A World from the Heavens
Gryffindor, Always
About
Hey, I’m Ashwin — a geographer, cartographer, and full-time map nerd who somehow turned curiosity into a career. I’ve mapped everything from coral bleaching in the Maldives to fire-scarred forests in Portugal, and even helped Garmin chart the oceans I grew up fascinated by.
My world is a mix of coastlines, satellites, and stories. Whether I’m cycling through Porto at sunrise, tracing forgotten Goan forts, or diving into a Sentinel-2 scene, I’m always chasing the same thing: the moment a place reveals something new.
For me, a map isn’t just data. It’s memory, movement, adventure — a heartbeat. And I’m here to make geography feel alive.
Toolbox
Timeline
2017–2019 · Goa University
Studied the seasonal cycle of mesozooplankton in Dona Paula Bay.
2019–2022 · Garmin India
Designed 200+ marine navigation charts, merging sonar surveys with satellite imagery for global use.
2023–2024 · University of Porto
Studied coral bleaching in the Maldives using Sentinel-2 imagery (multi-temporal analysis).
2024 · CEGOT, Portugal
Processed Sentinel-1 radar to generate coastal elevation products for resilience planning.
2025 · Independent Projects
Urban Heat Islands & Built-Up Change for Porto; posters, layouts, and story-friendly maps.
Contact
Prefer email? Reach out via LinkedIn — I reply quickly.
Journey Around the World
“Hic sunt dracones — Beyond the edge of the map, there be dragons.”
Home Goa, India
Where the journey begins.
2022 Portugal
um país antigo, um novo lar
Porto shaped most of it. I lived there, studied there, cycled its streets, crossed its bridges, and learned what it feels like to belong to a place quietly. Even after leaving, the city stayed with me — its pace, its people, its light.
Portugal gave me direction, but Porto is the place I hope to return to and call home again.
2023 United States
from California to the New York Island, ... this land was made for you and me
2024 Paris
Paintings, pastries, Timeless Views
I spent the evening sitting by the Seine, watching the sky turn pink, and later stood under the Eiffel Tower while it sparkled. I didn’t take many photos — I was just trying to be present and breathe it in.
Dinner was duck confit, and afterward I ended up at Gare de Lyon, just watching trains come and go and thinking about how everyone there was headed somewhere different.
I visited Notre-Dame and the Panthéon, both really moving in their own way, and closed the night with gâteau au chocolat — the kind of dessert that feels like a small celebration.
I learned French in school, so being here made everything feel familiar and new at the same time. Paris wasn’t overwhelming or dramatic. It was gentle. It was real. And it stayed with me.
2024 Rome
Columns, cathedrals, and carbonara
My day started at the Colosseo, quiet in the early morning, sunlight catching the arches just right. From there I climbed up to Basilica di San Pietro in Vincoli to see Michelangelo’s Moses — still as powerful and intense as every textbook and documentary promised.
I spent time inside the Pantheon, standing under the oculus watching the light drop straight through the center, perfectly still while the world moved around it. Later, I followed the river to Castel Sant’Angelo, stopping to look over the bridge where statues watch you pass.
Stepping into St. Peter’s Basilica was overwhelming in the best way — the scale, the silence, the details you only appreciate when you slow down and look up.
Food became part of the rhythm of each day: Spaghettini with house pesto, linguine from Pasta e Vino, a Neapolitan Margherita pizza from Mariuccia, and gelato from Gelateria Della Palma that melted faster than I could eat it.
Rome wasn’t just history. It felt alive — familiar and new at the same time. A city best experienced slowly, one step, one plate, one quiet moment at a time.
2025 Madrid
Palacios, Plazas and Real Madrid
Later, I spent time in Parque del Buen Retiro, watching people row boats on the lake and just taking in the calm. The city shifted again when I reached the Bernabéu — loud, electric, full of energy — the kind of place where you feel the heartbeat of a city through football.
I stood outside the Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas, looking up at the brick arches and trying to imagine everything that space has witnessed. Between all of it, I moved through stations and metros, watching Madrid flow around me.
Food tied the day together — croquetas, tortilla, churros, bocadillo de calamares, and everything that makes Madrid feel warm and generous.
Madrid was sunlight, movement, history, and everyday life happening all at once. A city that felt real and welcoming, the kind you settle into without even trying.
2025 Galicia
Pontevedra's stone paths, Vigo's open water.
Grey clouds, granite churches, fishing boats rocking against the tide, and plates of crisp calamari shared slowly with the Atlantic breeze.
Between stillness and movement, I found a place that felt both ancient and alive — where the ocean writes the map and the land remembers.
Portugal Chapter
From everyday Porto life to weekends spent exploring the country.
Home Porto
Sunsets, saudade, and home.
Mornings started with the Clérigos bells and the quiet walk down to Ribeira where the river always felt alive. Somewhere between the colours of the old houses and the hum of the boats was the version of myself that felt at home.
Evenings belonged to the Atlantic — sunsets at Foz, long pauses at the edge of the water, and the kind of skies you can’t really explain, only feel. Weekends drifted between Matosinhos waves, late-night francesinhas, and aimless strolls through neighbourhoods lined with azulejos.
And then there was São João — the fireworks, the chaos, the happiness in the air — the moment I knew Porto wasn’t temporary.
It was mine. A place I lived, breathed, and grew into.
Trip Guimarãés
Castles, humble origins.
Nothing here feels rushed. I moved from corner to corner slowly, taking in how past and present fit together so easily. I finished the day with presunto, carne de porco, and a glass of vinho verde — simple, local, and perfectly Guimarães.
Trip Aveiro
Moliceiro canals, ovos moles, and Art Nouveau facades.
I wandered without a plan, letting the city guide me from one corner to the next, until I finally stopped for a warm tripa — simple, sweet, and very Aveiro. It stays with you because of its gentleness, not its noise.
Trip Figueira da Foz
Seafood, surf, sun.
They carried me toward Rua Bernardo Lopes, where the streets open toward the river breeze and the sound of the Atlantic in the distance.
By midday I was sitting down to a seafood lunch that tasted like the ocean itself — prawns, crab, and lobster piled high on a plate still warm from the sun.
Later, I walked to the beach and watched a lone fishing boat drift across the bright water, the whole afternoon settling into that slow coastal rhythm.
Trip Viana do Castelo
Santa Luzia climbs, Atlantic breeze, and tiled streets.
Cascais shifted the scene completely — sharp cliffs at Boca do Inferno and a quiet harbour settling into the evening.
Sintra brought another contrast, with hills, tiled houses, and the Castelo dos Mouros looking over everything.
Three places close together, each with its own tone, but all fitting into one easy day around Lisbon.
Trip Lisbon / Sintra / Cascais
Alfama rooftops, Cascais waves, Sintra hills.
Cascais shifted the scene completely — sharp cliffs at Boca do Inferno and a quiet harbour settling into the evening.
Sintra brought another contrast, with hills, tiled houses, and the Castelo dos Mouros looking over everything.
Three places close together, each with its own tone, but all fitting into one easy day around Lisbon.
Trip Nazaré / Fátima
Waves, silence, devotion.
The mix of cold air, quiet viewpoints, and the sound of the sea made the place feel both festive and raw at the same time.
Fátima in August was the opposite mood: bright skies, wide open spaces, and the basilica standing sharp in the heat.
Inside, everything slowed down — quieter, more focused, more reflective. It was a simple visit, but the atmosphere stayed with me.
Portfolio
A selection of my GIS and cartography work — from satellite-based analysis to interactive storytelling.
Full report summarizing internship work and outcomes.
Interactive StoryMap embedded.
Comparative Sentinel-2 analysis highlighting urban growth and land-take dynamics.
NDVI-based multi-year vegetation monitoring using Sentinel-2 imagery.
Post-fire analysis using NBR index to identify severely burned zones.
Multi-temporal Sentinel-3 analysis comparing 2017, 2020, and 2024 coral reef conditions.
Over 200 navigation charts built with sonar, bathymetry, and topographic layers.