Every great story begins without knowing it will become one.
The story of Globos Boreal began long before the first flight. It started in 1975, when two travelers, Javier Tarno and Paloma Trapero, crossed paths at exactly the right moment. From the very beginning, what united them was their shared love of traveling and discovering the world.
They had barely known each other when they decided to set off on their first adventure together, hitchhiking to England through Holland, taking whatever jobs they could find, washing dishes, learning English, surviving on very little, for several months.
It wasn’t tourism. It was exploration.
Between 1978 and 1980, they embarked on two major journeys to India and Southeast Asia, each lasting six months.
The first time, they traveled overland along the legendary hippie trail from Madrid to India. Forty days crossing countries by train and local buses, sleeping wherever they could, learning as they went.
At that time, almost no one around them was doing anything like that.
Their friends were amazed.
Their families were worried.
But that way of traveling — slow, authentic, and bold — would later define the way they would create experiences.
FROM TRAVELERS TO PIONEERS OF THE SKY
Their journeys had taught them how to live between curiosity and adventure. But Javier and Paloma could hardly have imagined that their next destination would leave no footprints in the mud, but trails in the sky.
Their first encounter with the world of hot air balloons came in 1978, during the Aranjuez Festival. At that time, they were simply spectators.
Two years later, in 1980, during the Spanish Hot Air Balloon Championship held in Valdemorillo, Javier flew for the first time in the balloon “Iris,” piloted by Alfonso de las Heras. Several friends had gone to the meeting point to help as logistical support for the teams, but that experience became much more than just another day in their lives.
That flight marked a turning point. It wasn’t only the feeling of rising into the air, but the opportunity to understand from the inside how everything worked: the preparation, the responsibility, the precision, and the coordination required for every maneuver. Several of the friends who were there would eventually become pilots themselves. Javier left that experience with a clear idea: he wanted to dedicate himself professionally to flying.
After returning from their second major trip to Asia in 1981, he took the next step. He began working at Publiglobo alongside Alfonso de las Heras and Alberto Álvarez. There, he trained, learned the craft, and gained a deep understanding of the technical and professional demands of hot air ballooning.
In 1982, he earned his pilot’s license.
It was a pivotal year for Javier and Paloma. The spirit of adventure was still very much alive, but it was beginning to take on a concrete shape.
THE FIRST PROFESSIONAL FLIGHTS AND THE BIRTH OF GLOBOS BOREAL
Becoming a hot air balloon pilot was only the beginning. The real challenge came afterward.
The hardest part was not learning how to fly. It was finding the money to buy their own balloon. Without a balloon, there were no flights. And without flights, there was no project.
In July 1982, the same year Javier earned his pilot’s license, Spain hosted the FIFA World Cup. Javier and Paloma worked in the event’s organization. It was an intense but strategic opportunity: they managed to save the first capital needed to start building something of their own.
Their first professional job came in August 1982. The Aurrezki Kutxa Municipala hired them for an advertising campaign in Donostia, thanks to the contact of José Antonio Cantalapiedra, a balloon pilot who had previously worked with the agency responsible for the campaign.
For 40 days, they flew almost daily. They took off from emblematic locations such as La Concha beach and the Alderdi Eder gardens, and also carried out flights in different towns across Guipúzcoa, including Eibar, Andoain, and Vergara. These were not tourist flights, but aerial advertising operations, and they became their true professional training ground: logistics, team management, client relations, and constant adaptability.
After the advertising campaign ended, they took the decisive step. With the savings they had accumulated and a small additional loan, they purchased that same balloon. They also bought a second-hand car, essential for transporting the equipment.
Throughout the 1980s, Javier flew as an independent pilot, building experience and reputation within the industry. Until in 1990, they decided to formalize everything that had been growing for years.
That year, Globos Boreal was officially founded. They rented a small office in what had once been the former doorman’s lodge of the building where they lived, in La Prospe. From that modest space, a company began to take shape — one built step by step: first as an adventure, then as a profession, and finally as a business project.
FOUR DECADES LATER: A CONVERSATION WITH THE FOUNDERS
More than forty years have passed since that first professional flight, and although they have flown thousands of kilometers since then, Javier and Paloma still remember every takeoff as if it were the first: the nerves, the laughter, the close calls, and the excitement of discovering that the sky could also become a workplace.
Today, between memories and anecdotes, we asked them a few questions to find out what they would do the same way… and what would make them say, “I can’t believe we did that!” if they could go back to those early days.
Did you ever imagine the project would last this long?
“This year marks 44 years since our first professional job, and back then we couldn’t imagine the project would last this long. In between, we had two children, and we had to balance raising them with office work and flights, in an activity that is a bit like life on the road — no free weekends, no conventional holidays.
We didn’t know if we would be able to ‘live off the air.’ We took the risk… and here we are, with our children continuing the family tradition.”
If you compare that first job with today’s flights, what has changed?
“If we compare our first job with today’s flights, almost everything has changed — mostly for the better.
In terms of flying, there is now a huge amount of accessible weather information, which makes operations much safer and easier to manage.
In an activity where you never know exactly where you will land, having good recovery vehicles makes a big difference.
In our early flights, communication was very limited. We didn’t carry mobile phones or radios. We had to trust the intuition of the chase crew or find a phone to call our rescue contact. Later, we started using 2-meter radios, but most of the time we would lose signal due to traffic, mountains, and other obstacles… and we would once again have to look for a phone to call that famous rescue number.
Despite all those limitations, the experience we gained became an invaluable learning process, which we later passed on to the next generation of pilots in our School — many of whom are still flying today, especially in central Spain.
At the same time, we began repairing our own balloons and eventually created a maintenance workshop.
As for office work, in the early days everything was analog: typewriter, landline phone, fax. Then came the mobile phone, the computer, and the internet with the creation of our first website. Later, fully entering the digital era and social media made management, flight organization, and administrative processes much more efficient — especially when dealing with authorities.”
What would you say to your younger selves back then?
“How young we were 😂😂”
Flying Today with Globos Boreal: A Spirit That Remains Intact
Thirty years after those first hot air balloon flights, Globos Boreal continues to fly with the same passion and enthusiasm that Javier and Paloma poured into their very first balloon. The experience has evolved: greater safety, improved equipment, and carefully designed routes to enjoy every moment.
Yet some things have not changed: the thrill of takeoff, the feeling of freedom while floating above Segovia — our most recommended area and main base of operations — and that spirit of adventure born from early travels, first professional flights, and every lesson learned along the way.
Every hot air balloon flight is a story, and every passenger becomes part of it. At Globos Boreal, you don’t simply fly: you live a hot air balloon experience that combines years of expertise, professionalism, and a genuine passion for flying.
