Palma is empty during the eclipse: "We're going home. We're afraid to look at it"

PalmaA couple of young people are about to cross the street in Plaça d'Espanya. They are not going to watch the eclipse. "We're leaving for home. We're scared to look at it," she says, while her boyfriend pulls her by the hand because the traffic light is about to turn red. She leaves without even explaining why she's scared. The sun is still shining brightly, but in the streets, you can tell it's not a normal day. For a moment, it seems like we've returned to the days of the pandemic: there are hardly any cars, you see closed shops, and traffic is much lower compared to any summer day.

The only place where there are crowds is in the queue of people who still hope to reach the EMT buses that travel to El Arenal. "We have too much work," says a worker, without stopping to give directions to the passengers who have to board the vehicles. "We asked for the cards a while ago, but now there are too many people," he adds. "They told me this bus drops you off at the coast," a young man tells a friend as they are about to board.

A good observer will have noticed a curious fact: the only shops that have closed are local businesses. Franchises and big brands have kept their usual opening hours, although the workers, mostly women, had a quieter closing today thanks to the low customer turnout. Ice cream parlors have also not stopped offering their products to passers-by. "We haven't sold any ice cream for a while. But we can't close because there are cameras that record what we do," explains a worker.

In a well-known bookstore, almost empty, a worker shows photos of her dog to a friend, while a whole family leaves with a serious expression. Little by little it gets dark and a group of tourists debates at the door of a well-known clothing brand store what to do. "We didn't go because we didn't have glasses. We talked about it and in the end we preferred to go shopping," explains one. "We came to Palma the other day and it's surprising to see it so empty. We shopped very relaxed. Now it's strange how it gets dark," adds her friend.

Inside another shop, the sales assistants are arranging clothes. It is past 8 p.m. "There are still people here. Many of those who came said they were not interested in the eclipse, that people seemed to have gone crazy," comments one. Outside, the queues to catch the bus have disappeared.

Outside the Intermodal station, some workers watch as night falls completely, now indeed. They explain that the trains have continued to run on their usual schedule and that "they have not passed through any dangerous areas" for the drivers to see. In the darkness, while everyone was amazed by the sudden and ephemeral night, a pedestrian approaches. "Where do I catch bus 35?", they ask. "It depends on where you're going. Either over there or next door," one of the workers replies while the others make fun of him. "This one hasn't realized anything," one can hear.

At the foot of the statue of Jaume I, two women speak vehemently. They are so focused on their conversation that they don't even stop to look around. Next to them are some young people with cans of beer staring at nothing, and two local police officers stand with their arms crossed next to the official car they park every day in the middle of this place in Palma.

It seems that the light is returning faster than it left minutes before. The bus stops are full of people looking at images of the eclipse on their phones. "It wasn't that, that exciting," a man says to his wife, while a security guard at the Intermodal says that "it was strange, nothing more".

In the Parc de les Estacions, people are watching an outdoor cinema, and below, in the shops of the Intermodal, waiters and waitresses are busy closing up after a day's work. "I told my son to record it for me to watch when I get home," says a worker, who also assures that it has been a normal workday down there.