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The 63-year-old Texas woman says she has traveled to all seven
continents and even the oceans between them in pursuit of total
solar eclipses, seeing every one since 1998, and several before
then.
The total eclipse over North America on Monday will raise that
count to 21, but this time she need not travel far. Her
Dallas-area home in Farmers Branch is within the eclipse's path
of totality - or when the sun is fully blocked by the moon.
Still, she plans to travel about an hour south just to enjoy a
few more moments of the eclipse.
"I'm addicted to that feeling of ... for those few seconds or
minutes, being one with the universe and being really present
and feeling it. And then, of course, there's always the planning
for the next one," Ferrer said.
"My life is measured in eclipses."
Ferrer budgets for travel and takes vacation from her day job to
witness the events, saying this will be her third in North
America.
"I've been to Europe for one of them. I've now gone to Africa
twice. I've gone to Australia three times. I've gone to
Antarctica twice. I've gone to Asia three times. I think that
counts for Indonesia. Oh, and a couple of oceans. There were a
couple of them, we were in the middle of the Atlantic or the
middle of the Pacific. It wasn't on land anywhere," Ferrer said.
Her obsession has had its challenges. In 2017, Ferrer was
diagnosed with ovarian cancer, but she delayed treatment to make
it to see an eclipse that year. In 2010, her first husband died,
and she traveled to South America the following month because,
"I watched his dreams die with him, and I'm not going to let my
dreams die."
A year later, Ferrer met her current husband on a dating website
where her profile stated she had a mission to see every total
solar eclipse. She will also hunt the occasional hybrid
solar eclipse.
Ferrer, who has a podcast about eclipses and has traveled across
Texas for speaking engagements, says she hopes to make it to age
103 so she can see her 50th total or hybrid solar eclipse.
(Reporting by Evan Garcia; Editing by Aurora Ellis)
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