PHOTO-A-DAY CHALLENGE

House and Dog Sitting

Week 31 of the photographic documentary of my daily life

This week I spent a lot of time walking on the beach, interacting with local children, and looking after a dog and cat. It’s called house sitting. It changes up your daily routine and forces me to go for daily walks. Because of the dog.

Catching up with friends and staying in a friend’s house to look after her dog and cat was this week’s duty of mine. I’ve stayed in that house many times before. I actually lived in a backyard flat of hers for three years when I was still working there.

We drove yesterday to the harbor town of Walvis Bay and since we were there already we decided to look for some fresh oysters. So that today I could have some delicious starters together with my friends.

After taking the keys to the house from my friend I took the leash and went for a walk with Zak. The dog. Excited as always. About the leash. Two girls were standing on the beach walk. I told them they can pet the dog. He’s friendly.

Five minutes later I find myself surrounded by 8 other children. All between the age of 3 and 10 years old. Walking the dog now with me. That is what happens when I interact with children. I end up being stuck with them.

One hour later I walk back to their mom, saying, “here you got the children back,” and say goodbye. It’s gotten hot. The dog needs a rest and me too.

This is Zak. Walking himself. On the leash.

He’s such a well-trained dog I basically never put him on the leash. So why bother and take the leash with? Well, he gets super excited when I pick the leash from its place. He knows this means fun time.

Then he jumps up, grabs the leash in his mouth, and walks ahead of me. I just drop the other end of the leash over his back and let him be. Let him be the dog that takes himself on a leash.

It’s Sunday. Beach day. Everyone and their mothers-in-law are on the beach. With children, dogs, and whatever is part of the family. I’m just down here walking my dog. Together with a friend, we go for a long stroll towards the southern end of town. Enjoying the sunny weather.

We got a new town council. One can clearly see it in all the developments coming up. Especially along the beach walk. A new bridge. A playground and outdoor gym. And then all these arty trash bins. How creative is that!

Back at my own place, I got the chance to witness once again a stunning sunset from our terrace. They might look the same but they never are. I enjoy every single sunset I get to see here.

We started last week with a plan to exercise four times a week until leaving the country. Wednesday is our off day. No gym day. But when I looked at the ocean this morning I was up for a paddle.

The sea was flat. No waves. The sun was shining. Everything looked like a perfect day. I didn’t sleep that great last night so it was already late morning the time I got up.

Once we made it to the ocean it was 12 o’clock. The wind had picked up slightly. Looking onto the ocean we could see a strong current pushing into the bay. And the moment I was on my paddleboard it felt like everything else but not like perfect conditions.

We decided to paddle towards the south. Which would mean on the way back we could go with the current. But for now, I wasn’t even getting out of the bay. The water was really choppy and I had all hands full trying to keep the balance standing on the board.

My husband was already far out. Ahead of me. He seemed to struggle less in his kayak. I actually had to go onto my knees for a bit. Just to make it around the bend.

If he would have been next to me I would have said I give up and turned around. But since he was so far ahead I couldn’t communicate. I had no choice but to keep going.

Which was good. I need that motivation. When I reached him eventually I was pretty exhausted. My legs felt like jelly. I lied down on the board for a few minutes to relax my muscles.

The photo doesn’t do justice to the actual conditions of the water. It was really rough. I’ve rarely ever struggled that much standing up on the board. On our way back the waves came in as well. Pretty big.

Once I arrived back in the bay I was done. Guess after all it wasn’t an off day. It was leg day. I’ll feel that tomorrow. I know for sure!

This was my week in photographs. I apologize for the lack of quality in some of the pictures. I had to use my phone a few times instead of my camera.

Dennett has started this photography challenge sometime last year and many have participated ever since. Have a look at their work too:

Erika Burkhalter / Eileen Vorbach Collins / Dennett / Sasha Meyer / Tracy Aston/ Lisa Bolin / Juan O. Aguilera / David Wade Chambers / June Nguyen / Mia Verita

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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.