Swiss architect and urban planner Hans Geilinger, based in Barcelona, completed a twelve-year circumnavigation of the globe with his wife Imma on a twelve-meter sailboat. They began the voyage in 2011, covering 50,000 nautical miles and encountering serious danger. This experience is the basis for his book Tuvalu (Elba), which was the central theme of the conference held on Wednesday, January 14 at the Casa de Cultura de Girona, as part of the activities cycle organized by the Associació Gironina d'Amics del Mar (AGAM).
“"I had a comfortable and orderly life: I had my wife, my daughter, I was a professor of Architecture, I had a studio, I liked the city of Barcelona, I felt at home. I didn't leave because I thought all of that was a disaster, but because I wanted to experience something new, sensations that I had the intuition might not exist in terrestrial life. Leaving the comfort zone means getting into something completely unknown."
In a previous interview, Geilinger reflected on the lessons learned from the trip. Although he expected to find answers to important life questions, he admitted that twelve years later he returned with more questions than ever, understanding that the purpose of the experience is precisely to open the mind and question many things, especially after witnessing poverty in places like Sudan or Haiti.
“"You have to get along well with the sea. If you respect it - with its winds, currents, reefs, sharks, crocodiles - it gives back a lot. If it's bad, you can suffer greatly. It's about having the confidence that one day the sun will come out again and everything will have passed."
The architect emphasized that these extreme experiences reinforce personal confidence. He also highlighted the importance of the inner calm provided by observing the sea, describing it as a form of meditation. Finally, he contrasted Western life with the happiness found in communities like Fulaga, an islet in Fiji, where the true luxury is time, not material possessions.
