Paying it forward in a small world...

It was just a few hours after I was staring down a Cape Buffalo that I was VERY carefully emerging from my tent to set off on the next adventure…safari via hot air balloon.

I am no stranger to the sport of hot air ballooning after a blissful morning floating over the Valley of the Kings in Egypt so I felt like a bit of an expert as we arrived at the launch site. Hmmm I guess there are differences in ballooning. This operation seemed to be a bit more…organized then my Luxor trip. For one thing there was a safety briefing; followed by a systematic approach to loading the balloon – well more orderly then the “get in NOW” Egyptian method.

So Leila and I crawled down into the basket (the basket is loaded on its side) and waited until the right combination of hot and cold air caused our massive balloon to slowly lift up to the dawn skies. It is an odd feeling to be lying on the ground and then slowly levitate to an upright position but any squeamish feeling dissipate as soon as you look down and see a surprised Hyena glancing back at you.

Other than the occasional noise from the balloon burner, the Serengeti was quiet – until we drifted nearby. Then the frantic sounds of fleeing antelope could be heard from our place in the sky as they scattered in a completely random and chaotic pattern. The zebras and hippos seemed to be less terrified of the floating globe and gave us more of a glance, while the lion seemed actually annoyed that we momentarily blocked out his sun.

The ride passed much too fast thanks to some speedy winds and we crashed down in a field just a minute or so after spotting lions from the air. My balloon was the first of three to land and the only one that managed to stay upright! We enjoyed an après adventure glass of champagne before our gourmet breakfast – a nice change from our normal camping breakfasts.

I foolishly did not bring my wallet and therefore when there was the opportunity to purchase souvenirs I was at a loss. I borrowed a few shillings from a friend but found myself a dollar short when my “animals of the Serengeti” guide book was rang up. An arm shot out with the missing dollar and I quickly snatched it up without looking at the donor. When I turned to reassure the benefactor that I would repay them as soon as we returned to camp, I was shocked to see a stranger.

She just smiled, told me not to worry about it and to ‘pay it forward’. We chatted for a few minutes and in a truly small world moment we discovered that we live 10 miles from each other in Seattle, WA. Neat eh?

So in an effort to match the kindness of this nice women…I ask you all to ‘pay it forward’…buy a stranger’s coffee, give an unexpected compliment or donate a dollar… any good deed that will put a smile on a stranger’s face – just like mine that early morning on the Serengeti.