Sossusvlei

Well, what can we say about Sossusvlei? Our last new place on our road trip around Namibia, it was to be the site where we would relax for three days and marry in a balloon. However, the only hitch (so to speak), was that somehow, perhaps after their general manager went on vacation, they forgot about our plans by the time we reached the lodge. At first, we were a little distraught, but with a tip from a smart and sympathetic staff member, Juliet, we were able to arrange a last-minute booking at the mysterious Wolvedans resort two hours down the road, where they promised us a honeymoon desert cottage and the ability to put a wedding together overnight.

So, with a night and a morning to kill before we headed to Wolvedans to see what we would see, we decided to catch the dawn balloon ride anyway, albeit in ordinary clothes.

Mark's first hot-air balloon ride, and despite having to crawl up and into the basket in a most undignified manner, he was grinning like a giddy little kid.

Our partner balloon, in the distance. No air-traffic control problems here--nothing but balloons and birds. No powerlines, no cellphone towers, no paved roads or towns belows us. Just the Namib and us, rising and sinking above it as the sun climbed.