the fame of santorini sunsets
and so i find myself in a place which is famous for its sunsets - and i am asking myself the question: but is the sun not the same, everywhere? are there places which are famous for the moon? is the moon really bigger in america than in china? (as my parents used to say - an immigrant’s joke.)
in santorini, the sun sets over the volcanic island against the seemingly infinite sea - and it is as if a god painted it - that is, unless it’s a cloudy day.
yesterday i walked home and saw people taking pictures of an obscured sunset, and i felt like the sun was like an animal at the zoo. tired and shy, but the tourists are still rapping on the window, hoping for a good photo.
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sidenote: i wonder what it would be like if there was an island on which cameras - and phones, for that matter - were forbidden. what if we only had our eyes to see with?? I think it would get touristy very fast. there would also need to be capitalism control.
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the sunsets are indeed spectacular - but so were they in naxos, or on any island, because there are no buildings blocking it, and the sea is always beautiful. it’s the sea. especially when bathed in gold light. sunset is the portal between time - between the worlds of light and dark. and what better way to see it, than through the lens of a volcanic island?
but I think it’s something people made up to sell the romantic island experience. sunset is the main theatre of the day - because most people are on holiday, and finally have the attention and energy - and the right excuse and environment - to look at it. but the sun is beautiful everywhere. (well, except where humans destroy the sky with pollution…)
