Portuguese surfer Eurico Romaguera and Spanish photographer Jorge Abian dreamed of riding and capturing a very special wave in Ilulissat, Greenland.
It was not just any wave, but one created by the calving of an iceberg into the sea, a phenomenon that occurs during the summer melt.
Romaguera is a professional surfer from Portugal who blends his passion for waves with his love for the arts and music.
He organizes the Gliding Barnacles event in Figueira da Foz.
Eurico also travels the world in search of the best waves while immersing himself in diverse cultures and meeting new people.
Abian is a photographer, filmmaker, and entrepreneur who has worked across the technology and travel industries.
He led the expansion of Tinder and Uber in Europe, managed Trip4Real's acquisition by Airbnb, and founded Land of Ride, an adventure company for athletes.
Patience and Resilience
The duo embarked on a journey to Ilulissat to fulfill this cold water surfing fantasy.
Their adventure, titled "Greenland Dream," was documented by Spanish filmmakers Nico Pina and Ibai Mielgo.
"This feat has been accomplished in Alaska before, but never in Greenland," underlines Romaguera.
"It was a completely new challenge for all of us."
"We didn't know if we would be able to achieve it within a limited time and with no idea where to find the wave."
Nevertheless, the accomplishment of the project required patience and resilience.
"We connected with local fishermen, and even they found it extraordinary," added Abian.
"They guided us to potential spots where calving events could create the waves we were seeking, places where ice or land formations could shape the waves caused by the glacier's collapse."
The surfer and the lensman were accompanied by two media professionals so that they could capture the rare event in all its glory.
Nicolas Pina is a director and cinematographer from Barcelona.
He specializes in adventure and extreme sports documentaries, capturing the human interaction with the world's most challenging environments.
Ibai Mielgo is a photographer and filmmaker from the Basque Country.
He divides his time between his homeland and Barcelona, searching for the essence of adventure in the world's most remote and extreme locations, crafting visual stories that evoke deep emotions and personal connections.
Fulfilling Dreams
The "Greenland Dream" was fully documented in One Shot Parallel Dreams Edition, part of an annual series launched by Blue Banana that showcases the most spectacular nature and adventure images captured by renowned photographers.
In its first edition in 2021, the organizers succeeded in the challenge of photographing a humpback whale in its natural habitat in collaboration with photographer Gonzalo Pasquier, who traveled to French Polynesia to capture the shot.
The following year, Canadian photographer Justin Choquette joined an expedition to the Karakoram Range in the Himalayas to capture an image of Mount K2 from the Gongodoro Pass.
In the 2023 edition, Italian photographer Giulia Gartner fulfilled his dream of photographing wild horses in Turkey.
Eurico Romaguera became the first surfer to ride a wave triggered by a glacier calving event in Greenland, a feat that was pioneered by Garrett McNamara and Kealii Mamala in Alaska.