The bottom line of the invitation said it all; "Remember this event’s motto is: Ballooning is not just a sport, It’s an adventure!" And what an adventure it would be. Fifteen hot air balloons, pilots and crews from Texas were to journey to Monterrey, Mexico to stage a four day balloon festival, the Festival del Sol, or Festival of the Sun.

The occasion was the City of Monterrey’s 400th anniversary. The festival was the idea of a group of Monterrey young people led by Ericka Rodriguez and Raul Maciel, a sort of task force if you will, working in conjunction with the Mayor’s office to create events for the youth of Monterrey. Indeed the group’s name, Monterrey Joven (pronounced ho-ven) translated means Monterrey Youth. Steve Lombardi of Missouri City, Texas was the Balloonmeister and organizer on the US side of the border. In return for taking our balloons into Mexico and staging this event, each pilot would receive fuel, 3 meals a day for four people, two hotel rooms, and $1,000 in expense money. What could have been a logistical nightmare proved much easier than registration at some US events...

We met as a group at 9 a.m. Thursday morning in Laredo, having made our way from various points across Texas. Because we were carrying expensive equipment into the country we had to enter as commercial vendors, not tourists, so there was a mountain of paperwork and a myriad of stops and checkpoints to pass through before we would be on our way. Lombardi had promised we would be escorted the entire way and indeed we were. All the paperwork was ready upon our arrival. We were told to merely show our papers and be polite. Off we went through a series of hurry-up and wait steps. At customs, we were told to expect someone to be searched. I was betting on my oversized enclosed van to be the likely candidate. Happily (for me at least) they selected Nora Sue Thompson (the only one pulling a fully enclosed trailer) and Guy Gauthier (no doubt one of the usual suspects!).

As Nora Sue and Guy remained behind the rest of us were off to the Visa office to get our personal and vehicle permits. This accomplished, we were sitting in the parking lot, still waiting on Nora Sue and Guy, when hunger pains struck. Out came the snacks, including (of course!) chips and salsa. A nearby street vendor saw our predicament and was soon among us yelling "Cokas, Cokas." Though we each carried our own stocked ice chests, we eagerly bought out his inventory of cold Coca Colas.

By 2 p.m. we were on our way, speeding down the new toll road that runs straight from the border into Monterrey. Arriving in the city, each stop light became a contest among our caravan and the local boys who very insistently washed our windows whether we wished it or not. The going fare seemed to be 25¢. The game became to see if you could get far enough back in line so the light changed before the window washers found you. Few of us ever did.

Our headquarters for the weekend was the Hotel Rio in downtown Monterrey. We checked in, unloaded our bags and rushed to the first pilot briefing. There we were welcomed by our hostess, Ericka Rodriguez and made to feel most welcome. Ericka and her staff had gone to great lengths to provide for our every need. Each balloon team was assigned an interpreter who traveled with us as crew and in most cases doubled as tour guides. At the launch field we would also be assigned our own "traffic cop." These were young men in the police academy who would assist us should we encounter any trouble on the chase. Our crew never did but Jorge became a lasting friend.

Propane in Mexico is not what we are used to here. Typically it is a rather impure mixture of propane and butane. Lombardi had mentioned this concern early on and Monterrey Joven searched for a located a source of 99% pure propane for us to fly with. Never mind that it had to be trucked several hundred miles from near Mexico City. These were the kinds of painstaking preparations made on our behalf.

Then there were some preparations that were not so painstaking. Each of the principal sponsors, Maseca (a tortilla factory), Coca-Cola, and Sol Cervesa had been promised envelope banners. Lombardi had directed the organizers to a firm in Florida but as often happens, the sponsorship money was not confirmed until the last minute- no time to have banners made in the US so Monterrey Joven turned to a local sign painter. The artwork was of the finest detail, but being unfamiliar with balloons, they used a heavy nylon pack cloth in varying colors-mine was lime green. To produce the needed white background the entire 15x20 foot piece of material was simply painted white. Then the artwork was painted over this. The end result was banners weighing nearly twice what they should. (We would display them at the glow, then remove them so they could be cut down in size, eliminating all but the essential Sponsor logos and greatly reducing their weight.)

Later when it was discovered we were short the required safety pins to attach the banners, Ericka’s father hand-crafted nearly two dozen 3-inch safety pins overnight. I brought one home with me as a very special souvenir.

After the usual first briefing discussions, and an attempt by Steve, through an interpreter, to get a weather briefing from Monterrey flight service (we would rely on Houston flight service thereafter), we were off.

The agenda for Thursday night was a glow in a beautiful elevated downtown plaza with a huge central fountain. It was a tight squeeze as the plaza was already filled with people awaiting the arrival of "El Globos." Squirrely winds and the tight spacing kept us from a mass glow, but by ones, twos and threes, a few of the balloons took turns glowing and entertaining the crowd. As we moved into position with our trucks, then laid out the balloons for inflation we were all struck by how polite the people were. The beauty and charm of everyone we would meet for the next four days is a memory of Mexico I shall long cherish.

Friday morning we were met with virtually calm winds and the adrenaline was pumping early at the prospect of taking "Lonesome Dove" for her first (and mine too!) flight in Mexico. This was also the required media flight, but I was treated to a real honor as I was selected to fly Deputy Mayor José Martinez and his daughter Marcela. Our launch site was a soccer field across from (what else!) the Sam’s Club and Wal- Mart. Saddle back mountain, so-named because it looks much like a Spanish saddle from one angle) served as a dramatic backdrop to our rainbow-hued aircraft as one by one we slowly climbed to meet the sun.

The crowd at the launch field was sparse, but traffic in the just awakening city of 5- million was soon reverberating with the sounds of horns honking a welcome to the globos. We had been cautioned by Steve that the area was very congested and this hit home immediately as we became airborne. The winds, light as they were, took us out of Monterrey into neighboring Guadeloupe. Here the rooftops are flat and people were everywhere-in the streets, on roof tops, in school yards, smiling, waving and shouting up at us. Mayor Martinez spent much of the flight on his cellular phone. Without an interpreter I can’t be certain but I think the conversation went something like, "Hey man, you’ll never guess where I am!"

We flew for an hour in the ever calming winds, finally landing beside a small soccer field. My crew, Frank and Cheri Capps of Jenks, Oklahoma, along with our interpreter Patricia Hansen had been right below me the entire flight. Now we were all surrounded by a growing crowd of young and old, all wanting to greet the balloon and its crew. Back at the launch field we toasted our flight and only then did the Mayor tell us his nickname was "Bird." In view of his just completed flight over the city, we christened him "Birdman" and his daughter "Lady Bird" before saying our final good-byes. Then it was off to refueling, the hotel for a splendid brunch naps for some and shopping at the nearby pedestrian mall and outdoor market for others.

All though we couldn’t fly the show did go on. Al Saylor, a RE/MAX skydiver from Houston, had made the journey and was to jump with a local Monterrey team, Tres Tamales. This prompted jokes of tres tamales and uno hot dog! But the crowd loved it and even we were awed by their jumping into such a strong wind.

Although we had tickets for free meals at the hotel, and the food there was excellent, the crew of Lonesome Dove (and I’m sure many others) wanted to sample some of the local color, culture and food. With Patricia, our interpreter as guide, we were off to El Rey del Cabrito to sample the local staple, goat. A native Texan, I’ve had goat before, but for Frank and Cheri Capps this would be a first. We selected the leg and shoulder cuts and with tortillas and hot sauce enjoyed true Mexican Food. We followed this with Mexican Coffee (a thick dark blend sweetened with cinnamon) and candies made from the Guyaba, a fruit.

After dinner, Patricia turned tour guide and took us up the side of Saddle Back mountain where the view of the city at night was simply breathtaking. (If you’ve had dinner at High Finance on the peak in Albuquerque, take that view and multiply it five or ten times over!)

Saturday morning the winds were gusty but manageable. Unfortunately the direction would take us right into the heart of downtown. Not a good idea. So we tethered the morning away for the benefit of the sponsors and spectators. Saturday evening was a repeat of Friday, windy, windy, windy! Again we lined up the baskets and took more pictures and shook more hands. Afterward we again eschewed the provided dinner tickets and banded together with Pat & Carol Cannon, Grady & Judy Kane, their son Jonathan, Judy’s brother Howard and Patricia for another evening of Mexican food-but this time we were after enchiladas, tacos, etc. Patricia led us to Casa Grande where the food was superb and the service even better.

While everyone agreed we were having a wonderful time, we all wanted one more chance to fly in Monterrey. Prayers were answered Sunday morning as again the winds were delightfully near calm and moving in nearly the same direction as our previous flight on Friday. As is the case anywhere balloons are not seen routinely, few people were awake early Sunday to see our launch. In fact, many of the event volunteers and others scheduled for flights failed to show up on time. Each of us wanted to fly our sponsors, traffic cops, interpreters and crew and most of us were able to do so on Sunday. I launched with our sponsor’s photographer Antonio Rodriguez and Cheri on board, Frank would drive chase with Jorge. Patricia was nowhere to be seen and it was unusual for her to be late.

No sooner was I airborne than I looked across the field and spotted Patricia’s car. Searching below I saw her running frantically toward the balloon. Luckily the calm winds allowed me to land back on the field a few feet from my launch site. Cheri climbed out and Patricia climbed in then we were off again.

It was an unforgettable flight as everyone got a hop in the balloon. An hour and ten minutes later we packed the balloon, posed for a few team photos, and said final good- byes. Frank wanted Jorge’s police academy cap and offered to buy it. Jorge presented it to him as a gift. In exchange, Frank offered his own Aerostar cap. It had been that kind of trip.

Our race back to the border was exactly that, a race. Commercial customs is usually not open on Sunday, but Monterrey Joven had arranged for a window of opportunity from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. for us. At 10:15 a.m. the caravan rolled out of the parking lot at the Hotel Rio. At 1:55 p.m. we rolled across the international bridge between Nuevo Laredo, Mexico and Laredo, Texas. We were home.

Monterrey’s Festival del Sol was an unforgettable experience. Like so many Americans, my only experience with Mexico had been in the border towns of Nuevo Laredo and Matamoros. These dirty, overpopulated way stations are not at all representative of the beauty, grace and charm we found throughout our four days in Monterrey.

As with so many first time balloon events there is hope the festival will be repeated next year. I too will hope-for I would love to return. If not, I, like everyone in our group, will have special memories to last a lifetime and new found friendships that will last even longer. Adios Amigos! Viva Monterrey!!