Balloonists pass over Belize

If you saw something round and silver over Belize’s skies this week and thought you were hallucinating about UFOs don’t worry. In fact you should consider yourself lucky to have caught a glimpse of the balloon that has been on a worldwide trip since March 1st. Two adventurers began their quest to be the first balloonists to circle the globe in the Swiss Alps. They sailed over Africa, Asia and the Pacific Ocean crossed over Mexico and Belize on Tuesday. The Breitling Orbiter Three then made its way up over Haiti and the Dominican Republic and out over the Atlantic. Bertrand Piccard of Switzerland and Brian Jones of England hoped to catch the jet stream to propel them back towards Africa. However, the team spent a rough Wednesday and Thursday with uncooperative winds. Although they had hoped to sail over the pyramids of Egypt, they are now hoping just to make it to Mali this Sunday. If Piccard and Jones reach North Africa they will have traveled more than twenty-six thousand miles and broken a record that has eluded the world’s top balloonists.