I’m not a morning person so waking up to view a sunrise is not a habit for me. But since the sun rises directly across Malapascua, I thought it would be a good practice for Dixie, my Nikon D40X camera to see how she fares on an early morning expedition.
I woke up before the sun has risen. I was still surrounded by a twilight blue sky. The water was very calm, quiet and still and was actually quite inviting to swim in, but I was intent on taking pictures. The shore was littered with boats owned by the locals, mostly used for fishing.
As it was getting bright, I noticed that there were dog packs in different parts of the beach, each pack consisting of four to five dogs welcoming the rising sun. They were frolicking, running after each other, and sometimes wrestling with each other. I saw more dogs than people.
Only a few guests of the island were up and about. It was the locals who were starting their day early. Preparing dive equipment, getting ready for fishing, cleaning up the restaurants for breakfast. A typical morning of a small island town. Peaceful and tranquil.
Finally, the sun was coming out. It was not as red as I expected, but the gradual transformation of the sky from twilight blue to periwinkle to sky blue was a wonderful experience in itself. Despite my eye not seeing much red, my camera took pictures of the sun rise like it was setting. The clouds hung low over the sky, fluffy and white with a little tinge of pink and orange. The white sand glowed light orange, creating the perfect light for picture-taking. Simply majestic. What I saw was definitely worth waking up early for.