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We managed to get to Torres in daylight but almost as soon as we got off the main highway we hit traffic - a huge traffic jam all the way to the balloon park. Obviously this festival is extremely popular. We crawled along for at least 45 minutes. We could see on our GPS that we only had 2km to drive and we wanted to park either at a camp ground near to the park or in the park itself.
It looked like everyone else would also be looking for parking places and a lot of men on the side of the road were wildly waving their arms telling people to pull off and park for 10 R$. It looked like their "parking spaces" were just side streets, pieces of grass, or in front of company buildings. Did they even have the right to charge people? It was certainly a very good business for them!
Kirsten got out to walk the last 1km on foot – she would be faster than me driving! We arranged to meet at the next right hand corner where, hopefully, I could pull over and wait for her. I had to park illegally on the side of the road but no one seemed to care because the balloons were already starting to take off from the grounds!
20 minutes later Kirsten came back to say the place was unbelievably full and we have no chance of finding a parking spot at the moment. So she went off to take photos and videos and I stayed with Winnietwo. In the meantime other cars had also parked behind me. But no one was interested in issuing parking tickets or moving us all on so I stayed and watched all the balloons taking off.
It's not often I get the chance to see hot air balloons and rarely so close. Here at the balloon park I was closer than I'd ever been even though I was standing next to our motor home parked on a road just outside the park. A really great sight. I watched for 1.5 hours.
It was dark by the time Kirsten returned and there was still a stream of vehicles driving in and out. It was a bit chaotic so we waited until around 6-45pm, when most of the vehicles had left, and we could drive in and park up. There were several other motor homes already there and we could stay for free. Good job we hadn't pulled off from the traffic jam to pay for parking!
We climbed through a hole in the wire fence that Kirsten had discovered earlier and we were able to get really, really close!! A lot of balloons had already flown off but about 30 or so were either already blown up to their full size or in the process of being blown up.
It was a fantastic sight. Fire eating giants glowing in the dark! We had what looked like a singing chicken, a bull, a heart, a clown, along with all the "normal" shaped balloons in a spectrum of colours. All around us was the "whooshing" noise of the burners being used to keep the balloons up. We had to be careful wandering around as the balloons were tied to vehicles by heavy ropes to hold them in place.
I even got to sit on the side of one of the baskets for a photo. We were having a great time but the real show was yet to come. A loud speaker announced in Portuguese that this is the 30th balloon festival and that 65 balloons are taking part – a record. Then the "Night Glow" started. Loud music from the 80s had been played for most of the evening including a lot of Jean Michel Jarre and other French songs. I found out later that the main organiser is French. Well the first balloonists were the Montgolfier brothers from France in 1783.
The announcer started a countdown – 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 Aceite! Wow!! All the balloons blasting their burners to music. Great idea! Great show! Watch the video below!
Balloon Festival - Part 1 - Night Glow
Unfortunately that was also the end of the evenings entertainment so we reluctantly left and went to the food court for two home made burgers. No fries though because they'd run out!! There were hundreds of people there and we had to wait to get chairs and eventually got a table aswell! We got back to Winnietwo at around 9pm to work on photos/videos and write the diary.
It was midnight before we got to bed but we couldn't sleep because loud music was being played on one of the stages. We could hear the sounds of girls screaming along with the thumping bass noises but didn't recognise the music. Maybe it was a Brazilian band only famous in this country. They didn't finish playing until 1am.
We were woken up at 7am the next morning – lots of cars arriving. Kirsten got quickly dressed and went out to take a look. The first balloons were already coming in! No time for a cup of tea! We both had to dash out to go and watch. We crawled through the wire fence again and I got to see the balloon grounds for the first time in daylight.
A large field was surrounded by a wire fence and on one end there were several stands outside the fence that were already full. I couldn't believe how many people were lined up around the fence to watch. We, of course, were right in the thick of it. Apparently you need a special ticket to get inside and there is a security gate! I didn't even know that but now it was too late. We were already inside, as we had been last night!
There was a large X on the ground and just before it, a post with a large key hanging from it. It seemed that the balloons had to get close enough so they could throw a weighted ribbon at the X. The distance from the X would be measured and added up for each balloon over a total of seven races. The winner would be the team that had the least accumulated distance from the X.
Sounds easy right? Wrong!! We could see balloons coming in, some were heading for the field but others were way off to one side and wouldn't get anywhere close to us. They ended up flying behind blocks of flats and looking for somewhere else to land!
Balloons can't steer but they can go up and down to catch the various wind speeds at different heights. From a distance it looks like they are just bobbing up and down. We soon realised just how difficult it is to get close to the X.
One balloon clipped the top of a tree with its basket; another nearly hit the "Claro" advertising balloon that was "parked" and stationary in the field but well away from the X; another nearly hit one of the buildings at the side of the field; and yet another nearly ended up in the stands! But those were the ones that actually got quite close. Lots of balloons had been blown too far away and wouldn't be scoring today.
Some of the balloons banged down really hard on the ground to land and we watched the landing crews jump onto the baskets to hold them down. They must end up with a lot of big bruises! Once the competition had finished we went to talk to one lady who was measuring the distances from the ribbon to the X. Today’s winner was only 7cm from the centre!! Wow! That's pretty darn good!
She told us that the teams meet at 3-30am and the wind speed and direction are measured which determine the start and landing points for that days race. Test balloons are also used. At 6-30am the teams are already in place to start getting the balloons blown up.
Balloon Festival - Part 2 - Balloon competition in the balloon park
Along with hundreds of other spectators, we really enjoyed watching the competition and stayed to watch the teams rolling up the balloons and packing them away. By 9am everything was over so we went to look around the stands. There was a roaring breakfast trade going on and lots of stands selling cheeses, salami, orchids, handicrafts etc. It is certainly a very popular event.
At the information tent we tried to find out the competition standings but the leader board only listed the name of the pilot. We only knew some of the numbers that were attached to the baskets along with the names on the balloons so the list didn't tell us much.
There had already been several competitions but we'd only managed to get here the day before. There was supposed to be one last competition on the following day but rain was forecast so we weren't sure whether it would take place or not. We also found out that there would be another Night Glow that night but it would take place on the beach at Praia Grande 7km away. So we decided to pack up already and drive over there.
When we got back to Winnietwo we spoke to our neighbours Chris and Angie from Switzerland who had met a balloon team a few days ago at a canyon not far from Torres. They were getting insider information and could also join in some of the activities and meetings that the rest of the visitors can't get to see.
We left to check out a campground that was near the beach where the Night Glow was to take place. There were several motor homes parked there but the gate was locked. We would need to phone up the owner who would come over to give us an electronic gate opener and take our money from us. There didn't seem to be any bathrooms or showers there and one of the campers told us that its for self contained vehicles and costs between 60 and 80 $R ($20 -$25 US) per night. Not exactly what we were looking for. So we drove around the corner and found a nice quiet spot on a side street parallel to the beach.
After a late breakfast we went on a 4 hour walk along the promenade and then up to the "Torres" (towers) for which the town is named. They are a set of volcanic basalt rock pinnacles formed when the two continents of South America and Africa parted. We needed to climb 126 and 118 steps to get to two different viewpoints on the tops. We could see the beaches stretching for miles in both directions. Well, Brazil has 7,000km (4,350 miles) of beaches!
It was also extremely windy which is not exactly balloon weather but maybe the wind would die down later in the day. On our way back along the promenade we saw a woman eating a plate of fish and chips at one of the many restaurants. The food looked so good that we decided to order the same thing.
The fish was called Anjo and tasted really good, the breadcrumb batter was also delicious. Our food came with a fried egg, beans, rice and salad. We were so full that when we saw a man preparing a bowl of Açai ice cream with all the trimmings further along the promenade, we had to give the dessert a miss. Darn! It looked absolutely wonderful! It came with strawberries, bananas, custard, muesli, biscuits, chocolate sauce and white cream sauce!! All for 20 $R (about $7 US) but big enough to share. We'd have to leave that treat for later!
Beach life in Torres
But we never got our treat because the wind didn't die down and at 6-30pm we drove to the spot on the beach where we thought the Night Glow would take place. Nothing! Lots of people were milling around but there wasn't a balloon or balloon truck in sight. So we drove back to the balloon park and arrived just in time to see some balloon trucks driving around the field firing their burners to loud music but no balloons in sight. By the time we'd parked up they had already driven off – probably on their way to the beach to do the same thing so that the crowds had at least something to see.
We walked down to the information tent and found out that the Night Glow had been cancelled because of high wind. If it rained tomorrow the final competition would be cancelled but we wouldn't find out until the morning ... very early in the morning! We spoke to Angie and Chris again. They had also been to the beach but had returned to the balloon park when they found out it had been cancelled.
We went to bed early at 10-45 pm but the loud music started up only 45 minutes later! It was even louder than the night before. Not much sleep again tonight then. I tell you – ballooning is exhausting!!!
We got woken up at 6am the next morning by really loud whooshing noises - a balloon truck was setting off his burners right next to us. Lots of trucks and cars were driving past us so we knew something was going on but it was still dark. Plus, if the balloons were going to land here then they would have been setting off elsewhere hours ago so why is a balloon truck here?
Kirsten needed to go to the toilet anyway so she got up and then the alarm went off. She looked out the window and saw lots of balloon trucks. It didn't make sense unless there had been a change of plans so Kirsten went out to ask. She was told that the final competition was already underway but the balloons were neither setting off or landing at the balloon park. She didn't understand the landing location so she fetched our GPS and the crew man showed her the landing area – only 3km from where we were.
She ran to Chris and Angie to tell them where it would take place whilst I made us cups of tea. Then we quickly packed up and left for the landing area which was mostly on a gravel/sandy road. We took our full tea cups in the front with us for the drive and Chris followed behind. Unfortunately Angie wasn't feeling well and stayed in their motor home but Chris parked behind us and we went out to watch.
The balloons were already in the air and we could see the large cross in a rough field full of large tufts of grass – not easy to walk on. So we stayed on the gravel/sandy road and watched all the balloons approaching. At this site there were no high rise buildings in the way so we could see for miles. More and more balloons appeared above the palm trees heading right for us. What a wonderful sight!
Word must have got out because lots and lots of cars started arriving. It was only a narrow road so we were glad we'd got here straight away to get a parking spot. The drivers weren't taking a great deal of care and we saw a lot of near misses – someone nearly drove into an opening car door and wing mirrors were definitely in danger of being hit.
It was getting a bit chaotic and hectic and there didn't seem to be any officials here. We were standing on a small grass verge trying to watch the balloons and behind us was a lot of horn blowing and shouting, especially when all the balloon trucks came racing down the road. They had to get to the landing sight to help catch the balloons as they landed. Pure chaos. We had to be really careful.
Several balloons were way off and wouldn't be able to get anywhere close to the field. But a surprising number seemed to be right on target. Most flew directly over our heads!! We were right in the thick of it again and lots of action to see.
Several balloons managed to throw their markers really close to the X and some threw them right on top of it. It was quite a drama to watch. One balloon caused a real scare. The pilot was coming in at quite an angle and the burners' flames hit the sides of the balloon and it caught fire!! We were all shouting, but the pilot had his sights firmly on the X and probably thought we were cheering him on! Shouts of "Fogo, fogo" and even my shout of "Feuer" (Fire in German) didn't do much good!
The sides of the balloon were rapidly catching fire but fortunately he didn't have far to go to land and then they put the flames out, averting a disaster. The fire had made quite a hole in the side but at least the whole thing didn't go up in flames.
Only a few minutes later another balloon came in too low right above us and the basket got stuck in the overhead power lines!! We were all shouting again but the pilot didn't react. There were sparks when two of the lines touched! The balloon seemed to stop mid-air and we all started running away, thinking the whole balloon was going to come crashing down on us!! But the basket was just held up for a few seconds and then bounced over the power lines and continued. Phew!
Yet another balloon was a bit too far to the right and the pilot was hanging over the side, marker in hand and started slinging it over his head to get more power into his throw. He let go at the wrong time though – the marker got caught in the balloons wires!! There was a collective "Uuhhhh" of disappointment from the crowd! But he got it untangled and managed to throw it on his second attempt.
I noticed that I started seeing the same balloons coming towards us again and we found out that they have a window of time. For that morning's race they had until 9am to throw their markers so those balloons that had been too far off on their first attempt could land and then get back to the start point for a second attempt. No wonder all the balloon trucks were driving like crazy!!
I asked Kirsten if she had everything on video. When I mentioned the one on fire she didn't know what I was talking about! "What??!!" "There was a balloon on fire?" Oh boy! That lead to a frantic search through the videos she'd taken whilst I told her what colour and the name of the balloon.
Believe it or not but she'd actually got the whole thing on video but obviously didn't realise the balloon was on fire. Once it had landed she made a bored sounding comment - "Well, that didn't go to plan did it!" She meant the marker throwing, not the fire! We killed ourselves laughing at her comment for days afterwards!
I could tell she hadn't seen the fire because the video was very steady, no wobbling or panicky movements. But at least she'd recorded it. Unbelievable!
We spoke to Lucas Hoffmann from Team Monte Bello. His brother is the pilot and is in 16th place. He won the World Championship in Poland last year!! He also told us that there was no prize for the winner – we had thought they would win a balloon truck. No, they were competing for the honour!
The actual winner was Team RedeFurnas (large red, white and blue stripes) and the winning balloon truck sped past us, horns blaring, and everyone cheering. They drove off to do a celebration run around Torres.
Balloon Festival - Part 3 - Final competition with lots of drama
It had been another super morning. We were so glad we'd stayed overnight back at the balloon park instead of returning to the beach. We would have missed all the action! And Winnietwo had also survived, no dents or missing mirrors! We happily drove back to the balloon park so we could have some breakfast. Chris came over to talk and managed to finagle a banana pancake from us!
We hung around to wait for the award ceremony at 2pm and a final balloon event at 4pm but we found out that the ceremony was only for the balloon crews and personnel and it started raining at noon. That meant there wouldn't be any more events. Thank God it hadn't rained earlier otherwise the whole day would have been cancelled.
Kirsten worked on the videos and managed to get one finished to give to Chris and Angie. We said goodbye to them in the rain and drove only 20km further to get WiFi at a petrol station. We wanted to watch the Champions League semi final, Real Madrid vs Bayern Munich but the station was also a very busy bus station so we missed the first two goals because all the passengers were using the bandwidth! Once the buses had left we got a better connection.
It ended up 2-2 but Bayern lost on aggregate so the final will be Real Madrid vs Liverpool in just over 3 weeks time. It was still raining and by the time the match finished it was already dark so we decided to stay for the night and head out in the morning.
