By Mark Hodson, editor of 101 Holidays
If you’re looking for a trip of a lifetime, nothing can quite match a total eclipse of the Sun. This year, on 22 July 2009, a Total Solar Eclipse will sweep across China. Some trips were booked out months ago.
If you miss that one, there’s another in July 2010 that will cross large swathes of the Pacific Ocean, including Easter Island off the coast of Chile, home to the ancient Moai stone heads.
The tour operator, Explore, is lining up tour trips to Easter Island to coincide with the eclipse, two of which will be led by expert astronomers. One of these, the 15-day Atacama, Easter Island & Eclipse tour, will be led by Dr Francisco Diego, who is based at University College London.
A couple of years ago I was lucky enough to join an Explore trip to see the Perseid meteor shower over the island of La Palma in the Canaries, which was led by Dr Diego (pictured above). He proved to be a wonderful host: passionate about his subject, entertaining and charming.
As the name suggests, this trip will also take in a visit to Chile’s Atacama Desert, one of my favourite places in the world. The stark, lunar landscapes are astonishing and the stargazing there is – well – out of this world. Truly, this will be a holiday of a lifetime.
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Tags: Explore