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Dawn in the
Luberon
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The sun rises over the Luberon and
Gargas, outlining the contours of
a small Provençal village
nestled on the plaine. In a vast
field, a few people bustle about
around a strange vessel that's soon
going to sail through the air: the
600 m² of the baloon's canopy
rolls voluptuously out on the ground.
Eight stories of canvas, a height
of 25m, creating a volume of 3000m2,
a gigantesque lung which awaits the
first breath of air to come to life.
We are in the middle of the Calavon
valley, between the Luberon and the
Vaucluse mountains.
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There is no mistral wind, few electric
wires, few greenhouses. You couldn't
ask for a better spot for a flight
in a hot-air baloon. Jacques, former
businessman whose passion made him
convert to an aeronaut, has for over
fifteen years organized flights over
the valley. The canopy is ready; they
tie it to the gondola. The gondola
can accommodate 5 people and 5 bottles
of propane at 30 kg each to guarantee,
with complete peace of mind, an hour
and a half flight. The fan starts up,
the air slowly enters the baloon, which
little by little takes shape, helped
by budding Jules Vernes who themselves
will soon undertake their first flight.
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Our baloon, vessel of all hopes, opens
like a circus tent. Let Nature's show
begin!
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Before lighting the burner, the aeronaut
sends off a small helium baloon, a
necessary ritual to discern the the
wind's vagaries. "We fly with
the wind, at the same speed. Each flight
is an adventure and each is different.
We know where we take off from but
we can never know where we will land
because the conditions are never the
same" explains Jacques. Today,
we're surfing along a calm eastern
wind.
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| © Photos
: Camille Moirenc. Texte : Sandrine Moirenc |
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