Have you ever heard or read a phrase that says:
“Fear is just a sign that you’re about to do something big”?

Feeling afraid when we’re about to try something new isn’t unusual; it’s very common. We accept fear as part of being alive. So no, you’re not overreacting if you’re afraid of flying in a hot air balloon.
In fact, many times we’re not afraid of the height, but of the unknown.

When we talk to our passengers, whether at the time of booking or just before the flight, we always tell them the same thing: ballooning is one of the calmest activities you can do in the air.
Don’t imagine something like skydiving or getting into a small airplane. Flying in a balloon is something else. It’s a moment to admire, to feel the silence, to enjoy and simply… float.

“But I have vertigo”

This is usually the first concern we hear from many future passengers. And here’s something important: vertigo happens when you are connected to the ground — on a tall building, a cliff, or a bridge.
In a hot air balloon, that sensation disappears.

In fact, sometimes we think you could take off with your eyes closed and not even notice you’re already flying. Have you ever taken off in an airplane and felt that strange drop in your stomach? In a balloon, that sensation simply doesn’t exist.
So if we start with the takeoff, you can relax.

And if you still board with a bit of fear, that’s okay. Because as soon as the first panoramic views appear — especially in places like Segovia, where we fly — fear stops having room. A simple trick: don’t look down, look toward the horizon. When so much beauty comes in, fear stays below.

Want to hear a secret?
One of our pilots suffers from vertigo. He can’t walk across the bridge in Cuenca… and yet there he is, flying every day wherever the wind takes him. 🤭

“THE BURNER IS VERY NOISY”

Another trigger we’ve noticed is the sound of the burner. If someone ever invents completely silent burners, we’ll be the first to buy them. 😉

We know it can feel a bit intrusive, but we believe that flame is precisely what gives this activity its magic — and its physics. Can you imagine the amazement of the first people who discovered that heat could lift such large objects?

Speaking of physics, so you never go to bed without learning something new, here’s a simple explanation.

It all starts with a principle discovered by Archimedes more than two thousand years ago: an object floats when it weighs less than the medium surrounding it.
In the case of a hot air balloon, that medium is air.

When we heat the air inside the balloon, it becomes lighter than the cold air outside. And the colder, heavier air pushes the warm air upward. That’s how, without engines or sudden acceleration, the balloon rises smoothly and naturally.

In fact, this same idea was what inspired the Montgolfier brothers in 1783 when they observed that smoke always rises. Thanks to that simple observation, the first hot air balloon was born — and with it, one of the calmest and most poetic ways of flying that exists.

WHEN FEAR GETS INTO THE BASKET (AND STAYS ON THE GROUND AT TAKEOFF)

Over these 44 years of flying, we’ve shared our basket with thousands of people. And yes, sometimes we’ve met passengers who, once there, suddenly feel like backing out.

I especially remember one passenger who came to fly with her son. They were visiting from Mexico on holiday, with that lovely attitude of wanting to make the most of everything. When I welcomed them, she was very excited: we took some photos, she asked constant questions… where we would land, how long the flight would last, what this was, what that was. She had curiosity, enthusiasm, and a smile that said it all.

But when the moment came to board, I counted the passengers… and one was missing. It was her.

I saw she was nervous. Every time the burner sounded, she stepped back. She looked at me and said:
— I’m scared of the burner.

I approached her calmly, in a friendly way, and said:
— You can’t do this to us, we’re counting on you. If you stay on the ground while your son flies, you’ll regret not sharing it together — especially being right at the door of the experience.

Between my words and the encouragement of the other passengers, she decided to get in. I tried to place her as far from the burner as possible, and we took off.

When the flight ended, I approached her and asked:
— How was it?

With a huge smile she replied:
— It was beautiful. I loved it.

All I could say was:
— I told you it would be worth it.

“Do it, and if you’re afraid, do it afraid.”

There’s a saying: “Do it, and if you’re afraid, do it afraid.” And maybe that’s a good philosophy for life. Not staying stuck with regret. Daring. Understanding that we’re not here to control everything, but to experience, to live, and then to tell the story.

And many times, just on the other side of fear, that’s where the memories that truly matter begin.

DON’T LET FEAR STOP YOU — LET IT PUSH YOU TO FLY

Not everyone flies without fear. And that’s okay.
Fear doesn’t always disappear before stepping into the basket; sometimes it fades once you’re already in the air, when the landscape opens up, when silence takes its place and you realise nothing bad is happening… except something beautiful.

At Globos Boreal, we don’t promise the absence of fear. We promise to accompany you. To listen. To give you your time. And to show you, from above, that often the unknown is just a door you haven’t crossed yet.

And if one day you decide to do it, with fear or without it, we’ll be here.
Because some experiences can’t fully be explained. They have to be lived.