Plaything of the forces of nature

(Photos of the diary entry can be found at the end of the text).

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We have now been at our dream location for over three weeks. It’s November. Daylight has been reduced to just under five hours. As the sun barely makes it over the mountain ridges surrounding us, we feel as if it is no longer really light at all. I use the little daylight to play his favorite game “catch the ball” with Ajaci, while Tanja takes him for longer walks on the beach several times a day. The wind comes and goes. Sometimes it turns into a storm, sometimes into a hurricane. Temperatures fluctuate between minus 5° at night and plus 8° during the day. Sometimes we wake up and the beach and the mountains are covered in a white frosty layer. Sometimes we wake up and the white splendor has been washed away by heavy rain. On some days, nature shows its lovely side and on other days its rough side. Again and again, heavy, dark clouds drift over the bay, which occasionally unload with a heavy hailstorm and bring the sea to the boil. As soon as they have moved on, a rainbow arches from west to east over the Steinfjord and, if we are lucky, we spot a seal playing in the waves. It is a world of contrasts and although we sometimes feel like a plaything of the forces of nature, we are happy.

Even if we don’t move and you might think you’re not experiencing anything as a result, we experience exactly the opposite. As we stand still, we dive further and further into the depths of this wonderful place. I have the feeling that we are not moving horizontally, but vertically. For us, standing still is therefore a journey into the interior of our mother earth and therefore also into the interior of our being. It’s not the first time we’ve had an experience like this. We also experienced something similar during our desert crossings. The longer the state of supposed immobility lasts, the more it transforms into a movement into a different, yet real world. I sit there, looking out of the window at the turbulent sea and feel life pulsating inside me. I would love to stay here for a few months, maybe even the whole winter, but as Tanja has often said, people never get enough. Now that we are allowed to stay longer than planned, I would like to be satisfied with the extra time. And yet I still have the desire to stay in a wonderful place like this until my own inner urge prompts me to move on.

Fynia and Elan visit us again and again and bring us delicious waffles. Tanja takes them for walks more and more often. This creates a pleasant connection which, if we were to stay longer, could develop into a friendship. “Imagine what Nora told me,” Tanja opens a conversation after entering Terra with Ajaci. “You mean Nora, who will soon be walking her poodle on the beach every day in all weathers?” I ask, because I’m starting to get confused with the names of Tanja’s acquaintances. “That’s the one.” “Yes, and what did she say?” I ask. “I now know why she was so shy towards us. She’s afraid of strange dogs, especially big dogs.” “Why is that? Has she had a bad experience?” “That’s right. She was badly bitten by a terrier and is still suffering from the injury today.” “How did that happen?” “She was throwing her garbage in the bin next to the toilet block when a loose dog came around the corner and bit into her forearm without warning. In her panic, she lashed out at the dog, but it wouldn’t let go. She screamed in pain until two passers-by rushed over and joined forces to try and pry the dog’s mouth open.” “Wow, that sounds scary. Did they manage it?” “Yes, the dog then looked a bit puzzled and trolled. After his master came out of the toilet a little later, he said that his dog was very peaceful and had never bitten anyone before.” “The classic. We dog owners always say that, but a dog is still a dog. The terrier probably thought he had to defend his place.” “That could be the case. In any case, the dog owner apologized several times and drove Nora to the hospital. Since then, she has been terrified of strange dogs. But she now strokes Ajaci. She’s really fallen in love with him and thinks he’s good for her.” “Ajaci our therapy dog,” I say proudly, stroking his fur…