Annular Eclipse 2024 from Puriscal

Sun during eclipse.

The annular eclipse was last Saturday, October 14th from around 10 am to 2 pm. Totality passed over the Caribbean side of the country, it didn’t extend our place but we were close. This is my first in person experience of a solar eclipse. I didn’t have the proper camera equipment and no special sunglasses so I made a pinhole camera out of a box. The pinhole camera allowed me to see a very small shadow of the sunlight. I preferred looking at the sun shapes through a food steamer. 

Food steamer, me and Smiley.

From around 11:30 am until totality, it was eerie outside. The light dimmed and cast an unusual hue. The temperature decreased. The color of the sky deepened. The local kettle of vultures flew in circles to their roosting site. The atmosphere was very still. It was quiet. It was a tad unsettling and thrilling all at the same time.

Solar eclipse through a food steamer.

In proper Costa Rica style, the electrical grid wanted express itself. I was outside during totality and heard beeps from the kitchen appliances shutting off and turning back on. The power went off momentarily. Coincidence?