (all passengers lending a hand), our pilot cracked open a bottle of champagne to toast our first balloon experience.

Irish Balloon Flights operates chartered flights from nine launch sites around Ireland, in Counties Carlow, Cork, Meath, Sligo, Tipperary, Westmeath, and Wicklow. The flying season runs April through September. Advance booking is required and flights are weather dependent (your flight will be confirmed on the day of departure). Prices start from 190 euro ($230) per person. See http://www.balloons.ie/ for details.

Lynn Chestnutt For International Living