Confused roosters crowed and mothers thrust children under their beds during a solar eclipse of the sun that plunged much of Venezuela, Colombia and the Caribbean in deep twilight Thursday, inspiring awe and not a little fear.

Thousands of cruise ship tourists, Carnival revelers and astronomers gathered to behold the Western Hemisphere's last total solar eclipse of the century.At Venezuela's Plaza Bolivar in downtown Caracas, New Age devotees formed a circle, closed their eyes and opened their palms in worship.

Families enjoying the spectacle on the Dutch island of Curacao spread picnic fare on a windswept plain dotted by 15-foot cacti and slow-running iguanas.

But in some places, the phenomenon caused panic. In Haiti, parents thrust children under their beds and youngsters raced to get home for fear of being struck blind - an exaggeration of the damage that can be done to unprotected eyes.

Confused roosters crowed as if it were dawn in Valledupar, a state capital in Colombia surrounded by ranchland. Nocturnal animals awoke while birds retreated to their nests, thinking it was bedtime.

"It's a mystery. Who knows what will happen? Who knows whether the sun will return?" Osman Jordan said as he arranged rows of apples, bananas and onions on a wooden stand at the pier of Willemstad, capital of Curacao.

Jordan, 42, had brought lanterns to light his stand.

Radio hosts spent the day trying to alleviate fears of a phenomenon this island won't experience for another 600 years. Around the Caribbean, government officials spent weeks edu-cating the public. Some distributed special glasses for safe viewing.

One campaign in Haiti caused a panic that forced schools and shops to close. A mayor warned people's eyes would burst if they looked at the sun.

A new rumor ran through Port-au-Prince Thursday morning: Under the cover of darkness, right-wing activists would return ousted dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier.

View Comments

"There's a lot of people who fear this eclipse," said Zaira Busby, 24, of the Curacao government's Solar Eclipse Committee. "But to me this is great. It's a once in a lifetime experience."

Dozens of families, scientists and amateur astronomers converged on the island's West-punt, where the darkness lasted more than three minutes.

In a total solar eclipse, the moon blocks all but the sun's corona, its flaring outer envelope, casting the Earth into deep twilight through which the stars and planets shine.

Many areas experienced a partial eclipse, from Ecuador to Puerto Rico to parts of the southeastern United States.

Join the Conversation
Looking for comments?
Find comments in their new home! Click the buttons at the top or within the article to view them — or use the button below for quick access.