by Ivan Trifonov as told to Wendy Ceccherelli
I was so happy to be invited to
fly my balloon at Iguazzu Falls, on the border between Brazil and Argentina,
for the first World Nature Games. It was a long time dream of mine--to be
able to fly over the waterfalls. But when I arrived in Brazil, I was told
the pilots could not fly over Iguazzu Falls. The balloon competition flights
would not be held at the falls. I was so disappointed. For me the only task
was to fly over the falls.
Discovered by the Spanish conquistador, Alvar Nunez Cabeza, while searching for gold and silver, Iguazzu Falls are the largest waterfalls in the world. Now in September 1997, seven hundred (700) athletes from 60 countries came to Iguazzu Falls, again searching for gold and silver. This was to be the first Green Olympics, with 13 natural sports, including ballooning.
My crew and I went to Iguazzu Falls on Friday only to make pictures of the falls. While there, we were fortunate to meet the Governor of Parana State, Mr. Jaime Lerner. I asked him for special permission to carry out my dream flight, "in the name of peace and agreement between all nations."
"Why not?" said the Governor. "You have my permission for the Brazilian part. But I am not responsible for the Argentinean part! Good luck!"
On Saturday, we returned. The place was full of police, because of the opening ceremonies for the World Nature Games. They stopped me at the gate of Iguazzu National Park. I have my truck with the balloon in the back. I tell them, "I am coming to make a commemorative flight over the falls for the opening ceremony, ordered by the President." They wave me inside.
Winds were light, so I drive slowly along the road to the back of the scenic hotel perched nearest the falls to find a launch site. At the end of the road, immediately above the Falls, I decide to inflate.. Only the police are there; everyone else is at the opening ceremonies. I ask the police to help me inflate the balloon, and they do.
Meanwhile, the winds are getting stronger. As the balloon envelope rises, it swings in the wind and touches the powerlines behind me. Zap! But it is just a little hole. I have brought an old envelope, so it doesn't matter that it is damaged.
So I take off and fly right over the falls. I have a Brazilian passenger with me who speaks only Portuguese. He is going on his first balloon flight. The falls are 200 feet high, and there are many of them. Each one is separated from the other by a little island at the brink. They drop into a beautiful chasm. I take many pictures.
The air is very turbulent over the falls, and quite exciting. Soon my task is to land, but where? I fly high to look for a landing place. I have no map and no idea where to land. In Argentina, there is an airport to the left and a hotel to the right. But I am flying right in the middle. Beyond there is nothing but 60 kilometers of jungle.
Suddenly we see a road between the airport and the hotel. This was my decision, we must land on this road. I don't know how, but we must land on this road. The jungle is a very dangerous place. There are jaguars, pumas, snakes and insects. The most dangerous thing is the aggressive African Murder wasp. A jaguar has been eating tourists, so the Argentine jungle park is closed.
I rapidly open my parachute vent. I pull so hard that the pulley tears out. One hundred meters above the ground, I notice powerlineson both sides of the road. I have a very quick reaction. I pull the parachute vent very quickly!
Twenty meters above the ground, I give a karate cry: "Hai!." This is to prepare for a hard landing. We land in the edge of the Jungle. It is so dense. It stops the balloon like a fence. We do not hit hard. One big hiss snake rustles away in panic, along with some frightened parrots. The top of the balloon envelope is grabbed by the trees, and we stop 15 feet short of the powerlines.
At first, my Brazilian passenger does not want to get out of the basket. He is afraid of the jungle. So I get out first. Soon the local authorities arrive. They see me dressed in black, looking like a jungle panther. We pull the balloon out of the trees and pack the envelope, along with many insects. I have flown Iguazzu Falls from Brazil to Argentina.
Ed note: The pilot is a native of Bulgaria, currently living and flying in Austria. His commemorative flight adds much to the story of the first World Nature Games - now that he is safely back on the ground!
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