The Catalan couple who have chased 16 total solar eclipses

Panama, Kenya, Hungary, Tunisia, Russia, Australia and even Antarctica are just some of the destinations Carme Lluís and Jaume Sacasas have visited over the past three decades.

Sightseeing, however, has always been secondary.

Their priority when travelling abroad is to chase solar eclipses.

Carme has witnessed 16 total solar eclipses and two annular eclipses across every continent, while Jaume, her husband, has joined her on most of the expeditions.

Their latest target is the total solar eclipse on August 12 – the first visible from Catalonia in more than 120 years.

Although, after decades of experience, they say the ideal eclipse is one that occurs high in the sky at midday, rather than close to sunset as this one will.

Even so, they urge people to enjoy the moment rather than spend totality taking photographs.

Nature's greatest spectacle

"As long as I live, I'll sign up whenever there is one," Carme said in an interview with the Catalan News Agency (ACN).

Now approaching 80, her age has not stopped her from planning future trips with Jaume, including the total solar eclipse in August 2027 and the annular eclipse in 2028. For her, witnessing one is the greatest spectacle nature has to offer and an "incredible thrill."

She says every eclipse is different, "depending on the surroundings, the duration, the time of day, the mountains, the sea."

"It really annoys me when people tell me that if you have seen one, you have seen them all," she said.

Advice

The couple's advice for newcomers is simple: arrive early to avoid traffic chaos. "Believe me, leave at six in the morning!"

Carme also recommends bringing water and food, and preparing for the possibility that nothing will be available to buy in the hours before the eclipse.

"Also bear in mind that you may have to stay overnight there, in the car or on the ground," she said, drawing on past experiences with traffic jams.

She stresses that seeing totality is completely different from experiencing a partial eclipse, even one that reaches "99.8%."

They strongly advise first-time eclipse viewers to focus on experiencing the event rather than watching it through a phone or camera. Carme says totality lasts only seconds or minutes, making it easy to miss the most important moment.