This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with mother and daughter, Electra Yourke, 92, and Kate Yourke, 64. Business Insider has verified the cost of the trip. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Electra: This trip to Spain will be my ninth eclipse in 92 years. The first time I traveled to see one was to Costa Rica in 1991, when I was 57. I booked onto a tour that wasn’t expressly for seeing a total eclipse, but that’s why I was on it.
On the day of the eclipse, it had clouded over where we were. Everybody was like, “That’s too bad. We missed the eclipse. What’s for dinner?” I announced, “Get on the bus!”
As we drove farther north, the birds suddenly fell silent. On the bus, you could sense that something was happening in the atmosphere. We pulled over to the side of the road just in time for totality. The other travelers were astonished by how dramatic it was. I was delighted.
It’s hard to describe the feeling of seeing an eclipse. You’re looking at a phenomenon that you may only be able to see every year or so, and that’s only if you travel to see it. You get a feeling that there is something cosmic happening at a tremendous distance, and it’s quite arresting.
I’ve since seen eclipses everywhere from eastern China to the mountains of northern Chile. If you saw an eclipse in good conditions, you would understand the appeal.
In April 2024, Kate and her husband finally got what this was all about. After surviving my enthusiastic recitations for years, they saw for themselves how exciting an eclipse can be.
Kate: My mom and I drove from New York City to Vermont, almost to the Canadian border, to see a solar eclipse. It was our first time seeing one together, and it was phenomenal.
So when we figured out that the next total eclipse would be in Spain, which is very accessible from New York, we started planning.
This is our first international trip to see an eclipse together, and it feels so special to be doing this with my mom. There was no way I was not going to do it. I would have put a lot of things on hold to make this happen.
We built an 11-night vacation around a couple of minutes
Electra: When it comes to chasing eclipses, you don’t go somewhere solely for something that takes place within a couple of minutes. You figure out a vacation around it.
We’ve turned this total eclipse in northern Spain into a longer vacation, which has included a road trip from Lisbon, Portugal, to A Coruña, Spain, ending in Porto.
Kate: We booked the flights about two months ago and the accommodation a month ago. In A Coruña, where we’ll watch the eclipse, we’re staying in a little hotel.
In total, this 11-night trip has cost us about $2,350 each. That includes flights to and from New York, a rental car, and accommodation in Portugal and Spain. We saved money by staying with my husband’s friend in Lisbon for three nights. We usually travel in a budget-friendly way.
The idea of traveling halfway across the world for such a short event that could get clouded out would normally make me anxious. You’re putting a lot on the line for it. But it really is magical: it’s the only time you really feel that you’re standing on a sphere because you see the sunset all around.
I wanted to support an interest core to my mom’s personality
Kate: This trip is core Electra. My mom’s interest in eclipses and the delight she takes in the experience are core parts of her personality. I definitely wanted to support that.
I’m also glad we could do this in a comfortable way. I’m not sure I’d have wanted my mom to be on a bus going up roads in Peru or Nepal. This is something we really could do together.
Plus, I’m interested in science, and I teach STEAM, so there’s a shared interest here.
For multigenerational trips, that’s important. If you lean into things you have in common, I think you have a better chance of both being gratified.
We hope the next eclipse could be a three-generation trip
Electra: The essence of each eclipse is essentially the same. It’s the setting and the other people with you that make it different. That’s why it definitely feels special to go on this adventure with my daughter.
Kate: My children are 22 and 25. I wish they were here because it’s going to be kind of epic. It’s definitely possible that I’d choose to continue this tradition with them.
Electra: Though I’m maybe a little less agile nowadays, I’m in pretty good health. I’m hoping that next year, if I’m still up and running, we can all go to Egypt for the total eclipse.
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