MEDINACELI, Spain (AP) — Millions of people crowded cloudless cities and towns in Spain on Wednesday in search of the best views of a total solar eclipse, when the alignment of the sun, moon and Earth will briefly plunge parts of the planet into darkness.
The crowds brought lawn chairs, umbrellas and hats as they eagerly awaited the celestial spectacle, which began early in the evening. It was the country's first total solar eclipse in more than a century.
Across a wide band of northern and central Spain, millions of people expected to have some of mainland Europe's best views of the eclipse. A sliver of Greenland and Iceland, too, may witness it — weather permitting.
Totality — when the moon completely covers the sun’s light — was expected to last less than 2 1/2 minutes, reaching its maximum duration off Iceland’s west coast. By the time it gets to a small patch of Portugal and then to Spain, just before sunset, totality will have dwindled to a minute or so. The eclipse will then end over the Mediterranean.
Against the backdrop of scorching summer temperatures and wildfires, Spanish officials rolled out a large public safety campaign.
The eclipse could draw at least an additional half-million visitors, authorities say. Demand for hotel rooms along the path of totality, including in the northern cities of A Coruña, Bilbao and Santiago de Compostela, has soared.
In Medinaceli, a Roman-era hilltop town in northeast Spain, sky watchers secured grassy viewing points hours early and crowded its restaurants and bars.
“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 traveled from Germany to the central Spanish town to witness the event. “I’m not sure where the next one is, so it’ll be great to see it.”
Spain’s Interior Ministry said 350 official viewing sites have been set up across the sparsely populated interior, often referred to as “Empty Spain.” Authorities have limited or restricted access to another 123 sites because of environmental conditions or obstacles that could hinder an evacuation in the event of a wildfire.
Only weeks ago, the most destructive wildfire in Spanish history devoured 500 square kilometers (193 square miles) and forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of people in Ávila, in central Spain. Several smaller wildfires remain active elsewhere in southern and central parts of the country.
More than 33,500 law enforcement officers will be deployed to observation areas and access points, the ministry said.
“High temperatures, the accumulated dryness of vegetation, and the intense pressure on natural areas due to projected travel necessitate extreme preventive measures,” Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said.
Much of Spain was on alert Wednesday as temperatures climbed above 35 Celsius (95 Fahrenheit) in many areas where the total eclipse will be observed.
Authorities' top priority is to prevent even a single spark that could lead to a fire, as happened in Ávila in late July. They are urging visitors not to light fires, litter or park in areas with dry vegetation.
Special eclipse glasses are essential for safe viewing, even if only a sliver of the sun remains visible.
“To look at the sun, you must always use proper protection, and the most suitable protection is eclipse glasses,” said Telmo Fernández Castro, director of the Madrid Planetarium. The glasses are made with special filters that block solar radiation that can damage the eyes.
For months, supermarkets, department stores, museums and planetariums across Spain have sold or distributed the glasses, with many pharmacies running out of stock ahead of Wednesday.
On Tuesday evening in downtown Madrid, a long line formed outside a photo shop where a sign read, “We carry eclipse glasses.”
One woman emerged triumphantly and reassured those waiting: “He has boxes and boxes of them!”
For sky watchers hoping to peek at the solar eclipse, spare a thought for Sverre Rud.
Rud, captain of the MS Spitsbergen, is circling the waters of Rypefjord in eastern Greenland trying to make sure he is perfectly positioned for his 126 passengers to view the spectacle. All day, people have been coming up to Rud to ask if he has nailed the right spot — no clouds will do if they are to see it.
“I will do my best,’’ Rud said. “I will pull out my superman powers.’’
The eclipse may be startling for the passengers, who have been experiencing 24 hours of daylight on a 17-day cruise in locations mostly north of the Arctic Circle.
Suddenly, for two minutes it will be dark.
Even so, the mood on the ice-strengthened polar ship is pure anticipation.
“Everyone is very enthusiastic,” Rud said. “When we were down for breakfast earlier, it was almost like a little bit of a Christmas Eve feeling here."
Rooms in Reykjavík, Iceland's capital, were averaging more than $1,000 for Wednesday night as Icelanders prepared for their first total solar eclipse since 1954 and the first visible from the capital since 1433.
Prices were roughly double 2025 rates, according to data group Lighthouse Intelligence. But tourists, many of whom made bookings years in advance at exorbitant prices, may be disappointed as cloudy skies are forecast across most of the island when the eclipse peaks.
Authorities expect up to 20,000 additional overseas visitors during an already busy peak tourist period. Iceland is home to fewer than 400,000 people.
The 70-room Hotel Keflavík in the Reykjanesbaer municipality was fully booked, with guests hoping to see around 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,” said hotel owner and manager Steinþór Jónsson.
Jónsson said he had seen nothing like it since 1986, the year the hotel opened and U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev held their summit in Reykjavík.
“When I opened the hotel, we had Reagan and Gorbachev meeting. It was very hectic here,” he said with a smile. “Besides Reagan and Gorbachev, the eclipse is the biggest.”
___
Associated Press journalists Teresa Medrano in Madrid; Danica Kirka and Brian Melley in London; and James Brooks in Snæfellsnes, Iceland, contributed.
