August 12 was the day of a total solar eclipse, an extremely rare event in Portugal.
A total solar eclipse can only be seen within the very narrow path where the Moon’s shadow passes. Because that shadow crosses a different place each time, it is said that the same region may only see a total solar eclipse once every few hundred years. Portugal is a small country, so even seeing a total solar eclipse there is rare, and it is almost never total across the entire country. This time, the only area in Portugal where the Sun was 100% covered was near Bragança. Most of mainland Portugal saw a partial solar eclipse, with about 95% to 98% of the Sun covered.
In the city of Bragança, this total solar eclipse reportedly brought an economic impact of more than 300,000 euros from local facilities alone. The mayor was in high spirits, calling Bragança “Portugal’s eclipse capital.” Even in Lisbon, eclipse-viewing glasses were sold out everywhere, and at work we were all asking, “Do you know anywhere that still has them?”


As for us, we decided to take a day off and go see it.
A friend’s family said they were going all the way to Bragança, so we decided to join them. Because it was such a sudden plan, we couldn’t get any eclipse glasses, so we made a DIY tube-style viewer we found online and threw a few other things that seemed useful for experiments into our bag.
On the morning of the eclipse, we were told that the van we had reserved so the two families could travel together had been sent to another event. We had already paid for it. How could that happen! In the end, we set off in two separate cars.
It was a little over four hours to Bragança.
As we drove along thinking, “This is far,” a message came from our friend, not by radio but by text. “Apparently Bragança is incredibly crowded. Maybe we should just go all the way into Spain!”
“Okay!”
We replied lightly, but when we opened the Google Maps link they sent, my husband and I froze.
Another five and a half hours.
“No way!” we both shouted at the same time without thinking.
Honestly, at that point, we were thinking something quite practical:
“Wouldn’t somewhere nearby be fine, even if the Sun isn’t 100% covered?”
That was the very practical thought running through our minds.
After eating our bento lunches on the way and taking restroom breaks, we finally arrived at some ruins on the Spanish side with a good view.
Or so we thought.
“We are closing, so please leave.”
No way.
With no other choice, we looked around nearby and found a park next to a small cafe. We decided to settle there.
By then, it had already been more than six hours since we left home.
We quickly released the children into the park, while my husband and I started with beer. It was exactly what our tired bodies needed.
On the cafe’s TV, there were scenes of the huge crowds in Bragança, with an eclipse countdown in the upper-left corner of the screen.
But it still felt like something happening somewhere else.
“Since we came all the way to Spain, let’s enjoy it with local beer and snacks!”
That was the mood.


After a while, we headed to the park, where we took turns using our friend’s family’s eclipse glasses and my DIY viewer to look up at the Sun together. Everyone was facing the same direction.
“I’ve seen it up to about this point before!”
I thought to myself as I eagerly waited for the moment when the Sun would be 100% covered.
Almost there.
Just a little more!
And then the moment arrived!
The Sun disappeared completely.
The surroundings instantly turned to night, and a dreamlike scene spread out before us.
For just a few dozen seconds of totality, we could see the Sun’s corona with the naked eye.
A black Sun.
A strange silence—as if even the surrounding sounds had grown distant. I felt like I understood why people in ancient times feared this phenomenon. Without knowledge, it would not be strange to think it was the end of the world.
After about 30 seconds, the Sun began to shine again, and everything around us became bright.


Before we knew it, two women had come out to walk their dogs in the park, where no one had been except us. The terrace of the cafe, which had been empty just moments earlier, now had people sitting and enjoying beer and wine before dinner.
For us, it was a major event, but for them, it was just an ordinary evening.
While Portugal was making a huge fuss over the total solar eclipse, no one in Spain seemed excited at all.
That contrast was strangely amusing.


The drive home took another six hours.
By then, we were completely exhausted.
Even so, the Perseid meteor shower was streaking across the night sky, and we were able to see several shooting stars from the car window.
We drove all the way to Spain chasing a total solar eclipse, then watched shooting stars on the way home.
Looking back, it was an incredibly luxurious day.
The day I saw the black Sun became a once-in-a-lifetime special experience.