Santorini, Greece: THE Sunset

Actual date of this event: 11 & 13 June

Note: I try my hardest to not use what looks to be the same picture more than once in a post, but this is an exception. 

I had heard and read and heard and read how amazing Santorini sunsets are, so I had very very high expectations. Oh.Em.Gee. This was probably the most amazing thing I have ever seen in my entire life. It is completely indescribable, but I will try.

This is kind of a weird description, but you know how you imagine that when you eventually die, a bright light will appear and then a group of lovely angels will take you to heaven, and it all looks so serene and... heavenly? That is the closest way for me to describe a Santorini sunset. I was hooked and could not look away until it was finished.

Beforehand, I thought it was silly how all these people gathered in Oia hours and hours beforehand to get the perfect spot - whether it be on a restaurant balcony, at the castle ruins, or in one of the tiny stairways in the village.

{Eric Goins' photo}

I thought of how uncomfortable it would be to be crowded with all these other people for an event that is supposed to be romantic.

But for those few minutes, when the sun changed colors, nothing else around me mattered. As it dropped and lower and lower, my ears seemed to go deaf, and I heard not a noise. It was as if time stood still, except for this beautiful sun.

That is why Santorini is famous. And as cheesy as it is, when it was all finished, a round of applause was heard in different areas of the village. We actually heard the applause at different times since the sun disappears earlier/later depending on where it is viewed. After it was all finished, Oia became desolate - not literally - as all of those people went back their place of stay.

Debbie: "Luke, how would you describe a Santorini sunset?"
Luke: "Slow!"
Debbie: "No, seriously?"
Luke: "What? It took forever! But okay, it was like different colors of sherbets. Like orange and yellow and pink all mixed together... with egg yolk in the middle."
I can't make this stuff up y'all. Romance is not his forté!
Anyway, Luke and I were fortunate enough to see it twice! (would have been three times, but we all got a little distracted in Fira during our second night) Our last evening, we said our sad good-byes to Becca and Eric as they headed off to the airport. Then, we sat in silence to watch another amazing gift we had been handed.

I use this blog as our travel journal and picture book, and not my diary, so I hardly ever go into detail of our personal lives. After experiencing a moment like a Santorini sunset, Luke and I are reminded of how blessed we are to be given this expat opportunity. We are surrounded from afar by supportive family and friends that we think about every.single.day and miss like crazy. It isn't always rainbows and butterflies being an expat as there are many emotional hardships that come along with it that only another expat can understand, but we try our hardest to not dwell on the negatives. But we know we are fortunate, and this life is only temporary, so we try not to take a single moment of it for granted. It is all we can do to stay grounded.

Other posts from Greece: Intro, Corfu, The Acropolis in Athens, Panathenaic Stadium in Athens, General Athens, Island of Milos (Day 1), Sarakino in Milos, Island of Milos (Day 2), Santorini Sailing, Santorini Wine Tour, THE Santorini Sunset, General Santorini, Wrap-Up

RANDOM FACT:
When visiting Santorini (or any other place where you want to see a good sunset), use the SunCalc website to determine where the sun will set during the days of your travel. Pretty neat!