Day 4 – Tuesday 12 May.

I didn’t have the greatest sleep last night, sleeping lightly as I didn’t want to sleep in. We were picked up promptly at 4:25am and went to the wait point just out of town. This is common and you wait for the all clear from the authorities that it is ok to fly. After half an hour we were told, they were not sure, and would give it a further 15 minutes before making final call.

We struck up conversation with a Canadian couple sitting behind us and the female pointed out a flag on a pole outside the window. She had been watching it whilst we waiting and observed it still, to then waving, then still again….We really were on tender hooks and the longer it took, the more the flag gently moved back and forth, I felt it was saying, “no, not today sorry”.

Then I observed a few vans taking off at haste. Could it be happening? Our driver came back and said we ‘go’. Yay! All the anxiety I had about actually flying in a balloon was quickly superseded by relief and delight that we were actually going to experience this bucket list item.

We got taken to the departure place and saw the balloons in various stages of inflation waiting in the sunrise. We were given a ladder to get up in the basket but it required a bit of help to get your leg over to be able to drop into it. A nice English lady helped me – of similar age, aiding a less than graceful entry.

After a brief talk from our pilot that included landing positions, a final rush of flame with its characteristic sound like a whale breathing we were airborne. How can I describe the flight?

There was excitement from the passengers then silence in awe as the rising sun illuminated the hazy landscape below. Other balloons seemed to hang suspended and yet move effortlessly and quickly by. It seemed so natural to be there in the sky rising and descending, peaceful and exhilarating. I said to Vernon if I am ever blessed to be lucid at time of my demise, I will meditate on this feeling – peace and rising. I think this is what the passage to the spiritual world will be.

I am not intending to be morbid, the opposite really! All I can add is that we absolutely loved it. The scenery was beautiful, but the experience topped that. It was amazing and we feel so blessed we did it.

After that, I wondered what on earth could beat that for the rest of the day, or our time here. We got delivered back to the hotel in time for breakfast and then chose to go to the open air museum and not waste the rest of the day. In hindsight we should have waited till cooler in the day.

It is steep, hot down in valley and for both of us not that interesting. It is basically a group of early churches carved into rock and fairy hills. No photos inside allowed, (I may have snuck a couple) and the best church (dark church) requires an extra fee…. It is not mobility friendly and was very hard on my knee with multiple steps and steep areas, especially as we did not access it via its direct entrance which appeared closed off.

Pleased we went but felt it was not good value for money (36nzd each), and would not rate it as a must see unless you are very interested in a lot of old 2nd century early Christian rock churches. On the way to the car park at the top there are some vendors selling drinks, souvenirs etc. One man had an assortment of dry fruit and nuts which he insisted we sample. He had dried apricot kernels, pumpkin and sunflower seeds, walnuts, mulberries, apricots, figs to name a few in the mix. I would have bought some had he eftpos as they were delicious. About 10nzd a nice 200gr bag.

We arrived back into town about 4 pm, and as we had not had lunch we didn’t go home, but opted to wander around and stopped for a cuppa at a cafe. We tried some pistachio baklava and a special Turkish rice pudding which provided us with a free expresso. The baklava was yuk – just too sweet and not that fresh imo, however the rice pudding was delicious – like a cross between a Spanish and French crème caramel dessert and rice pudding. It has a nice dark syrup on top, may have been a pomegranate?

Then we walked more, this time up a steep hill via windy narrow lanes dodging cars that barely made it through. We had entered the ‘cave hotel’ area full of 5 star and not so 5 star cave hotels and the home of a Michelin restaurant called Seten. I had great expectations that were not met by a long shot.

It was a magic view, but the food grossly overrated. We had a 10 hour slow cooked beef ribs and a special stuffed vegetable one. Small portion, vege missing on beef ribs, cost us 98nzd no alcohol – just sparkling water to share. Ah well you win some and loose some. This was the latter. For the walk home we took an easier route on the other side of the cliff and enjoyed the fabulous views in the golden light. We even saw a large electric blue beetle on the way.

Goreme reminds us of other places like Matera, Italy. One other interesting thing here is the cats and dogs that roam everywhere, navigating traffic with ease and checking out the night life. Some are better cared for than others, and they don’t seem to bother anyone or get into fights. There seems a social code all of their own.

Back at the hotel we were very excited to go to bed for the first time since leaving home with no early start in the morning!