AL ULA SKIES 2022
In late February, we had the unique opportunity to take part in the “Al Ula Skies 2022”, a balloon meeting hosted by the Royal Commission for Al Ula at Mada’in Saleh, Saudi Arabia. The balloon part was perfectly organised by Rien Jurg Promotions BV from the Netherlands – and so, exactly five years after our adventures in Tunisia, we set out on a new journey to the Arabian hemisphere.
Having sent our little balloon to geo – Die Luftwerker, the German partner of RJP, in advance, we ourselves flew from Munich via Qatar to Medinah. From there, we continued to Al Ula by bus, a first chance to get to know all the other teams attending the meet – 150 balloons from 25 countries!
The next day, it was all about preparations: We unpacked our balloon, rigged the basket and filled the cylinders. With all the balloons present, that meant that over 500 cylinders of propane had to be filled! The evening was spent in the fantastic scenery of the Shaden Resort Hotel with a nice opening dinner.
And then, the big day came – our first flight over Mada’in Saleh, to finally make all the efforts pay off! Words cannot describe the feeling to finally rise to the skies after all that build-up of tension. What a great accomplishment of all the organisers to make this happen. We were more than happy! =)
As we were really lucky with the weather, all four flights could take place as scheduled. Wind speeds and directions varied a bit every day, so we got to see different corners of Mada’in Saleh. The afternoons and evenings were spent with sightseeing, tethered flights and nighglows, one of them setting a new world record with 142 balloons!
In the end, after one week, we packed the balloons again and made our way back to Medinah, with countless unforgettable memories in our hearts, having met many friends old and new. Flying in other parts of the world, in a completely different scenery, just leaves you speechless – and oh so thankful!
So THANK YOU Miriam, Daan, Remko, Rien, Martijn, Willeke and all the others from Team RJP for this magical event. THANK YOU Team Showforce for all the support with loading the balloons. THANK YOU people of Al Ula for your great hospitality and help with retrieve. THANK YOU Hinnerk, Jörg, Michael & Sepp for your company and being our personal drivers ;-)
And of course THANK YOU to all our fans and friends for sharing this great experience. We’ll love to return!
