‘Magical eeriness’: Spain, Iceland witness spectacular total solar eclipse; watch

It was Spain’s first total solar eclipse in more than a century

Thousands of people across Spain, Iceland and other parts of Europe gathered on Wednesday to witness a rare total solar eclipse, as the Moon moved directly between the Earth and the Sun, briefly plunging parts of the region into darkness.Spain drew some of the biggest crowds, with people travelling to cities, towns and rural viewing sites along the path of totality. It was the country’s first total solar eclipse in more than a century. The eclipse also passed over parts of Iceland, Greenland and Portugal, while people across much of Europe watched a partial eclipse.The spectacle turned several normally quiet locations into packed viewing spots, with crowds carrying chairs, umbrellas, cameras and protective eclipse glasses. In Spain, authorities expected the event to bring at least 500,000 additional visitors, with demand for accommodation soaring in cities including A Coruña, Bilbao and Santiago de Compostela.Crowds gather across SpainIn Medinaceli, a hilltop town in north-east Spain, sky watchers arrived hours before the eclipse to secure the best viewing spots, filling grassy areas as nearby restaurants and bars became crowded.“It’s the first time in my lifetime that I’ll get to see a total eclipse in Spain,” said 24-year-old physics student Óscar Pérez, who travelled from Germany. “I’m not sure where the next one is, so it’ll be great to see it.”Totality lasted less than two and a half minutes at its longest, with the maximum duration occurring off Iceland’s west coast. By the time the eclipse reached Portugal and Spain shortly before sunset, totality had fallen to around a minute.Sara García Alonso, a reserve astronaut for the European Space Agency, described the experience as overwhelming.“It was one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen in my life,” she told broadcaster RTVE. “It gave me goose bumps.”Astronaut Pablo Álvarez Fernández, standing beside her, agreed: “It had been described to me so many times, but it was much more beautiful than what I had expected.”Spain deployed more than 33,500 law enforcement officers around viewing areas and access points as authorities prepared for large crowds and a heightened wildfire risk. Temperatures climbed above 35C in several areas, while dry vegetation raised concerns about accidental fires.Iceland also attracted thousands of visitors for its first total solar eclipse since 1954, with the event visible from Reykjavík for the first time since 1433.Hotel prices in the capital surged as tourists arrived for the spectacle, while authorities expected up to 20,000 additional overseas visitors during an already busy tourist season.At the 70-room Hotel Keflavík, every room was booked by eclipse watchers hoping to see about one minute and 45 seconds of totality.“Eclipse time, of course, has been very demanding, and many people came to us early, like last year,” hotel owner Steinþór Jónsson said.He compared the frenzy to the 1986 Reykjavík summit between US President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.“When I opened the hotel, we had Reagan and Gorbachev meeting. It was very hectic here,” he said. “Besides Reagan and Gorbachev, the eclipse is the biggest.”Cloudy skies, however, threatened to spoil the view in parts of Iceland.