Eclipsed solar eclipse

There had been 14 days of great mornings. We had eyed a great spot on the eastern part of Shengsi Island. A small pagoda was just big enough for the 6 of us. I, Andy, Emma, Rich, Jason and his girlfriend (whose name has just slipped my mind). Jason was wearing his lucky hat,bought last year in Hami. What could possibly go wrong?

The morning broke. Or more precisely, the alarm clock beeped. It was 3.30 am. Way before neither me nor Rich usually get up. I hadn't had more than maybe 1 hours worth of sleep. Anticipation, maybe. Or the fact that the sky opened at 11 pm the previous night and showered the earth with its precious gifts of water and fireworks. And that people where stumbling through the doors of the hotel throughout the night. 

I quickly, well, as quickly as I could at that time of the day, jumped up an into the bathroom. Decided against a shower since I had too little time. Just a simple wash to give an excuse for wearing deodorant. Rich got up, and we were ready when the taxidriver called us. He was outside the hotel. We snuck out past the guard whose snoring rivalled mine. Left the roomkey at the reception and headed for the taxi. "My umbrella!" I said and ran back to the hotel, past the guard, picked up the key and ran up to the room. Running up stairs isn't my cup of tea. Escpecially not in 30 degrees. 2 minutes later my umrella and me were safely in the taxi. We were to pick up Andy and Emma at a seafood restaurant near their hotel.

After picking them up, we headed for our destination. Using the light on our mobile phones, we managed to find our way to the pagoda. The sun was starting to rise. And the fog was heavy. "It will burn away!" we all said confidently. All the islanders had ensured us this morning was going to be great like all the others. They would know, right?

The hours passed and the sun was nowhere to be seen. We were starting to get nervous. I sent a message to a friend I knew was with a group much further southwest. It was clearing at their spot. At least they would see something. I and Jason where synchronizing our clocks to get the exact timing, and discussing the theoretical possibilities of zero mass black holes. Just to pass the time and try to think of something else. 

Then the graciously giving skies poured down on us again. My umbrella proved its worth. We were starting to lose hope. The rain stopped and suddenly Andy exclaimed "I can see the sun!". We all brought out our eclipse glasses. A small chunk of the sun had already been eaten. Our spirits were up. Nic called. A guy at the hotel had checked a satellit image, and seen that there was an opening heading our way. "YESS!". We're gonna see it! 

The minutes slipped by, and the sun was visible through the thick haze. Suddenly, we saw an opening. Blue sky! It looked like we were going to see it all. I prepared my camera for totality. Made a few exposures of the last minutes before totality. We started to look out for the shadow. I looked up a few seconds before totality, and a large, black cloud moved in front of the sun. "NO!" I screamed. The shadow zipped across us, and we were in the dark. Totally in the dark. No sun at all. No beautiful corona. No screaming in ecstatic euphoria. Just darkness. We saw a few glimpses of totalyto through a small hole in the cloud. But that was it. I counted the minutes, praying for an opening. 6 minutes later, the light came on again, and we could see the sun appearing. I sighed. 6 eclipses and one dud. I couldn't hide my disappointment. Just wanted to get off the island and head south. Away from it all. Into another country. Maybe the "land of the smiles" could cheer me up. 

I said goodbye to those I met before I and Rich took the ferry back to Shanghai. I had a plane to catch. Nanning was waiting on the horizon. But that's another story. For another entry.

Ragnar

Licenced to be disappointed and grumpy