60737    Sekino was a student at Hitotsubashi University making plans to explore the Amazon for a third time when Reiko applied to join at his office.

60738    At the time Reiko was a member of Tsudajuku University's explorer club.

60739    "The university was close and I thought it would be interesting."

60740    Reiko could hold her own against Sekino and she had some big adventures of her own while in university.

60741    In these days, many of her fellow club members faced opposition from their families about their adventure plans because they were female.

60742    So she thought of making a hot-air balloon.

60743    This was at a time when there were maybe 10 hot-air balloons in Japan.

60744    The project was a process of trial and error.

60745    About ten of the club members spent two years constructing a hot-air balloon with a diameter of approximately 15 meters, then launched it from an open field in Ibaraki prefecture.

60746    "More than feeling moved, I was tense, since I was the one who had made the designs."

60747    She had heard about Sekino, picturing him as some kind of bear-like muscleman before she met him.

60748    In fact, he was slender with a small frame.

60749    "I was surprised because he was the exact opposite of what I expected. We began dating before I knew it."

60750    They got married about seven years after they met.

60751    Even after they were married, Sekino continued to spend a total of over six months of the year in South America.