Today we asked Carlos – a member of the Barcelona Swimmers open water club – what the sea represents for him.

They say that the sea heals everything. This is true, perhaps it is the salty taste entering the mouth, the swaying of the waves, the splashing, the perennial sound of the waters in eternal movement or the freezing temperature when we swim in winter and infuses us with the spirit of a beautiful sadomasochism. All this makes it have a liberating and narcotic effect on Swimmers. I consider myself a person with a deep connection with the sea. The sea has always been in my memories, whether it was playing with my sister on endless Pacific beaches when we were children, whether it was camping with my friends eating bread in solitude, whether it was in scary stories surrounded by a campfire with the sea as background sound, whether it’s riding waves, whether it’s watching the Sunset with a broken heart. However, since I have been in the Barcelona Swimmers open water club, I feel that the connection I have with the sea is deeper, where every Saturday we immerse ourselves in its waters. Of all my past addictions, this is undoubtedly the richest, the healthiest, the most transparent and the only one (I know) that will accompany me all my life.

With the Barcelona Swimmers open water club, I have spent more time floating in the water than on land. I believe that we do not share a hobby or pastime, but a way of life, a style of seeing things or cultivating the art of patience that is gained by swimming against the current in the open sea, where the only reference to guide us on a horizon obtuse is a little black dot that we see in the distance. There is a magical and dreamlike thing about being hundreds of meters (or several kilometers) out to sea, floating before the immensity and seeing our calm and peaceful faces.

And to know that after each journey we take, we say goodbye with a phrase that reflects our community alone: next time, see you in the sea.

And now we ask you: what does it represent for you?