Which do you prefer, sunrise or sunset?
My answer is almost immediate: I love sunsets.
There are many reasons why. Throughout this blog, you’ll find several travel entries accompanied by sunsets… and so far, only one sunrise. It’s not something I planned; it’s simply where my attention tends to linger.
I love sunsets because they arrive at the end of the day. They are a brief farewell, a moment when the light begins to fade and night starts to appear. It’s like a daily transition between two opposites: light and darkness, joined by a mix of colors that change depending on the place from which you observe them, although orange often dominates.
Sunsets are moments of silence, contemplation, and calm. They ask for nothing and demand no productivity—simply a brief pause in which the day halts before disappearing completely. For me, that pause is profoundly comforting. It’s as if, during those minutes, the world slows down and allows me to breathe freely. It reminds me that endings are not always sad; they can also be necessary. Every sunset marks the closing of a cycle and, at the same time, the possibility for another to begin.
And sunrises?
Sunrises are also beautiful, but they are different. They represent the beginning of something new. At that hour, I’m usually preparing to leave and start the day, still a bit sleepy and running on autopilot, making sure nothing is left behind. If I manage to see it, I enjoy it… though most of the time, I prefer a little more sleep.
Perhaps that’s why I love sunsets more. Not because sunrises are any less beautiful, but because each has its own moment. Sunrises belong to action; sunsets belong to contemplation. And in that contemplation, I find what I need: a pause, a sense of calm, and the certainty that the day has ended—and that it’s okay to let it go.
In this entry, I share two sunsets: one in Santa Marta, Colombia, and another in Ica, Peru. Both are very different. The first is by the sea, with the sun sinking into the horizon and leaving a golden glow over the water. The second is in a more arid landscape, where the colors of the sky blend with the stillness of the desert. They are different moments, yet in both, the same feeling emerges: a brief peace, an instant in which everything seems to fall into place. I have several more sunsets saved, and I’m thinking of creating a page just to gather them. It would be like a small collection of moments. I haven’t finished it yet because I’m still writing the entries. I take my time, but I don’t mind. Things done without rush usually hold more meaning.
Fun fact:
The intense colors of a sunset are caused by the scattering of light in the atmosphere, known as Rayleigh scattering. If you want to learn more, NASA explains it here.
If you’d like to keep exploring, I invite you to visit my blog, My Journey into Reading.
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