The weather in Marbella Town since the middle of November has been particularly stunning – clear skies and warm sunny days, drawing to a close with the most incredible picture postcard sunsets.

With the profusion of palms and pine trees and other evergreen trees that surround us, we may not have the breath-taking autumnal leaf-shedding spectacle enjoyed in many other parts of the world but Mother Nature’s autumnal hues, have been reflected instead in Marbella Town’s sunset skies and pond-like shimmering sea.

Burnt orange, deep crimson, vivid pink and streaks of startling yellow; blue and apricot-tinted skies spattered with charcoal grey and strawberry pink clotted cream clouds; the indigo silhouettes of Morocco’s Atlas Mountains and the Rock of Gibraltar etched out on a hazy peachy tangerine horizon…

In the midst of all the man-made turmoil and uncertainty in the news right now, it is almost as if Mother Nature stepped up her inimitable artistry a notch, to remind us of the beautiful world we live in, if only we would let it be.

As though in response, an unusual number of residents and tourists of all ages and nationalities have gravitated to Marbella’s shores, drawn by a magical magnetic force to witness the magnificence of these late autumn seascape sunsets.

A young American boy of about 9 caught my eye between snapping away with my camera one evening and with unrestrained joy blurted out, “I never would’ve seen this if I was in the States right now – Wow!”

An elderly Spanish lady who had stopped next to me to gaze at yet another splendid evening sunset, sighed in delight and nodding her head in wonder turned to me and said; “How anyone can deny that an all-embracing Divine Creator exists when faced with this beauty, is beyond me.”

However, the greatest proof that Mother Nature is a great unifier and touches the hearts of the most unexpected people, was manifested to me on the first of this month. There I was, totally absorbed in attempting to capture what I saw with my camera, when I became aware that someone was standing right next to me.

I turned to face a helmeted Marbella police motorcycle unit officer and froze. With his walkie- talkie a-crackling and his gun in his belt, all sorts of thoughts rushed through my mind, the most illogical of all being that it had somehow become illegal to take photos of the sunset and that he’d come to arrest me! “Don’t be alarmed, señora,” he said reassuringly at what was obviously a look of total panic on my face. He removed his helmet and grinned. “Don’t look so worried, I am here to do exactly what you are doing!” and proceeded to take out his smart phone to snap away at the sunset alongside me.

We had a great chat about our mutual love of nature and he expressed his belief that if all people spent more time immersed in its beauty and learnt to respect the environment from an early age, their creative spirits would be ignited and they would fight to preserve rather than to destroy.  He told me how he went out every weekend with his dogs to the surrounding countryside in the nearby mountain village of Ojén; which suffered a devastating fire in 2012; to plant seeds of different trees. “My father thinks I´m a dreamer and that I´m wasting my time but I like to think that one day a whole forest will grow out of the seeds I am planting, for future generations to enjoy.”

If you are still unconvinced that spending time steeped in nature is good for you, I read an article the other day about a recent scientific study which concluded that a scenic view actually gives your health a boost, with those living in the top ten selected beauty spots reporting better all-round health.

So if you are in Marbella, I urge you to take some time out to step into the picture postcard sunsets we are blessed to witness on our doorstep and if not, I have tried to capure some of their beauty in the following photos in the hope that they boost your spirits (and health), wherever you may be.

Wishing you peace and joy!

(Text and photos: Liz Glazer)