According to eclipse chasers you can count seeing a solar eclipse, just by being in the path of totality. So technically my trip to Cornwall, UK in 1999 for the Solar Eclipse there counts. Despite it being raining for the morning of the eclipse.
The next total Solar Eclipse that I managed to get to was on March 28th. The trip was organised under the Irish Federation of Astronomical Societies, and unberella group of all the astronomy societies in Ireland. We stayed in a 5 star hotel in Antalya, Turkey. The hotel was white; the lighting was red. IFAS base for the week became known as the Big Brother House. We had a nice pool and sea view during the day.
And an even better view some nights.
For the eclipse we went to Manavgat. We had slected this site months in advance as the best place to view the eclipse from, and thankfully on the day the weather reports for Manavgat looked good. Some other groups decided to venture up into the mountains to view the eclipse – a bad idea. The mountains to the west of antalya were in cloud every day we were there.
Heres some eclipse shots:
A total solar eclipse is something that no photo can capture. Words dont do a good job either. So go see one yourself. The next easy eclipse to see will be in Shanghai in 2009.
For you amusement I have a little audio that I recorded during the eclipse. This is for the SDAS and IFAS podcasts. It features me pestering^Winterviewing various people before and after totality and also captures the post totality cheering.
See you in Shanghai in 2009? Or perhaps even Novosibirsk in 2008?
You meant “Novosibirsk”?
yes. thanks for the correction