Eclipse fever in Catalonia ahead of total solar eclipse

Eclipse fever is building ahead of the first total solar eclipse visible in Catalonia since 1905.

Excitement is especially high in those parts set to witness totality – when the moon completely covers the sun – including Lleida in western Catalonia and Tarragona and Terres de l'Ebre in the south.

A partial solar eclipse will be visible in central and northern Catalonia, including Barcelona and Girona.

The eclipse will begin around 7.35pm in Catalonia, with totality arriving at approximately 8.30pm, although the exact timing of the eclipse varies by location.

Lleida

Hundreds of visitors, many of them from abroad, took advantage of the time before the total solar eclipse to visit the Seu Vella and other tourist attractions in Lleida.

The city is unusually busy for the month of August, with hotels at 100% occupancy.

The 11,500 free tickets for viewing spots at the Seu Vella and in the Mangraners neighborhood have long since sold out.

Among the international visitors in Lleida is Irma Bikker, from the Netherlands, who witnessed a total solar eclipse once before and has come with her husband in search of a similar experience.

"In 1999 we were in the north of France and we saw the eclipse at that time, a very clear view, and that was so special, so we wanted to come again and experience it again." 

Delta de l'Ebre

The Delta de l'Ebre proved a very popular spot for visitors, with cars and campervans arriving steadily from early morning. 

"We think we're going to have a great view of it from here," one visitor, Sara, told Catalan News.

"It's also very idyllic, thanks to the effect of the beach at El Trabucador," she added. 

High school student Berta from Girona was looking forward to taking photographs of the unique event.

"I really like photography, astrophotography etc, and for my high school research project I decided to do astrophotography, shooting the moon and the solar eclipse." 

Tarragona 

Tarragona filled up with visitors ahead of the total solar eclipse, with tourists from across Catalonia and abroad spending the day in the city.

Among them were cruise passengers Shirley and Paul, from the UK.

"We booked the cruise specifically because we knew it was going to be in the right place for the eclipse," Paul said.

The ship will sail out at 5:30 pm and anchor offshore, where they hope to watch the eclipse with the sun on the horizon.

"I've seen plenty of partial eclipses in my time but never a total eclipse," Paul said.

"It's a once-in-a-lifetime, or maybe twice-in-a-lifetime, experience if you're lucky," added Shirley.