PHOTO-A-DAY CHALLENGE

From One Year into the Next One

Week 22 of the photographic documentary of my daily life

This week starts on the last day of 2020 and continues into 2021. For once I do have a contract lined up and a plan for my upcoming life. At least for a couple of months ahead.

Yet nobody knows if it will happen the way I planned it. Which is okay for me. For someone who usually doesn’t plan for more than a month ahead. For someone who doesn’t know where home will be in a few months from now.

I go with the flow. The less I expect, the less I can be disappointed. If my plans work out — great! If they don’t, it’s not the end of the world. It just means I have to make new plans.

Since I found joy in collecting contrasts in my daily life I continued with the challenge. Two pictures each day. One word descriptions that point out some differences in my days.

I haven’t worked since the end of October. That’s when the skydiving season finished in Germany. Since then I moved back to Namibia and lived in the home country of my husband.

Keeping myself busy writing. Launching my first book and exploring the desert. Catching up with good friends and having a beer on the beach. Watching birds and jackals come by.

During the holidays it got busier in the country and a few tourists came to the coast to do some activities. Like skydiving. We got called in to help out the skeleton crew that was left after months of no work.

Jumping all day long. Filming tandems and training students is my job. And since being a photographer in the sky I took some photos for the photography challenge while being at work.

Namibia is getting some good rain. I’m so happy about it. While the inland is covered in massive rain clouds even us in the desert get to see some of it. High clouds above the fog on the ground is a different view.

The blue of the sky meeting up with the orange of the desert. And the plane. Contrasting colors.

After a busy day in the sky, we celebrated New Year’s Eve in the desert. With a braai and lots of chatting around the fire. After cleaning up the next morning we drove home and I spent the first day in the new year cleaning.

Doing laundry. Cleaning the dishes. Packing away the camping gear. Airing out pillows and sleeping bags. Looking after my tomato plants in the garden. Getting things done on a gloomy day on the coast.

I can’t remember seeing the sun all day long. Which might have been because I didn’t leave the house. But part of it is because there was simply no sun to be seen. Hidden behind fog and clouds.

So there are two pictures of inside the house. A tropical decoration feature in the window and a bird that lives in a cage. Can’t get my head around why someone would put an animal in a cage. But I’m just a visitor. So rather shut your mouth.

It’s day number two in the new year. Back at the airport, we collect our things which were thrown in the corner when we left the place in the rush in the afternoon on the 31st.

But since a lot of staff members were sick and not at work we got quickly pulled in for some more jumps. The wind was strong and the clouds high. But when the mist came back in and I couldn’t see the ground we called it a day.

Safety first.

Only a few hours later it started. The storm. The wind picked up first. The ocean was roaring. And then I heard it. The rain. Like a proper rain shower. In the desert.

Making my view out of the living room blurry.

After a few busy days at work and some partying over New Year’s the crew did shrink. Almost everyone is sick. Not being dressed properly in the evenings and getting cold while being out and about.

I’m taking precautions now. Drinking lots of tea and eating healthy food. Veggies, to get some vitamins in my body. Hopefully, I will be saved from it. Because sitting close to each other in the plane all the time makes us share the same air.

If one gets sick usually everyone is sick after a few days.

But this means they needed me today again to help out. Doing two more jumps filming excited tourists on their first skydive. The first picture has been taken on the plane ride up to altitude. The second picture I took in freefall. Just before opening my parachute.

During the first half of the day, I did nothing worth talking about.

After 5 o’clock I looked onto the ocean which was flat as a lake. Off I go I decided. Since my partner wasn’t feeling well I just grabbed my board and walked down to the beach.

It was hot despite the time of the day. Not a breeze to feel. The air was standing. The sun setting. The water was refreshing but not cold.

Today we finally got the second battery built into our car. With the help of a good friend who’s got the skills to do it. One step closer to our upcoming trip.

All we are doing now is preparing the car for a long camping trip so that we can explore the country. Find the rain and cross some rivers. Or whatever the challenges might be.

There has been a bit of planning going on in the last few days. More planning about the car. Making sure we have all the necessary gear to go on a trip. Not that much planning about where to go.

Because half of the country is flooded. Most roads not accessible. So why should I plan something if in the end I anyway need to change my plan. We’ll much rather take it day by day and see where we get.

Today we got the rooftop tent mounted onto the top of our car. This will be our home for the next few days. Or weeks. Who knows. We’ll stay as long as we like it.

So stay excited about the upcoming posts!

This photography challenge started by Dennett welcomes everyone to join. Take a photo a day and add a caption. Share your week with us. We love to exchange pictures and words.

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Anne Bonfert is a traveler. Photographer. Writer. Teacher. Skydiving instructor. Adventure enthusiast. Nature lover. And fell in love with the African continent.