I had become good friends with three fishermen in specific- Gabriel who was born and raised around the corner from the base, Gilbert who lived up the street from the base with his wife and grandkids, and Ernesto who never spoke but always looked at me with a huge-one-toothed grin. Somewhere among one of our conversations I ended up out at sea on Teté, Gilbert’s boat. Watching what these men do in the base is nothing compared to what they do out at sea. They called it their office. In a ‘short’ time span of six hours I was a spectator of their daily routine- catching sardines as bait along the rocks, throwing out the lines, and floating for a couple of hours eating cheese and guava sandwiches while they watched the line for “a jumper.” That day we caught six fish- two marlins and four dorados. In doing so, I saw the passion that they have for fishing. They turned into different people from the goofy, unperturbed fishermen I had gotten to know on land. At sea, they were focused, skilled, and professional. When we were sitting and waiting for a line to hook, Gabriel told me that, for him, being out at sea on the boat is the most tranquil place in the world. He said when he’s there he can forget all of his worries. He can go out and leave all of his problems, his concerns, and stress on land. Like taking a pill or a drug that transports you to another dimension. That’s why he fishes. Sure, he loves the excitement of it. But, for him, nothing compares to the freedom he gets out at sea.