up up and a controlled crash landing...

cappadocia is one of the top hot air ballooning locations in the world...depending on the source they are ranked number one or number two (second only to kenya)...so it seemed to me that there was no better place to make a maiden voyage...

 unable to take pics of my balloon...i took pics of the other butterfly balloon...we went in to the canyons too...outrageous...

 at one point there were over 40 balloons in the air...magnificent!

 others landing

 it was so amazing to see the area from the sky...we flew over many of the sites visited earlier in the week...

 the color of the earth/rock is so amazing...was interesting to see it this way from the sky...

 as part of the pre-flight...we were told about the possibility of a controlled crash landing...i giggle as i type...this type of landing rarely happens...well i am a lucky girl!

 we hit the ground...bounced...bounced again...blew through a sea of rotten lemons in a field...bounced again and then came to a stop...on our side...this was taken between bounce two and three...i thought we were done...and then we went again...

 on the ground...captain mike took a pic before we got out....

 our landing spot

 champaign and cakes to celebrate our flight....

 the crew doing their thing...

loved it...loved it...loved it....even with the crash landing (truth be told it was a highlight)...

after a little nap and down time with the j-ps we made a quick visit to friend laura's house...what a treat...her home is being featured in the ny times...and rightly so...she has purchased 10-12 cave dwellings and have renovated them...they are an exclusive b&b...my mouth hit the floor many times on the tour...someday i will return to turkey and i will stay there...

at 6 pm we climbed the hill to crazy ali's shop...there was a mix up with the shuttle so we hung out for a little over an hour...crazy ali offered us grapefruit...i have to say that it was the best grapefruit i have ever eaten...EVER...a wonderful way to end time in turkey...sweet grapefruit and people watching from a bench in front of crazy ali's shop with people i love...

ahhhhhhhh this girl is so pleased with the adventure...so thankful for the opportunity...and ready for more...

kir