Planning for the 2026 total solar eclipse in Spain was a complete roller coaster. The original plan involved securing flight tickets a full year in advance. Nevertheless, the purchase finally happened on 11th January, precisely 213 days before the big event on 12th August.
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This was about to be my fourth Total Solar Eclipse in my life. First one was in Egypt in 2006. Second in China in 2009 and Third one in USA in 2017.
Nightmare of Booking Accomodation During 2026 Total Solar Eclipse
The main nightmare was not the flights, but the accommodation in León. Booking three months before the eclipse, for example, revealed standard rooms that went for an eye-watering £700 to £1000 per night. Fortunately, a place named Vivienda Turística Felicia appeared for a reasonable £170. The excitement, however, was short-lived. Repeated attempts to contact the property to add an extra guest met with absolute radio silence, and concerning reviews warned of last-minute cancellations. Consequently, we cancelled that reservation.
Finding a replacement proved nearly impossible as every hotel between León and Burgos was either fully booked or listed at astronomical prices. Eventually, a small Airbnb became available in Coomonte, around 100 kilometres south of León, which cost just over £400 for 4 people and two nights.
Our original vision involved driving deep into the central path of totality, where we passed through León and Burgos. However, our final choice to watch the event from a scenic wind turbine ridge just down the road on a hill saved us hours of driving.
We arrived in Coomonte and found the property, which turned out to be surprisingly straightforward. Dozens of curious glances from locals, who gathered at the only bar in town, greeted our arrival. Generally, the check-in process went smoothly. The house itself was decent and featured a charming patio, although that space became extremely hot during the daytime hours.
Inside the house, nevertheless, daytime conditions felt miserable. The lack of air conditioning and fans turned the interior into a complete oven. Moreover, sleeping at night was too warm and we opened all the windows to vent the rooms when the temperature outside dropped from 40°C to around 22°C.
Finding a Spot to Observe Total Solar Eclipse
We arrived at our Airbnb and took a drive to explore the surrounding countryside for a suitable solar eclipse viewing spot, which felt like a wonderful idea before the sun began to set. The core idea was to see the precise position of the sun at the exact time when the total solar eclipse would happen. We strolled past a series of picturesque corn and wheat fields, for instance, which revealed some remarkably promising viewpoints. The low angle of the late afternoon sun across the open horizon, consequently, suggested that the location served splendidly for our observation of the upcoming totality.
We eventually chose to venture towards a hill named Peñalcuerno, which felt like the most exciting option, even though it required a rather tedious sixteen-minute drive from Coomonte. The journey, moreover, seemed considerably longer than Google Maps originally predicted, with the distant shapes of towering wind turbines that dominated the sky. Reaching the summit, however, meant that we drove on a rough dirt road. We missed the initial turning onto the unpaved path, which caused a minor detour, so we took the very next turn to climb that hill.
We navigated the uneven dirt track and met a few local walkers, who strolled alongside a dog while they held sturdy walking sticks. Their presence on the secluded path, for instance, hinted that they also scoped out the elevated landscape for the upcoming total solar eclipse. We continued upward and eventually reached the summit of Peñalcuerno, where the dramatic scenery unfolded in every direction. Specifically, the breathtaking panorama offered us an uninterrupted view of sweeping golden fields that stretched out towards majestic mountain ranges on the distant horizon.
Alternative View Point – Mirador de Villageriz
After Peñalcuerno, we decided to check out another potential viewing point named Mirador de Villageriz. We navigated our car along the unpaved mountain track and parked directly beside one of the massive white wind turbines that dotted the rocky terrain. Standing beneath those giant spinning blades gave us an impressive vantage point across the vast valley below.
As evening approached, we watched the sun dip towards the distant mountain range across the golden landscape. Specifically, the warm sunset glow illuminated the rugged rocks and scrubland around us while light clouds drifted across the bright sky. The sun eventually sank behind the sharp silhouette of the mountains, leaving a vibrant crimson streak along the horizon as dusk settled over the quiet countryside.
As we began our descent, the sky was ablaze with a stunning pink and orange sunset, which cast long shadows from the wind turbines perched along the ridge. We drove carefully down the winding, unpaved track, taking in the serene view of the surrounding hills, when suddenly, three small birds appeared directly in front of us. These strange creatures, looking remarkably like miniature dinosaurs, were running in a tight, single-file line across the dry, gravelly trail just following the road. They were running away from the car, but it seemed they were really lacking intelect like the reptilian ancestors as they kept running in front in a straight line instead of going to the side and hiding in the bushes. My friend made a comment “Dinsoaurs” and all laughed in the car from that situation on the road. Eventually, they did hide in the bushes and we were able to drive back to our appartment.
Soon after, we were in our hot appartment and ready to cook our Mercadona croquettes in the oven.
2026 Total Solar Eclipse near Coomonte on Peñalcuerno
The next day most of the afternoon we spent exploring surrounding area of Coomonte and mianly castles. However, after lunch and quick rest in the appartment at 5:00 p.m., we were already on the hill waiting for the total solar eclipse. We came early so that we can get the best to observe the entire eclipse. I found a nice rock to sit on with a beautiful view of the fields and the backdrop of rock formations just in front of us and the mountains in the horizon. My friend decided to tan a bit by the car, as there was almost nobody there yet and the actual eclipse was hours away. There were some scattered clouds and a bit of fog in the air, probably from all the wildfires. Though I heard someone mentioning calima (a weather phenomenon where strong winds lift fine dust and sand from the Sahara Desert and carry them across the atmosphere), which would explain the high temperatures (42°C or 108°F) in the North Spain.
I set up my camera and I noticed that the filter that I put for observing sun had more and more dust from the wind, so I had to cover it with a cover from the tripod so that it is not fully covered in dust before the eclipse as we still had couple hours to wait.
The rocks I was sitting on were quite uncomfortable and I felt that hard and spiky rock so I put my towel that the beach towel that I brought with me to make it into a more comfortable seat until the eclipse. I could hear the humming sound of the wind turbines. It is difficult to describe it and I don’t think any of my cameras captured that sound. Also, the wind turbines were stopped once the eclipse have begun. Not sure if it was for safety reasons, since there were quite few people around or if there was another reason.
We could see cars piling up down the hill next to the wind turbines and we felt quite lucky to be in the higher spot and at that time there was very little people there just a few cars but mostly were further away from us but suddenly all of that changed.
Soon after a group of people with a tripod and their camera arrived and they started looking for a spot behind us and then another three people came and they setup a post higheer on a rock, hiding from the sun under their umbrella while they were having some drinks and waiting for eclipse to happen.
We’ve noticed more and more cars coming over and parking in the parking lot down below, so we’re expecting more and more people to come for the eclipse.
Out of nowhere, an energetic battalion of suburban pioneers descended upon our immediate vicinity, apparently having identified the two-metre perimeter surrounding our vehicle as the premier destination for their upcoming solar eclipse expedition picnic.
Without a moment of hesitation, the enthusiastic crowd unpacked an entire living room suite’s worth of foldable armchairs, portable refrigerators, and dining tables, effectively converting our dusty parking area into an impromptu open-air banquet hall. They encircled our poor motor vehicle so tightly that the car quickly became the central ornamental centerpiece of their grand buffet. We were a bit worried for a moment, that our car is ruinding this highly organized parking-lot festival and considered moving it, but in the end we left it, where it was as aftter that finding a parking spot might have been more difficult than it looks.
Observing a multi-generational clan enthusiastically slice into a massive loaf of rustico bread to construct bocadillos de jamón, all whilst leaning casually against our rear wing mirror, provided a remarkably magnificent spectacle. Moreover, an enormous earthenware dish of freshly cooked tortilla de patatas was unveiled alongside several chilled bottles of tinto de verano, officially converting our bumper into their personal tapas bar. Our peaceful afternoon viewing session was swiftly replaced by front-row seats to the world’s most aggressively festive display of competitive Spanish picnicking.
I took the first shot of the sun through my newly purchased NEEWER filter meant for solar photography. The sun looked good and even could see some sunspots.
Once the eclipse started at 7:33 p.m. the entire hour flew by so quickly. I was taking shot after shot with my camera, just to findou later that all my pictures are out of focus. The reason for that was that my Canon Powershot HS70 SX doesn’t perfrom well in low light condtions and electronic focus seemed not to be working properly, so I set it up to manual focus, which was the biggest mistake!
I was so excited to see the diamond ring (aka Baily’s Beads) forming on the Sun. In all fairness I was just looking through the LCD on my camera instead of observing it with my eyes directly on the Sun! I so much regret it. Also, I notived a lot of reflections on my camera, which meant it wasn’t wiped properly and now in almost dark I didn’t know where the lens cloth was and alcohol wipes I forgot in the appartment! This got me even more stresed and I tried to find a better angle, but all photos came out terrible.
In a few seconds at 6:29:21 pm the light completely dimmed and it was Total Solar Eclipse! I was trying to take some pictures, but it seemed my camera was taking long exposures and since the tripod was moving it was all just bad and blurry.
I lifted my eyes for a moment into the sky. That view of totallity was breathtaking. I gazed for a moment, when I noticed that the diamond is forming on the other side already! Damn this was so short!
I started taking pictures again, but with really bad focus. My old camera from 2007 was tkaing so much better pictures in all fairness! I even started considering to buy that refurbished old camera and use it for future Solar Eclipses!
Funny enough, just before the totality an old man received a call on his old mobile phone and he kept chatting and ruining the moment. Luckily he stopped just before the totality. Also, the way people were swearing in Spanish when they saw the eclipse got recorded in my video!
Oh yes, just before eclipse I lifted my drone and left it hovering. I thought I was shooting the hill and the upcoming shadow of the sun, but it turned out I was facing the sun all the time. Also straight after Total Solar Eclipse I flew back my drone right towards me, but I was so stressed to land it in the stony terrain, that I accidentally instead of going up I pushed to the side and I crashed my drone into a stone. Some of the propellers broke off, but I hope the drone and camera on it are ok.
I also saw some of my friends eating and I warned them about the curse of eclipse. All the time I only drank water.
I did managed to make better shots after eclipse, with an automatic focus on and here is the compilation of Sun phases after the totallity, which looks much more better than the ones before eclipse.
What was very interesting that once the sun was approaching the horizon and was about to set, the colours became more and more red and the sun bacame too dim for the ND10000 filter! I looked with my naked eyes to the sun and it was not so bright anymore. The colours were amazing! I tried to take some pictures with my mobile phone and they would have been good if I haven’t left HDR more enabled, which completely distorted sun colours. These shots below are the best looking ones.
The Sun colour trough the filter was so red and I noticed longer exposures, so I decided to remove the filter completely and continue taking photos without it.
To my surprise it actually looked good without filter! The sun was a bit overexposed, but I could see the contour of the horizong in the picture.
The sun started going behind the mountains, while the moon was still covereing several percent of the Solar disc. This was probably once in a lifetime view as I never seen Total Eclipse like that! Also there was a chance not to see it due to the clouds, but it all turned out perfect.
The moment the Sun was almost gone, the eclipse have finished. At the same time the turbines have switched back on. We were ready to go home with a successfully observed Total Solar Eclipse. However, those Spanish picnic people were blocking our car. Additionally, our driver has backed the car a bit too much and the back left weehl was handing in the air. We all started screaming and if he would have went a bit more backwards, the car would have fell down the hill and it is a big drop there. It looked really terrifying from outside and even picnic people were terrified. Luckily, he made it out alive!
After we got back to the appartment it was time for dinner. Since the town of Commonte doesn’t really have restaurants and just one bar, we bought some pizzas a day before from Mercadona in Benavente town.