From a Ship to the Universe.
Fishing Refuges Part 2 of 4.
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"In retrospect, a ship resembles many other systems, such as our own bodies, the digestive system, or the nervous system. We can also think of it as a company or a band. What's interesting about systems is that when one part fails, all the others begin to fall apart.
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Alonso I. Rodríguez de la Parra, explorer and documentary filmmaker.
Quino The Guardian - Alonso I. Rodríguez de la Parra
Being aboard a ship is an almost illusory experience, because when you disconnect from land, time seems to pass differently. What was once solid ground now seems distant, and immersing yourself in the water separates you from any earthly thoughts. The moment you embark, you cease to be yourself and become part of the ship.
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In the middle of the blue - Alonso I. Rodríguez de la Parra
What is a ship? It goes far beyond simply being a piece of metal, wood, or both in some cases. It is much more than an inanimate object, for it actually performs numerous functions similar to those of any other living organism. A ship can be imposing, solid, and powerful, but it can also be simple, noble, and extremely fragile. I often wonder why people feel the need to touch a ship when they are near it or on board, to tap its hull, or simply to gently stroke one of its railings. A ship emanates much more than the feeling of being an inanimate object; it is a being that lives and survives in countless ways. And when a captain, an engineer, and a crew board it, it comes alive completely, becoming a living extension of the different individuals who, in synchronicity and in an obligatory symbiosis, transform this object, often mislabeled as inanimate, into a powerful entity that drives the entire system.
Dr. Agüitas doing his thing - Alonso I. Rodríguez de la Parra
A ship without a captain is not a ship, just as a captain without a ship is not a true captain. They depend on each other to exist. Sometimes, ships seem to make decisions on their own. Engines can stop working for no apparent reason, like when a child decides to throw a tantrum and refuses to walk. For no apparent reason, a ship can behave in ways that are sometimes incomprehensible to us. It is the chief engineer's responsibility to ensure the ship is happy, or rather, if the chief engineer is not happy, neither will the ship be, and this could determine whether the ship wants to move forward. All the crew members work together to ensure that this ship, of which we are all a part, functions as one, as a unified organism with a powerful mission.
Diving Monitors - Alonso I. Rodríguez de la Parra
This time, I'm not just aboard the vessel Quino the Guardian; this time, I am Quino the Guardian. I am an entity with a powerful mission that, without the other parts, doesn't function, or at least wouldn't be the same. Everyone present on this mission is Quino the Guardian. On this expedition, Quino the Guardian is comprised of a chef; and I mention this first because those of us who are often part of ships know that the chef's role is one of the most important for the ship to function. Also on board are a captain, a second-in-command and head of security, a chief engineer, a group of sailors, scientists, fishermen, diving instructors, biologists, divemasters, and a writer and documentary filmmaker; in this particular case, I fulfill that role within this great organism. And so, all together, we sailed with a very clear purpose: to carry out one of the many monitoring efforts done each year to understand ocean conditions. On one side, there were people taking samples and analyzing DNA in the water, others creating phonograms by recording sounds found in the water with a hydrophone, others counting fish using very specific and effective methodologies, others analyzing and counting starfish and mollusks, others analyzing and compiling all the data to interpret it and draw conclusions. I was taking photographs, videos, and interviewing all the participants. The chef and his assistant were feeding us and enthusiastically reminding us to keep drinking water, making sure we could all function so the ship could run. And on the other side, the chief engineer was pleasing this enormous hull that gives us all life with oil and gentle caresses.
During the Fishing Shelters Expedition - Alonso I. Rodríguez de la Parra
In retrospect, a ship resembles many other systems, such as our bodies, the digestive system, or the nervous system. We can also think of it as a company or a band. The interesting thing about systems is that when one part fails, all the others begin to fall apart. If we consider the different systems that govern us all, we realize how important small things are for larger things to function, and then even larger things to function, and so on ... you see what I mean, right?
Monitoring Zones for Fishing Refuges - Alonso I. Rodríguez de la Parra
Family, politics, school, work, retirement, human relationships, pets, wild animals, the weather, beehives, bees—everything, from what we consider individual to what we perceive as collective, are smaller collectives of systems that make everything work. We often think of the universe as a vast entity so immense that our participation in it is obsolete, that it doesn't matter if we profess good or evil, if we act rightly or wrongly, nothing will change. Sometimes we think of ourselves as so obsolete and tiny in the face of what we believe to be infinite that we underestimate our role in the system. I'm going to shift our thinking from the universe to something much, much smaller than all of that, to a small system which, if we put our minds to it, we can visualize and try to better understand how it works. This small system that floats in the universe fulfilling its role is called Planet Earth. Planet Earth is an entity that functions thanks to a million systems that function because of another million systems. And with that said, I can't help but wonder, are we truly insignificant? Does what we do really not affect this entire system on a larger scale? Perhaps we are the only ones capable of experiencing the universe as we are, or perhaps not, but one thing I am certain of is that we have an important role. And although, compared to the universe, I am just a speck of dust, I know that there are even smaller specks of dust upon which I depend entirely for my existence, and that if there is anything I can do to ensure that life itself exists, I will do it. And I'm not saying this about myself, just to be clear, but perhaps someone in the distant future, when we can overcome adversity and heal the planet of all its ills, then, only then, will someone be able to say that a speck of dust was what saved the entire universe.
The Little Submarine - Alonso I. Rodríguez de la Parra
"In retrospect, a ship resembles many other systems, such as our body, the digestive system, or the nervous system. We can also see it as a company or a band. The interesting thing about systems is that when one part of the system fails, all the others begin to fall apart."
Alonso I. Rodríguez de la Parra