We first learned about this year’s total solar eclipse from our son David who had discussed it in class last year (grade 4, 10 years old). Since then we made the point of going somewhere in Spain to watch it.
For medical reasons, we had to spend three weeks in Bagnères de Luchon at the end of July to mid August this summer, so we had to pick a spot to watch the eclipse that allowed us to drive to and from within a day. Thanks to the website Mirador del eclipse, which I came across in X/Twitter, we decided to go somewhere in Aragón. If we watched it from Zaragoza or somewhere South from it we would be able to have about 80-90 seconds of total eclipse, 100%, meaning we could watch it with the naked eye (even though we had bought glasses for the eclipse over a month ago, from the optician in our village).
I then made a quick query to Grok, X/Twitter artificial intelligence assistance, asking it to give me suggestions for elevated points from which you watch the eclipse sounds villages South of Zaragoza. We then selected Cadrete. In that village there is a castle on a hill which was our initial selected spot. But while driving there we saw that some cars were driving further up towards the Mirador de las Planas (a view point) so there we went.
We arrived at the spot at 19h30, just 3-4 minutes ahead of the start of the eclipse. We were equipped with glasses, water and chips to enjoy the next hour. And so we did.
I share below some of the pictures we took with our smartphones, no professional photographer gear, hence nothing close to what you may have seen already in social media.
As you may have lived or read, watching the total eclipse with the naked eye for those 80+ seconds was a breathtaking experience. Totally worth it
Finally, as you may have already read, next year, on August 2nd 2027, there will be another total solar eclipse going through Spain, this time across the South (Cádiz, Málaga) which will last longer (over 4 minutes of total eclipse).
The Blog by Javier 