ANDRÉ'S JOURNEY TO GENTLE GIANTS
It’s funny how the universe seems to work in the strangest of ways... It lays down a path for you at times where you still don’t truly trust it. You see it, it’s close, but just not close enough for you to reach it. It lingers, though. It stays, it ventures into the depths of your mind. It transforms. It shows itself to you. It becomes part of your story.
My love towards the ocean, my love for nature starts at a very early age.
I recall running through the fields, welcoming the waves while they touched my feet, I recall the first time I put a diving mask on, the first link to becoming an ocean explorer.
The first connection to my own roots... My roots in terms of nationality, but above all, as a Human.
The first encounters that nurtured a wondering spirit, connections that gave rise not only to a curious soul, but to a storytelling one.
And with wonders, curiosity and a growing passion, my path began and the stones started being laid before me.
From earning my marine biology degree in the Azorean islands, completing my specialisation in Arctic marine biology in Svalbard, to working as a science communicator on board different cruise ships, there are two fundamental things I understood about myself, about what drives me, that I truly believe brought me to where I stand today, that opened the door to what, at Gentle Giants, we call the Blue Family.
Firstly, I discovered a passion for extreme environments and not only the possibility of life within them, but its ability to thrive. Then, the possibility of creating a story, the possibility of sharing science, of sharing the wonders of the natural world through words, images, smiles and awe.
Having always been drawn towards what many consider as uncanny places, Iceland has always been present. Present, not only due to the sheer magnitude of its landscape and culture, but exactly due to the paradoxically overwhelming, but calmingly hotspot for life that it is. A guardian of the doors of the Arctic, a window through the deep blue Atlantic to the misty, icy ocean. A heavenly portal for the giants of the sea.
On that note, having the belief that we need to experience the world, we need to see it to be able to care and protect it, what better way to put it than, “No one will protect what they don't care about; and no one will care about what they have never experienced” (David Attenborough), I truly believe the path upon which I should walk to be one of sharing, inspiring and teaching.
It’s not enough to have raw data... Being human lies at the very heart of being a researcher.
As a Human being, I truly believe one of our most important characteristics is our ability to connect. To connect not only with our peers, but our surroundings.
And what better way to connect with the marine world than through whales? After all, they are not only the gentle giants that share this planet with us, they are not only the creators of awe on those who have the chance to a gaze exchange with them.
They are the fundamental link for life not only at sea, but for life on land. They are just like a funny paradox, end and beginning together in time, enclosing a big circle.
Do you remember when, just 2 minutes ago, I mentioned that “the universe seems to work in the strangest of ways...”?
Well, Gentle Giants, the Blue Family, lingered in my mind for three years...
An idea at first...
A possibility...
A reality at last.
Come and discover the wonders of the Giants with us! Welcome to the Blue Family.
Text: André Fernando Torres Reis, Photos: Fábio Marcelino