Winter sunset

Too few people stop to look at sunsets in winter, and that's a pity, because sunsets don't stop being enchanting because the season is a chilly one. 



Sunsets are tied to warmer seasons all too often, probably because people are out more, sitting on balconies, jogging or strolling in the park, drinking coffee outside a cafe, taking in the last sun rays on a beach. Being outside more makes you become aware of your surroundings more, so naturally you notice the soft hues spread in the sky as the mighty orb descends into the horizon.

Online, many sites have mushroomed telling visitors where to be when the sun goes down in Greece: Santorini, Sounio, Zakynthos, Mykonos, Patmos, Pelion, Rhodes, Chania. All's well and good, but this list is simply regurgitating the top tourist spots in Greece which are nice to begin with.  The point I'm trying to make is that no matter where you are, a sunset is a sunset. Take away the picture-perfect man-made surroundings, you've still got that sky, and that in my view is what a sunset is all about -- colors, ladies and gentlemen, and many of them, shifting, meandering, flaming. 

To me, sunsets are a kaleidoscope sans filters and artificiality. The landscape framing them is not what makes them neither more nor less beautiful, for it is this landscape that is enhanced by the color palette and not the other way around. The picturesque churches and island cobblestones, ancient columns and whitewashed houses are the ones enriched each eventide by an array of saffrons and scarlets,  mauves, coral pinks, lemon yellows and sapphire blues. 

Next time you remember, take a moment out of your hectic schedule and look at the sky at dusk. After all, seen from one standpoint, sunsets are the highest form of art which, with a little imagination, almost manage to combine painting, sculpture, poetry and dance.