PHOTO-A-DAY CHALLENGE
Birds, Beach and Desert Life
Week 136 of the photographic documentary of my daily life
It’s been good to be back. After unpacking and unclogging all our camping gear from the 2-month-long trip around Southern Africa, I got to wash countless loads of laundry and get the dust off all our gear.
And, I got back into the air. Teaching students how to jump out of an airplane while showing them the beautiful Namibian scenery from above.
I’ve done beach walks with my friends and we made a fire in the desert after finding pelicans and flamingos on a dam.
But let’s slow down and go day by day through the week.
As one of my friends had just trained another student skydiver, I assisted to be the second instructor in the air. And there is nothing that excites me more than seeing the contrasting blue of the sky and the Atlantic Ocean hit the orange of the sand.
The dunes of the Namib desert were only partially visible today as a thin layer of fog was hovering above the coastline.
Another day, another view from the sky. Today I got a picture of a different kind of city life. Below you can see Swakopmund, the town I lived in for almost 5 years.
Nestled between the Atlantic Ocean and the dunes of the Namib Desert, Swakopmund is often covered in coastal fog. This phenomenon is common in areas where a cold ocean breeze hits hot desert air.
And being on the west coast of Africa, this coastline is where you'll see the sun setting into the ocean.
Enough about the skies. On Sunday, I went on a girls date with a friend of mine. We decided to leave the city behind and head into the desert.
Finding an oasis filled with bird life wasn’t what we were expecting but it was a joy to see pelicans and flamingoes splash in the dam. This water had been accumulated in previous years when the ephemeral Swakop River came down and filled a deep sand pit.
It's amazing to see how nature adapts to change. A new ecosystem had been created, and plants and birdlife are now thriving at the dam.
Deeper into the desert we're driving and no more water to be seen. However, there must have been a bit of rain or precipitation of some sort as I could spot lots of tiny green bushes.
Back to the coastline, the next morning I met with another friend, and we went for a long walk along the beach. With the dog, of course.
The sun was shining and just a light breeze was blowing off the ocean. We chatted while the constant sound of the breaking waves was to be heard in the background.
Yes, I’m trying to soak in the most of this warm weather and beach life. Soon I’ll have to wrap up in layers of clothes again. So here’s another picture from the cold but beautiful Atlantic Ocean.
And as I was busy most of the day packing stuff away, I didn’t take any photos until the sun was nearing the horizon. But this sunset picture isn’t a bad one to finish off the week, I think.
This has been my week in photographs. 7 days. 7 photographs. Anyone can join. Once. Or weekly. It doesn’t matter. We welcome everyone! Dennett started this photography challenge in 2020 and many have participated ever since.
Erika / Eileen / K. Barrett / Juan / David / Mia / Susan / LensAfield / Kim / Barbara / Diana / Barb / Sandra / Shruthi / Ellie / Pene / Olive / Gustavo / Jane / Penny / Jillian / Shell / Ivy / Lisa / Lynne
And these are the previous weekly photo essays:
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