Friday, March 30, 2012

of suns and settings


"When the facts change, I change my mind."  So said John Maynard Keynes famously.

But he was only partially correct.  Sometimes we change our minds when our perception changes.

I have spent far too much blog space recently grousing about the lack of culture in Melaque.  After all, this is a beach town where visitors should not expect a Julliard-trained string quartet on the sand.

Last week I decided to do something I had not done in months.  I wandered down to the shoreline to watch a sunset.

There may be a reason why I stopped taking an hour out of my day to watch the sunset.  Perhaps my aversion to repetition.  Or the fact that familiarity often breeds indifference.

The result?  I had a great time and told myself I need to watch more of these light shows.

Melaque has some outstanding circumstances for sunsets.  The angle of the sun creates some unusual colors -- especially, yellows.  And if there are clouds in the area, they will come in various shapes.  Disney would be envious in his crypt.

I was puttering around the house yesterday afternoon and noticed the sun was starting to go down.  The sky had been overcast for most of the day, but there were breaks in the cloud cover.  You can see from the photograph at the top of the blog, there were plenty of interesting cloud formations to create a nice sunset.

There were even subtle touches.  Like a detail from a Turner painting.


I can usually entertain myself while waiting for the big show by watching the local skimboarders.  But last night there was only one guy brave enough to ride the huge waves we have been exeriencing for the past week.  And he was not very good.

And neither were the prospects for a good sunset.  Most of the clouds were low enough to block the horizon.  I could see a bit of the horizon.  But most of the clouds simply turned darker shades of grays and blues.


Just as I was getting ready to head back to the house, I noticed that one of the clouds was showing a bit of pink.  And then, almost as if someone had thrown the light on an Amsterdam porch, the sky lit up in a shade of bright red.

As is true with most photographs, this one does not do justice to the color.  What you see looks far more pink than the red I experienced.


But that is a quibble.  It was one of the best sunsets I have seen in my three years in Melaque -- simply because of its unique construction.

And I would have missed it if I had been sitting in my duplex muttering about Melaque's need for a good Brecht theater.

There may be a lesson there.  Like changing my mind.

16 comments:

shelagh said...

I think watching a sunset is one of the most calming things in life to do. I would love to have that routine. Beautiful colors.

Steve Cotton said...

I agree. That is one reason I need to take advantage of what I have.

Felipe Zapata said...

You have the worst photo at the top, and the best photo at the bottom! Reverse order would have been better, I think.

Steve Cotton said...

 Possibly.  But I was trying to show progression.  Maybe not very effectively.

Ewa Platt said...

and for a bit of "culture" you can always drive just a bit further south to Manzanillo, where we, too, have beautiful sunsets and the odd string quartet from time to time

John Calypso said...

wow - lovely like the sunsets here - AND we have the BIG waves right now (a Southern Hemisphere swell of some sort).  Turn-off automatic white balance (if you can) to get a true sunset or sunrise - you probably knew that?

Steve Cotton said...

I keep thinking I will be able to use my camera to catch what my mind sees  Of course, I can't because cameras and minds create their images using different technology.  A camera can give me a representation.  But never what I see.

Steve Cotton said...

 I just realized I am no longer on the mailing list for the "culture tour" acts that come through Manzanillo.  Are you?

sparks said...

I need to get out of the farmlands and down to the beach more often.   Nice sunsets from my roof but can't see the ocean

Andean said...

On one of my previous trips to the Costalegre, friends and I, also visiting from the states, did not miss a sunset on our 2 week stay. We met every night around the same time enjoyed each others conversation, appetizers, and most beautiful and unique sunsets--we never tired of it.

Mcotton said...

I loved the pictures.  The first one was fascinating, with the color of the sun shining through-out the waters of the ocean. 
Each one held our attention with its own unique array of colors until the last, showing the beautiful the sunset.

Steve Cotton said...

 And, as you know, the water makes all the difference.

Steve Cotton said...

 It was interesting to watch the show build to its finale.

Steve Cotton said...

Above all, I like the solitary solitude of sunsets.

Tomrice said...

Hi Steve,
Enjoy your blog - had considered retiring to San Patricio / Malaque,
but instead settled on Phuket Island, Thailand. Here I live on the beach facing east across the southern end of Phang Gna Bay (Andaman Sea, Indian Ocean). One February morning I took this photo of the sunrise, as you stated the colors are not as bright as I actually saw. Sunsets here
can also be spectacular, Promthep Cape, a kilometer away, facing west
is a popular spot for viewing those.

Steve Cotton said...

I visited Phuket in 2001. It certainly would be a nice place to retire. Maybe it will be my next stop.