Site Report: El Toro, Spain

Visits

• 2026-08-11: We arrived in Mallorca, and the first experience was getting scammed by Wiber Rent-a-car. Wiber refused to accept my credit card for a damage deposit, and instead force me to basically pay for the car again to have their "top" coverage, effectively doubling insurance coverage on the car. The rental was not refundable, so I was basically stuck paying. Then, the "full" gas tank turned out to be only partially full. They tried to scam us on that when we returned the car, but luckily we had proof via photos. We also saw other people denied their pre-paid non-refundable cars for not having an international drivers permit. So, keep in mind that Wiber is a scam company in the case you were considering using them. Anyway, early the next morning, we were out the door to scout for possible eclipse locations. I also thought it should be easy to find the Balearic Warbler. The first place we tried was El Toro. Unfortunately, the area was quite developed with ugly condos, and there were fences and no trespassing signs stopping a lot of our attempted routes to the coast. Then, after walking around for a short time, the weather started getting very hot and humid. We were unable to find any spot where we might be able to watch the eclipse, which was scheduled for sunset the following day.
• 2026-08-12: After failing to find a spot from where we could see the solar eclipse at several places the previous day, we did finally find a good place just as the sun was going down, Mirador de ses Malagrats. We were planning on going to that spot for the eclipse on August 12, but then the word on the street said that only residents would be allowed into the area. This was very concerning as there are very few places around the west coast of Mallorca that are not fenced off or blocked by ugly condos. To further complicate things, the total phase of the eclipse was going to be very low on the horizon, so any house or mountain was going to be in the way. There was an "official" viewing point on Santa Ponce beach, but we arrived on this beach to discover that it was a reasonably awful beach, and to top it off, there was a mountain in the way that was going to block the sun, possibly during the total eclipse. I decided to explore the area, and after a long walk, I discovered that our original plan, on the Malagats viewpoint, was actually feasible. To top it off, I discovered a secret entrance nearby to access the beach and the bay where every boat in the Balearic Sea was parked. We decided to chill out in the shade in a park near the viewpoint to wait out the rest of the day prior to the eclipse. We had some friends along to see the eclipse as well, and they were very slow moving to arrive in the location, and they were able to roll up in a taxi a short time before the show got started. So much for area closed to residents only. The eclipse itself was pretty cool as the low horizon viewing point turned the corona into an orange color, and then we were able to watch the partially eclipsed sun dip into the ocean. Afterward, and after dinner, there were still thousands of people waiting for transportation back to wherever they came from for the official eclipse viewing spot. There were no buses or taxis, so Barbara and I had to walk 4 miles back carrying beach chairs.

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