We began our day by heading back to Combate’s villa pesquera. We talked with Mickey again and also made two new friends, Waldemar and Anibal. They told us about their diving practices and experiences (both good and bad), as well as their motor maintenance. Speaking with Mickey confirmed what we had begun to suspect the day before; there was a miscommunication when we spoke of motor failure. What they defined as motor failure was when the machine failed because of age, while we also meant to ask about human-caused errors. Waldemar gave us more details about the death of the fisherman who they named the villa after. He told us that although the villa fishermen are now aware of the dangers, he believes a diving safety class could help new fishermen. He also mentioned his concern for newer, younger fishermen who might not be completely aware of the how dangerous scuba fishing can be. Anibal gave us a detailed breakdown of the cost of his motor maintenance. 
To our surprise, Mickey brought food that his wife had made for us! He brought a surtido, a sampler, which includes carne frita, pez frito, chicharrón de pollo, sorullos, bolitas de queso, and bolitas de mofongo, with mayo-ketchup. It was delicious. Like, you have no idea. It’s probably not the healthiest meal out there, but we put our concerns for calories aside in the name of good food. Mickey brought us live carrucho (queen conch) to show us how he extracted it from the shell. This gave us a better picture of how he works when fishing under water, which is valuable context for us to have. He also let each of us try a bite of raw carrucho (queen conch), and gifted us two conch shells for us to keep.
While half the team was off in Puerto Real, Jamey, Paulina and I stayed at the Villa and waited for Guillermo to return. He had been out fishing with lines, and brought back quite the assortment of fish, including a lionfish that had been pulled up by line from 200-250 feet. Talk about decompression issues! While we were waiting for Guillermo to finish up his work at the villa, we went with a few other fishermen to dispose of the guts that had just been cleaned from the catch. There are large predatory fish that swim close to the docks expecting this. Mickey even brought a line for us to try to catch them. Unfortunately even with all of the expert help from the fishermen, these fish were too savvy to be tricked into biting the hook. It made us realize how hard it really is for fisherman to make a consistent living; if the fish are not able to be caught on a certain day, the fisherman do not make money. Fishing is not a regular nine to five job with a consistent wage. The weather and fish behavior essentially dictate fishers’ ability to make a living. Eventually we got to talk to Guillermo a little bit more about his diving practices before leaving to get dinner at Andy’s house.
With our work for the day done, we headed over to Andy’s house for dinner. Andy had prepared a carrucho dish for us, and it was amazing! It had been soaked with oil and vinegar, and served with olives as well as slices of plantain and onion. We then spent several hours talking with Andy, his wife, and his youngest son. It was a great opportunity for us to experience and understand how important carrucho is here in Combate. With carrucho being the main target for fishermen here, it is crucial in ensuring fishermen make enough money, which is why they are willing to risk their health and life scuba fishing for them.
Although we did not accomplish all that we had initially set out to do that, we actually learned quite a lot we hadn’t expected. We now have a clearer understanding of the relationship between fishermen and their motors, and know that we need to work on how we ask fishermen our questions. We are also incredibly grateful for how much the fishermen have welcomed us into their community (and even their homes).
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