I have already spent many months, of what I call the last “Libertalia”, some of the islands of the Cape Verde archipelago on the west coast of Africa. I use the title “Libertalia” because it’s a name which was used centuries ago by pirates who used the islands and which refers to an uncharted place.

I have decided to spend a year doing research and exploration in places, mainly underwater which have not been visited before. I have created a small base on the island of Mayo as having been advised by some biologists and natives who shared with me their stories of sightings of different species not only turtles, but of sharks and cetaceans,  and of two underwater canyons never explored before. Even in these days that all seems to have been found,  I can call myself a true explorer.

So I got to work, and following my instincts and research have been doing endless dives, free dives, used markers, ribs, boats, ships and planes as my research has also taken me to the Maldives and Madagascar, always returning to my humble fishing hut full of gear base on Mayo.

I was following a hunch that proved right. In the Maldives I found a lonely great white which was obviously lost. I was able to get onto his dorsal fin by free diving and mark it. Never before has a great white been seen in the Maldives and I knew it was because it was lost or looking for other feeding grounds as more and more the effects of the climate change make themselves be felt.  I also marked giant mantas, some common dolphins, whale sharks, nurse sharks, white tip sharks and turtles.

And surely after a week coinciding with the arrival of the monsoon, I could follow on my monitor the different species I had marked, the great white was heading back to South Africa, maybe next time he will head the other way, some mantas were heading for Mozambique. Some of these species go on great migrations. Even to my surprise some nurse and white tip sharks  and one whale shark were going round towards Cape Verde.

Back in Cape Verde I encountered a tiger shark, nurse sharks, a hammerhead and the underwater canyons are another world. So far I have just scratched the surface. I am going to continue with my work, by now its getting very serious and I will need all the help I can get as it is becoming a very big enterprise and there are so many possibilities. But I am sure there are more images of places and species here waiting to be seen and catalogued for the first time and with help, I hope to be as until now,  the first to do it.