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I've heard people say that a total solar eclipse is still an amazing experience even if it's cloudy because the darkness arrives suddenly and departs equally quickly. However, let's be real: what people really want to see is totality itself, when the Sun's corona becomes directly visible for a few fleeting seconds. What's needed for that? Clear skies or at least very thin cloud.
So when I found out that the path of totality would cross parts of Spain I thought the opportunity was too good to miss. Seeing a total solar eclipse was one of the few things on my bucket list and although my wife wasn't as excited we decided to build a holiday to Spain and France around it.
Although it may be called "sunny Spain" there are some massive caveats. Firstly, the path of totality crossed the Cantabrian coast. That's a beautiful part of Spain which is very green. Of course the reason it's so green is that it has a damp and often overcast climate shaped by the Atlantic Ocean and the mountains.
My early research suggested that the chance of being able to view totality from there was around one in six. Not great odds for what could be the only opportunity in my life to see one of these events. Head inland towards Palencia though and the odds of clear skies increase dramatically to something more like five in six. The distance is about 180km and Spain has excellent roads, better than the UK in my experience.
Despite that we also wanted a holiday so chose to stay on the beautiful Cantabrian coast in the historic medieval town of Santillana del Mar. We were aware that the odds of clear skies there were low, but as we'd decided to drive rather than fly, getting inland on the day itself would be a straightforward option. We could make that decision depending on the weather conditions.
Unless you're on an organised eclipse tour, my advice is to arrive at your destination a couple of days before the event if that's an option. It gives you plenty of time to see the local weather conditions for yourself and learn how they may develop through the course of a day.
Also, and this was key for this eclipse, identify locations where the Sun will be visible and obscured by the Moon rather than by a tree, tall building or mountain. With this eclipse taking place in the evening in Spain, the Sun was low in the sky. It was about 8 or 9 degrees above the horizon where we were and much lower as you headed further southeast along the path of totality.
In our case we scouted around Santillana del Mar to find suitable locations. We were also helped by the amazing staff at the Hotel Cuevas where we were staying who had handily provided eclipse viewing glasses for guests. I'd however bought four pairs in the UK in advance, two of them as insurance in case of damage in transit. I also took my Seestar S30 Pro and a tripod which was easy enough to pack into the boot.
In the days leading up to the eclipse I was tracking forecast cloud cover from the ECMWF IFS model as well as the forecasts from the individual perturbations in the ensemble. It was clear that cloud cover was very likely to be an issue along the Cantabrian coast and that convection over the mountains could also present challenges.
The satellite imagery reinforced the message and, with stable weather patterns, it became clear that on the eclipse day itself we could expect similar conditions. We therefore doubled down on the plan to drive inland, using the Claude and Perplexity AI tools to help identify inland locations along with the official Three Eclipses website. Another advantage of driving inland was that it would take us closer to the centre of the path of the eclipse, meaning that totality would last longer, more like 100 seconds than the 60 seconds near the coast.
A look out of the hotel window revealed cloudy skies as expected. However as the morning progressed, the cloud started breaking and sunny spells developed. Around lunchtime it looked moderately promising and I think a significant number of people crossed their fingers and remained in place. Fortunately we decided to stick with the plan to drive inland, heading off mid-afternoon. The traffic on the motorway heading southwards was predicted to be very heavy so we wanted to give ourselves plenty of time to reach our destination, find somewhere suitable to park and set up shop.
As it turned out, traffic on the motorway heading south seemed close to normal. As we crossed the mountains, the cloud started breaking and things were looking increasingly promising. Once onto the plain, the skies were almost completely cloud free and the wide open landscape meant a low horizon, potentially offering perfect viewing conditions. We'd noted a number of official viewing locations but had decided we'd park up anywhere that looked suitable.
After leaving the motorway we continued driving through an open and flat country. At one point we noticed several cars parked in a field just off the road. After giving it some thought we turned round and drove back to the field to check it out. What a great find! Needless to say the people in the cars were there to view the eclipse. It was quite a mix with German, French, Spanish, Polish and now British people making up the contingent.
The French guy had set up a computer-driven Altair refractor of 100mm (I think). Anyone who goes through the effort of lugging that sort of kit and setting it up has probably done their homework, so I was confident it was a great viewing location. We parked next to his car and he assured me we would get a fabulous view of the eclipse from where we were. Of course that still left the possibility that a rogue cloud would spoil the party!
As the eclipse started it was all quite subdued. I've seen a number of partial eclipses and although I have a keen interest in astronomy, I don't find them especially exciting or notable. With the temperature pushing 37C and bluebottles amusing themselves with my presence, the advancing eclipse didn't initially focus my attention.
However as about 90% obscuration was reached, it suddenly dawned on me that I really was going to see totality. The excitement started growing and I paid increasing attention to the time lapse pictures being generated by my Seestar S30 Pro and viewable live in the smartphone app.
Even when the eclipse reaches 99% you can't look at the Sun without eclipse glasses and you can't see the corona. The light is fading though and an eerie atmosphere develops.
With just seconds until totality I ran through the list of actions I'd made. These were:
Then the magic moment happened. Totality arrived. It was a truly amazing experience as darkness descended and the Moon's shadow swept across the landscape. Stars became visible as though it was night. Birds started chirping. The corona immediately became visible and I believe there was a solar prominence too, which appeared like a red spot at the bottom left of the corona. For whatever reason it also gave a different perspective, with the Moon seemingly small and close to the Earth, which of course it very much is when considered in the celestial domain.
The 100 seconds came and went. As soon as totality ended light levels returned very quickly and the ongoing event, once more a partial waning eclipse, became a sideshow. At this point we decided to drive back to our hotel having seen enough. On our arrival we spoke to the hotel staff who were disappointed because it had remained cloudy near the coast so the eclipse wasn't visible. The decision to drive inland was vindicated and although I felt sorry for those people who'd stayed in place, especially those who were working and had no choice, I was delighted that we'd stuck with our plan.
The rest of the holiday sailed by as holidays do, but the memory of the eclipse will remain imprinted on my mind!
Based on my experience, here are some pointers should you go chasing totality.
Finally, if you do all of the above and miss the eclipse for whatever reason you can at least know that you did your best! In my case I would have been gutted if I'd stayed in the beautiful Santillana del Mar blissfully unaware of how often it was cloudy there!
Do I want to see another total eclipse? The answer may be surprising: yes of course, if one came my way, but I won't lose any sleep if chance or circumstance means that I don't. I've seen one total solar eclipse and that's enough to make me happy.
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