Montréal

The 7.5-hour connecting flight from Frankfurt landed us in Montreal just after noon on Sunday. We wanted to get here the day before the eclipse to ensure travel delays didn't cause us to miss the spectacle.

The flight was amazingly good for an Air Canada ride, good food, on time, and not completely sold out.

We hopped on the 747 bus to get us into town, and I couldn't believe how much the city has changed in seven years. So much construction has taken place in that time that I literally did not know where I was, even in areas that were once my stomping grounds.

But let's get to the main event. I've always been a bit of a sky watcher, always fascinated by the things that go on in our heavens, meteor showers, planetary alignments, giant harvest moons, and, of course, eclipses. It was last October, while watching the partial solar eclipse, that I learned of today's event and immediately started making plans to see it. We were supposed to spend more time in Italy after our cruise, but neither of us could pass up this once in a lifetime experience, so we cut our Italian stay down to just seven days and decided to stop in Montreal on our way back to Vancouver.

Today's celestial spectacle confirmed that we made the right choice.

We made our way to Montreals Old Port to watch the show, and when we arrived at 1:15, thousands of people were already there awaiting the 2:17 start time. Some Cirque de Soleil performers worked through the crowd to help pass the time.

The eclipse would only reach totality at 3:26, and the crowds anticipation grew with each passing minute.

Exactly as predicted, at 2:17, the smallest little portion of the lower right corner of the sun disappeared. As the minutes went on, more and more of Old Sol went black until only a tiny sliver of light shone from the top right corner.

As the sun gradually disappeared, the sky took on a strange hue, a circular rainbow formed in the wispy clouds above, the temperature began to drop, and lights in nearby office buildings began turning on.

When the last bit of sun was obscured, Baileys Beads danced around the outline of the moon and a brilliant corona formed, allowing everyone to look at the sun without eclipse glasses. The crowd was cheering, clapping, oohing and aahing, and every eye was fixed on the ring of light in the sky.

A short ninety seconds later, the corona began to dissolve, and we all had to go back to watching through the blackout glasses.

The beauty and magic of the eclipse is something we will never forget, and Brenda and I agreed we would consider traveling to see another one. I may not be around by the time the next total eclipse crosses North America in 2044, but there will be one over some parts of Europe on August 12, 2026. Time to start planning!Read more