November 28, 2022 Turning 70

Another decade entered on November 16; the 8th.  Passed the big landmark birthday of 70.  No big parties, but I did cross something off my bucket list; hot air ballooning.  

The flight took place over Dambulla which is very close to my friends Simon and Pauline, so we stayed with them.  The we was my friend Lesley who agreed to come with me.  We had to be at the take off site for 0515 which meant we had to leave at 0400.  Everyone warned us that it would be cold up there, so we dressed in a bunch of layers which we promptly had do ditch.  Even with only 2 layers left on and long pants, it was too hot.

Waiting for the balloon to inflate.  Thankfully, I took my headlamp as it was pitch dark.  They advertised the flight with breakfast beforehand.  Who wants to eat at 0515 in the morning?  Plus, it was crap; jam sandwich, butter cake, a chocolate cookie and a banana.  I ate the banana and gave the rest to the 6 dogs that were hanging around.  PS:  the date on the camera was wrong.  It was 16/11/22.

Inflating the balloon

Looking straight up inside.

Lifting off.

Getting into the basket was a bit of a challenge.  There are a couple of toe holds that you use for your feet and you can pull yourself up using one of the crossbars.  Lesley got her leg caught and had a small problem, but I made it in okay.

Interestingly, the pilot and his assistant were Turkish.  Two of the Sri Lankan groundsmen could speak fluent Turkish.  They operate 3 balloon businesses; Tanzania, Sri Lanka and Turkey.  A truly international business.  

The other 5 passengers consisted of 4 Canadians from Toronto.  3 of them were returning Sri Lankans and one was a French guy who was the partner of one of the Sri Lankans.  There was also a lady and her son from Colombo.  The son spent most of the time looking at his phone.  What a waste!

We flew over Dambulla and Kandalama lake in a big circle, taking off from a school field and landing in an open courtyard around which some holiday cottages had been built.  The pilot was able to control the balloon much more than I had anticipated using ropes and the 3 different burners.

Kandalama Lake.  The thing suspended in the middle of the photo is a remote camera.

It was misty that early in the morning.  We were lucky that we even managed to go up.  They had had to cancel the flight the day before.  So we managed to get up on the actual day of my birthday.

As you can see, there is very little open space in which to land.

You can see the golden Buddha at the Dambulla cave temples in the middle through the mist.

Pictures taken with the remote camera proving that I really was there.  Very clear picture.

Singing me happy birthday 500 feet up.

Getting out of the basket was another matter.  The toe holds were still there, but no crossbar with which to pull yourself out.  One of the Toronto passengers who was clearly a weight lifter had to help lift both of us out.  Not too difficult in Lesley's case, but another story with me.  For a moment there, I thought I might not ever make it out.  I pointed out to the guys that they should have a small 2 step ladder for people to get in and out with.  They told me that they had never thought of it as we were the oldest passengers they had ever taken up.

The eagle has landed.

When we landed, we got champagne and cake and a certificate saying we had made the flight.  All together a good experience but once was enough.

Simon and Pauline pulled out all the stops.  Special treats like fabulous olives and cheese from Malta, a really good chocolate birthday cake, Tom Yum soup made with their own galangal and kefir lime, gallette and zabaglione to finish it all off.  I had not had zabaglione in over 40 years.  As good as it ever was.  Just by happenstance we had some biscotti that Deanne had brought to mahjong and Lesley found some dried strawberries that I reconstituted in marsala wine, mashed and mixed in with the whipping cream.  A decadent dessert. 

From left to right:  Lesley, Pauline, Simon, Pushparani, Roshan

I have joined the gang after swimming 146 laps in the pool, just over 1km.  I swam 144 the next day.  I calculate that 143 laps in their pool is 1 km.

While we were there, the male elephant that comes through their property quite regularly paid a visit.  He walked by right behind the villa in which I was staying.  He came through at night.  Pauline could hear him but I couldn't hear a thing even though we were standing less than 50 feet away.  In the morning, we checked out the area he had walked through.  Not a branch was broken.  So quiet and nimble.

The elephant's foot print.  You can see his toe prints as well.

The giant squirrel that Pauline saved is growing by leaps and bounds.  Turns out that he is a she.  I think the name Cyril will stick however.  They are going to build a big aviary type cage for her.  She would not survive in the wild on her own now.

I made the mistake of holding my finger to her nose a bit too long and she bit me.  She is growing some very sharp little teeth.  She is not vicious though and very affectionate.

On the home front, Chewy was due to go in to be spayed this last Sunday.  On Wednesday last, she went into heat, so no operation.  I had to isolate her until today as she was being seriously courted by both Sudhi and Fluffy.  She seems to be through it now, so I am just waiting for a date to take her in to the vet.