Yes, I've been meaning to write a followup to my earlier blog post "Sunsets" – but, you know how things always get in the way... been busy travelling, you see...

A personal goal of mine has been to see a sunrise on as many continents as possible, and in the Northern and Southern hemispheres as well. If I wanted to be an over achiever, I'd try to see sunrises in all 24 time zones ; but neither do I have the time – or the budget!

Although I have seen thousands of sunrises – since birth -it's hard to choose where I have seen the most memorable sunrises; but without out a doubt the golden sunrises on the Serengeti in Africa are breathtaking. The Serengeti is considered one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Africa. It consists of Tanzania and Kenya and is quite large. It has several game reserves and contains the Maasai Mara, which hosts the largest annual animal migrations in the world (buffalos, gazelles, wildebeests, zebras, etc.) I remember camping outside; waking up at dawn to attend to nature's call and watching the first rays of light appear over the endless grassy plains. I saw some movement in the distance near the river, went out to explore a bit – and walked right into a huge sleeping herd of wildebeests! They weren't sleeping for too long, because I guess I made too much noise. They suddenly stirred and started to cross the river in waves – with me directly in their path. Needless to say, I hiked out of there ASAP; but when I took a glance backwards, I do remember that the sunrise on the Serengeti was absolutely gorgeous!

Sunrises in the Northern hemisphere are all together different than other parts of the world, but just as captivating. You see, depending on how far north you are, during the summer months, you may experience up 24 hours of daylight and, during the winter, you will barely see the sun! I made it up to the Arctic Circle, when I took a trip up to Tromsø, Norway to see the Northern Lights Festival, which is an awesome light show featuring the aurora borealis with lots of music and dance to boot. Since this festival occurs during the winter, catching a peek of the sun is elusive; but when I did catch a brief sunrise – oh, how glorious it was! It's hard to describe the pale shades of blue that you see in a weak northern sunrise (as opposed to the golden sunrises further south); but they are shades you don't see elsewhere and they are beautiful. I remember the early morning sun rising slowly over the horizon, stretching its weak fingers over the surrounding mountains and water until they were covered in a blue patina. It looked like I was staring out at the world through an azure filter. But despite the sun being out, boy was it cold; but hey, at least the view was gorgeous. I just couldn't stop staring...

The other memorable sunrise that comes to my mind was a sunrise that occurred during an early morning storm. I was schedule to dive off the coast of Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. We got an early start and took a boat only a few kilometers into the Red Sea. It was still dawn; the early morning sun was pushing in and out of clouds as it rose above the horizon. We got peeks of brilliant sunshine; but then the clouds would swallow up the sun and the light would disappear. There seemed to be a tug of war between who would win – the sun or the clouds. We weren't sure who would win; but then the wind picked up and the seas were choppy, so we knew that a storm was brewing. Our dive master exercised caution and decided to head back to shore. On the ride back, I just watched the fight between the sun and clouds play out. I was rooting for the sun of course; because every time it was set free to shine, it was simply amazing!

I could go on and on about other sunrises... but it could get repetitive. So far, I've written about sunsets and now sunrises. Keeping with this theme in mind... what should I write about next - perhaps moonlight?

By the way, if you want to read my earlier blog "Sunsets!", check it out here: Sunsets!