3 Amigos Crossing Madeira.

3Amigos Crossing Madeira began long before we arrived on the island.

Before moving to Lisbon for my exchange year, I had set myself three goals. Finish my degree. Learn how to surf. And cross Madeira on foot.

For some reason, that last one had become non-negotiable.

I didn't know exactly when it would happen or who would come with me, but I knew I would do it before leaving Portugal.

In the end, I wasn't alone.

Two friends joined the adventure, and what started as a personal goal quickly became one of the most memorable experiences of my year abroad. Years later, we would still be living together in Lisbon, which makes the trip feel even more meaningful looking back.

The crossing itself was everything I had hoped for. Days spent walking through mountains, forests and ridgelines, carrying everything we needed and moving across an island that often felt larger than life.

To document the journey, I decided to bring my grandparents' MiniDV camcorder instead of a modern camera. It was heavier, slower and far less practical, but I loved the idea of recording the experience on tape.

Madeira had other plans.

The humidity was relentless, and somewhere along the route one of the tapes was damaged beyond repair. The entire first half of the crossing disappeared with it.

At the time, it felt devastating.

Today, I think it somehow fits the story.

What remains is only part of the journey. Fragments. The second half of the crossing, a few days spent around the island with friends and a collection of moments that survived both the weather and the camera itself.

The footage carries the marks of that process. Glitches, distortions and imperfections appear throughout the film, not as post-production effects but as traces left behind by the environment, the tape and the journey itself.

Alongside the video, a small collection of analogue photographs helps complete the memory.

The project isn't a documentary or an attempt to tell a profound story.

It's simply a record of a promise I made to myself before arriving in Portugal, and the people who ended up sharing that experience with me.

Some projects are created to communicate an idea.

Others exist simply to remember a moment.

This one does a bit of both.