PHOTO-A-DAY CHALLENGE

Jumping Into the New Year With Daily Sunsets

Week 126 of the photographic documentary of my daily life

After a week of Christmas and birthday celebrations, we weren’t done with all the partying. The big one was still missing. The New Year’s party.

And in between the years, we spent most of our time working at the airport and jumping out of planes. I also did a tandem, my first one in Namibia.

And then we drove out of town for a party in the desert.

I know, these aren’t the high-quality pictures I usually share with you but I promise, you’ll get them soon again. When everything calms down again and I spend more time on the ground and in nature.

Until then, let’s start with a view from above. This is Swakopmund. The town I lived in for almost 5 years and have returned to once a year at least ever since.

Most of what you see below are townships. This city has grown enormously since I first visited it 8 years ago. The center of town can be seen in the left middle of the picture. And except for the center and the properties on the beach, everything else is some sort of a township.

Swakopmund has one advantage. It has space. Being located in between the ocean and the desert it can expand to two sides without restrictions. And that is what happens here. You barely see a house taller than 2 or three stories.

The following day I did another jump with the daughter of one of the instructors who’s also the owner of the company. I was teaching her a new exit out of the plane and as soon as we left the airplane she was laughing out loud.

I could hear her laughing in freefall. While having a full-face helmet on and falling at approximately 200kph. I could still hear her. That kind of happy laugh.

She enjoyed the jump so much and did very well on her skill level.

And I had such joy seeing this happy smile in front of me. This is why I love teaching so much. There is nothing more rewarding than such a smile.

And there we go. The year has come to an end.

After a long day at the airport jumping out of planes all day, we packed up and headed out into the desert. The same location we were at two weeks prior just that now the event was even bigger. Still organized by a 17-year-old and her friends.

We enjoyed our time with friends and I specifically embraced the beautiful sunset.

Bye bye 2022.

And happy New Year!

Here we come 2023. Let’s make it a great one starting with just another lovely sunset over the ocean and lots of palm trees blowing in the wind.

I used the day to recover from all the partying, socializing and working and spend most of my time on the couch reading and commenting on more than 70 Medium stories.

On the 2nd of January, I was busy again training a new student. Before we take them to the skies we spend hours on the ground explaining how a parachute works, how you open it and you fly stable through the sky.

I was mentally exhausted that evening without even having been to the sky. But yes, teaching can tire you as well.

Once I got home, I relaxed on the couch and watched another sunset through the window.

We dedicated the next day to our upcoming trip and all the preparations we still have to do before leaving town. And while David was inside the mechanics looking for another spare part, I saw these wonderful blooming flowers in the parking lot and snapped a picture with my tablet.

Later that evening I convinced David to go out for dinner. I was craving seafood for a few days already and today was the day. One of my favorite restaurants is offering delicious platters and we opted as always for the grilled one.

The sky was bursting out in colors and I asked David to please drive the beach road back home. The sun was setting above the ocean and the clouds were lit up in bright yellow and orange.

We said we want to leave no later than the 15th of Jan for our big road trip through Southern Africa and the days keep passing and we still don’t have everything sorted.

So we dedicated another day to solving issues and fixing things. We replaced a fan belt (and if I say we I talk about David working on the car while I sit in front of the mechanics inside the vehicle researching destinations), we bought some additional material to keep our home on wheels waterproof and did small things in town.

For lunch, we had given the car in to put two new tires up and get the wheel alignment done. Yes, that was an expensive one.

Therefore we walked to Village Café to have lunch and talk about the next steps. This café is popular among locals and tourists alike and I’ve never had bad service or food.

The best about the Café is their laid-back vibe. I love the many corners and the inside and outside seating area. Outside they also have an old minibus where you can sit inside and enjoy your meal.

It’s all about being unique and creative.

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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