'It's like you're in another dimension': Solar eclipse over P.E.I. leaves watchers in awe

P.E.I.'s temperature dropped. The street lights came on. And it suddenly got eerily dark during a sunny afternoon on Monday.

The experience, and weather, couldn't have been much better for the thousands of people gathered across the Island to watch the much-anticipated total solar eclipse — the last on P.E.I. for 55 years.

Families gathered on blankets in parks and backyards, commuters pulled over to the side of the road, and workers took a break to peek out the window or watch from doorsteps.

Crowds looked up in amazement, through special protective glasses, as the moon gradually blocked the sun. Around 4:37 p.m. AT, during the eclipse's darkest moment, or totality, viewers let out a loud cheer.

The cosmic spectacle was especially magnificent for the large crowd gathered at Mill River, on P.E.I.'s west coast, which was on the path of totality for the eclipse.

"It felt peaceful," said Karen Forrest. "It's like you're in another dimension or something, another reality.

"It's so amazing — like you're in a movie seeing a different galaxy — when it actually had the full eclipse aspect of it."

Adrian van Daalen came all the way from the Netherlands to see the eclipse, the fourth he's seen in his lifetime. He's already planning his next one in Iceland, in 2026.

"I'm 75 and I'm going to total eclipses as long as I can," he said. 

Van Daalen said he's drawn by how small the Earth feels within the universe during an eclipse.

"You should be kind of grateful for the bigger things there are and it's so good to see," he told CBC News. "It's so unique."

It was eclipse number five for David Schultz, who saw previous solar eclipses in Malaysia, Iran, Madagascar, and Nigeria while he was teaching overseas.

He's now home in Charlottetown, and the two-hour drive to Mill River was too good to pass up.

"I'm glad that the eclipse followed me," he said. "I'm glad to say that I didn't have to travel very far.