BACKGROUND
Welcome! My name is Caitlin Donohue, or Donno, or Donnaroo! My philosophy is to kill as many birds with one stone as possible. That’s why I love what I do for work! When I’m not eclipse trip planning, I am usually setting up the dressing rooms for bands before a show in the NYC/Long Island area. I’ve also been a Tour Manager and have a brain for logistics, organization and flow.
So far in life, I’ve followed my heart to find the kind of work that will keep me excited. As a musician myself, I crave being around live music. But in April 2024, something else caught my eye. I went out of my way to see the total solar eclipse in upstate NY, simply because I was a few hours away from the path of totality and I kept hearing about how it’s a once in a lifetime experience.
The impact it left on me was one of true awe, and I couldn’t imagine that being the only time in my life I ever got to see it. I knew I had to experience this again. After all, it’s the only thing I can think of that I would willingly skip a John Mayer concert for (I’ve seen him 45 times and counting). Nothing was above John Mayer…until totality. Now the totem pole is total solar eclipse, with John Mayer right behind.
After that experience, I immediately started planning to go to Europe for the total eclipse in 2026. When I checked out the eclipse tours being offered online, I just felt like something was missing. Of course I want to see historical sites, beautiful scenery and enjoy local cuisines, but I was looking for something more, and I didn’t see it being offered from what I could find. I was looking for a vibe.
If anyone felt what I felt when seeing totality, they’d have a desire to feed the soul. So I decided, I’ve got experience being a Tour Manager, I’m super organized and passionate about this. And most of all, I can’t imagine I’m the only one like myself out there. So if I’m going through all of this effort to plan my own totality experience, why not try and see if other people want to join me? Ah, but summer time is busy concert season! So I kill 2 birds with one stone. I need to find a way to make this a job.
What I’ve done is curate what I personally believe is an ideal eclipse trip. I wanted to give people a reason to book with me, but also, leave room to explore!
You can feel comfortable knowing I’ve been there before—I made a quick trip in August to Spain to drive around and find potential viewing points. (Check out my Instagram highlights reels to see the whole trip).
The vision I have for Donnaroo’s Totality is an arc. Leading up to the eclipse, I wanted some meditative activities to bring us back to the present moment for a grounding feeling. For those who have not experienced totality, this is more than just a cool thing to look at. There’s something to viscerally feel in some primal state of being a human. So before you experience totality, check back in with yourself.
In Valencia, I’ve arranged for a sound bath one day, and a yoga class on another. The instructors are aware of our intentions and the awesomeness that is about to be the total eclipse. We’ll go to the planetarium at the City of Arts and Sciences to learn and get pumped up about what we’re about to see in the coming days.
So we’re meditating, grounding and learning in the first few days in Valencia. Then we head to Castellon de la Plana for our hotel where we will experience obviously the climax of this arc with totality. Transportation between Valencia and Castellon is already complementary. And if the weather doesn’t look great where we are on the day of the eclipse, we have guaranteed transportation within a 3 hour radius.
The last part of the arc will be after the eclipse. If you’re anything like me, you’ll be chasing that natural high you just experienced. We head to Barcelona (transportation between Castellon & Barcelona is also complementary) and stay at Gargallo Rialto Hotel in the Gothic Quarter, which is one of the best places to be in my opinion. Barcelona is an absolutely awesome, energetic city. I only had 15 hours there in August and MAAAAAN am I PUMPED to end the trip here. This part of the arc is about high energy, Aside from some other things I’ve planned, we will also get to partake in a holotropic breathing session. I’ve done Wim Hof breathing but not holotropic before, but from what I understand, it is the most natural way to achieve another state of consciousness. After that profound feeling of totality, I think this would be an amazing experience.
I’ve left the last day, Saturday, mostly free. Personally, the only way I can explain the feeling of excitement from totality is when a great song hits you and you get the chills. So I will be going to either a concert or a club. It’s party time now. I intentionally did not book any concert tickets for this evening because I think you should find your own perfect ending. (Also, the music that gives me chills might not be the same kind of music for you). How does your arc end? How will you experience Donnaroo’s Totality?