The silence at 500 metres above the ground

TEXT & PHOTOGRAPHY DAVID GARCÍA

Since modern life offers specialists in everything, it also offers specialists in nothing. Or, to put it another way, specialists in something which seems like nothing but isn’t: silence.

Erling Kagge is a writer, publisher and adventurer; and also a specialist in seeking silence. In the middle of the city, in Antarctica, in the tunnels of a sewer system, in a Norwegian forest and on the highest point of the Williamsburg suspension bridge.

The explorer says in his book Silence: In the Age of Noise, that “you cannot wait for it to become silent. Not in New York or in any other city. You have to create the silence inside yourself.”

Nonetheless, there are places that seem to lend themselves to creating silence, that are sites for making the silence that Kagge recommends: places like the Mallorcan skies. Here at dawn nothing moves, nothing can be heard. A flight in the hot air balloons of IB Ballooning Mallorca is only accompanied by the occasional gentle grumble of the hot air burners which carry you upwards.

Taken with google Pixel 3

David García

As Julio Alou, a pilot with ten years of experience, says: “a flight has something magical about it, because the balloon was the first aircraft in history. It flew in the 18th century, long before the Wright brothers made their first aeroplane.” So a hot air balloon flight still has a pioneering feeling of peace, and even secrecy.

Every flight is different; it depends on the weather conditions. “Bearing in mind that the balloon is an aircraft that cannot be managed to perfection – we only control the height, not the speed or direction,” there is an element of uncertainty about the course that makes every occasion a unique experience. Although “in this life there are no zero-risk situations, the safety of the balloon comes from its simplicity. It is an aircraft with so few mechanical parts that there is very little chance of a failure,” explains Alou.

Our Mallorcan flight begins between Petra and Manacor, in the centre of the island, with the first light of early morning. This is the time when the weather conditions are best. At take-off, the land falls away and a sensation of contact wells up inside: the view of the Mediterranean dawn creates a connection between yourself and the cosmos. Suddenly, the world is present inside.

Alou says that however many times he pilots a balloon, each day brings a clamour of emotions. It may happen in a different order, but the feelings come thick and fast: “There is calm, then excitement and adrenaline, then maybe a feeling of wonder. You feel a lot on a flight, and can go from one sensation to another in seconds. For example, from absolute peace to the thrill of a landing on a breezy day.”

Mallorca is a unique place to have this special experience. The balloon pilot reminds us that “it isn’t easy to fly near the coast. The conditions stop many pilots, since only some of the flight directions are appropriate. But the sea and the mountains make for an unforgettable experience.”

Our flight is more mellow: over the fields and villages of central Mallorca. Despite the gentle landscape, time in a hot air balloon is an antidote to monotony. Floating in tranquillity above the fields and vegetable gardens, spotting little farms and villas below, is a reminder that silence is just waiting for you. You just have to go looking for it and listen to the nothing that it offers.