It's incredible isn't it Brian. You really cannot compare it to seeing a partial eclipse, it's a completely different beast.

In the last minute or so before totality the sky takes on a totally alien aspect and then the shadow races in and it's hard for your brain to compute what you are seeing -  a black hole where the sun should be. Like a special effect from a sci-fi film set on another planet is the best way I can describe it, but it's there in front of you.

Sounds like all your planning paid off. If I was doing a pure eclipse-chasing trip I might have chosen somewhere with the sun a bit higher in the sky, but Mallorca ticked the boxes for a family holiday as well as the high risk/high reward scenario of totality just 15 mins before sunset.

That convective cloud along the east coast of the mainland nearly ruined it (it blocked the sunset the day before) but we got lucky and just had a gap in the right place. It totally changes the logistics of planning when you have to look for clear skies not just overhead (we didn't have a cloud within 50 miles of Mallorca all day!) but in a long swathe to the horizon!

I tried to find when Cyprus will get full eclipse online but cannot find any so I can go there and more guarantee to see clear skies if this occur during summer months.   My parents had experience this long time ago in Palestine/Jordan route when they were young not sure if this cross over Cyprus that time.

30th April 2060 - you've got quite a wait!

https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/in/cyprus/limassol?iso=20600430 

EDIT: And their eclipse section has everything anyone could want, maps, dates etc for anywhere in the world. If you pop a town in their search box it tells you when the next total one will be.

https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/ 

As Darren says,nothing for decades in Cyprus but in less than a year there will be a great chance to see one in the morning of August 2 2027 with good weather likely in southern Spain, Gibraltar, Morocco, Tunisia or Egypt. Or for the more adventurous, Algeria, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Yemen or Somalia!

It will also be an extra long eclipse, with totality lasting just under 5 minutes in the far south of Spain and nearly 6 and a half in Egypt.

See the path here and click the map for the details: http://xjubier.free.fr/en/site_pages/solar_eclipses/xSE_GoogleMap3.php?Ecl=+20270802&Acc=2&Umb=1&Lmt=1&Mag=0&MapT=%27TERRAIN%27 

Interestingly, the town in Mallorca where I saw the eclipse last week will also have an annular eclipse occurring exactly at sunset in January 2028. You'd need incredible luck with clear skies to see it but that would be an amazing sight too.

I'm totally with you Brian.

I've been lucky enough to be down on the Isles of Scilly for both eclipses. This one was fascinating to see - a cloudless gin blue sky with the sun low on the horizon and a noticeable dimming of the light as we reached the 96% mark before rebounding to give a 2nd sunset.

However it was not a patch on 1999 and the total eclipse. Here on the islands the clouds that day parted at just the right time, about 10 minutes before totality. I saw the diamond ring effect, and will never, ever forget the shadow racing across the sea towards us before the darkness engulfed the islands. All the lighthouses came on, the gulls flew up in confusion to roost and it truly felt like the end of the world. Though I know the physics behind the eclipse the primeval part of my brain couldn't help giving me a profound sense of relief when the sun reappeared. 

Perhaps for the first time in my life it gave me a small sense and a glimpse of the enormity of space and our tiny, precarious place in it.

Having booked to see the eclipse in the States in 2016 (later cancelled as my dad died a few weeks before we were due to fly out), my advice is book a hotel room now on a refundable rate. If you go via the IHG site you can book Holiday Inns etc with nothing to pay until the day before you're meant to be there - you can always cancel any time before and not owe a penny. Other chains (e.g. Accor) will be similar - but you'll need to go directly to the chain website rather than via Expedia etc.

I'd booked a Holiday Inn Express in St Louis a year out for my dad and me ($200 a room, but for a one-off well worth it), but as he died - I was able just to cancel them, job done. Demand will be very high, so get a marker in sooner rather than later I'd say.

I will be 87 that time if i am still around I will go there.  South Spain i rather avoid due to pick pocket haven.  My wife went there last 2 years ago to Barcelona and saw one pickpocket rob a woman as she was chasing him to stop.  Cyprus will get partial eclipse from next year so best to go it either Egypt or Tunis to see it.

I will see about it but not spain thanks due to pickpocket haven so either Egypt or Tunis to see it.

That's a great site, all the eclipse info you would ever need.

There is an eclipse where the centre line of totality runs straight through Bolton, unfortunately it's not until 2151!

I have been to Spain numerous times and never had any problem with pickpockets. Far more likely to get robbed in London or any other big city in my experience!

https://www.treseclipses.es/ 

FWIW, we got about 100 to 104 seconds of totality. That said, you get "lost in the moment", and I suspect 30 seconds or 200 seconds wouldn't feel that different. I set a countdown on my watch so that I could switch off the Seestar before the Sun returned. I took the solar filter off as soon as totality occurred, but I'm notoriously clumsy and didn't want to risk messing up putting it back on at the right time. There was, I believe, a visible solar prominence during the eclipse. It was like a red dot, very distinct from the corona. My wife noticed it too, as did the German and French couples we met at the observation location.

I've never had that problem either, although I believe there are issues with it in parts of the south. That said, I commented on how safe Spain felt in the UIA thread here:

https://www.theweatheroutlook.com/twocommunity/Posts/m1713171-Broken-Britain 

Therefore, can I direct any other comments / questions about this to that thread. 

Yes I also noticed it, on the left of the sun, a bright red area just after the last sliver of sunlight disappeared.

This eclipse did look distinctly different from the others I have seen, as the sun was much lower in the sky and so the corona colours were shifted well into the red end of the spectrum unlike the brilliant white colour you get when the sun is high. The thin cloud also meant there was less detail visible, so in that respect it was perhaps slightly less dramatic, but the aspect of having it near sunset also added to the spectacle.

Thanks, that puts things in context.  Our ancestors assumed it was the Gods sending a message, and its not hard to see why.  Pre science, there would be no other explanation. 

As you say, humans have only existed for a tiny amount of time in the planets life cycle. if previous complex life existed elsewhere in the galaxy I suppose the laws of physics mean we will never know.  Unlike Star Trek or Star Wars its impossible to travel vast distances or send communications to other planets in the galaxy.  Even if there is complex life out there, they wont be able to reach us either

Yes, that's where it was, but annoyingly it doesn't really show up on the photos either from the Seestar, or those taken by the German guy we met who was using a  Pentax camera  with a  450mm lens.

It's the only total I've seen and the sun was about 8 or 9 degrees above the horizon during totality. The sky was clear where we were, although with the sun quite low in the sky the light was having to travel through more atmosphere as you say.

In Mallorca it was only 2 degrees above the horizon at totality (the last landfall before sunset) so we were really lucky to actually see it. The previous day the sunset was totally blocked by cloud, and I was watching on the satellite view as the convective cloud bubbled up in almost exactly the same place on Wednesday!

Next year's eclipse in southern Spain will have the sun about 37-40 degrees above the horizon at totality. In Egypt it will be almost directly overhead (>80º altitude) but unless you have the cash for a fully organised tour I think Egypt would be a nightmare from a logistics and crowds POV!

https://www.theweatheroutlook.com/buzz/8005/100-seconds-of-totality