LivingInPatagonia.com

The Varying Times of the Setting Sun

Written by Shanie 

After a productive day doing work on the computers, Jamie and I decided to take the dogs for a run on one of the beautiful neighborhood trails. The hour was getting late and I was wondering if we had wasted too much time typing away at the keyboard. But again the differences of the southern hemisphere surprised me.

The sunsets of the south are long and begin much later than their northern brethren. They remind me of the Alaska skyline in summer. Hours of fading pinks, purples and yellows.

Mid September is the equivalent to March in the States. If I remember correctly, the sun sets around six on the west coast in early spring. It faded behind the horizon around 7:30 tonight.

Our wandering hike through thick forests lasted more than hour. The hike ended at a lake with a dock. We stopped to take in the lake reflecting the twilight pink painted on the puffy clouds. It amazed me that for almost eight in the evening the sky was so light. The days lasting into the later hours are a definite plus. I appreciate the extra few hours to play.

There is another side of the coin, though. The sun rises later. We see the shiny face of the sun around 8 in the morning, much later than our homeland. This does make it harder to get out of bed in the morning.

For me, the shifts of the days are a great side effect to life down south. My skiing isn’t as rushed in the morning because of a slower sun and my evenings are filled with longer moments staring at the changing colors of the skyline.

The differences of countries, people, weather and land are the reasons that I find myself wandering into the unknown. I love it and what it gives me. Because of Argentina I can ride my mountain bike till ten at night in the summers or sleep in till 8:30 am and feel fine with it because I’m rising with the sun. That’s just my style.