A fisherman who became stranded at sea has shared how he managed to survive after he became adrift without food or water.
José Salvador Alvarenga's 438-day ordeal adrift in the Pacific Ocean stands as a harrowing testament to human endurance and ingenuity.
Alvarenga, a seasoned Mexican fisherman, embarked on what was supposed to be a routine fishing trip on November 18, 2012, with 22-year-old Ezequiel Córdoba.
Initially, the trip was promising. However, as a storm began to brew, the decision to continue fishing proved disastrous. Waves inundated their boat’s engine, and they were swept further away from the shore.
For a week, the storm ravaged them, and when it finally subsided, they found themselves adrift with minimal supplies.
In an interview with former U.S. Ambassador to the Marshall Islands, Tom Armbruster, Alvarenga recounted the extreme measures taken to survive. Without fresh water or food, their survival depended on resourcefulness. "We drank the rainwater we collected in plastic bottles," Alvarenga said, describing how they gathered more than 70 bottles to store the precious liquid once it began to rain.
The rainwater was a welcome reprieve from being forced to drink their own urine to survive, per The Guardian.
Alvarenga and Córdoba initially consumed sea turtles and drank their blood, which Alvarenga noted provided significant energy and nutrition. “The blood is extremely healthy and gives you energy,” he shared. They also caught and ate small sharks, utilizing the nutritious liver for sustenance.
But recalling the initial hunger, Alvarenga recalled: "I was so hungry that I was eating my own fingernails, swallowing all the little pieces,” Alvarenga told writer Jonathan Franklin.
The fisherman also recalled scooping jellyfish from the sea and swallowing them whole. "It burned the top part of my throat, but wasn’t so bad," he said.
Their situation grew even more desperate as they drifted further from land. To maintain a food supply, they resorted to catching birds that landed on their boat. They would wait patiently, strike when the birds were within reach, and break their wings to collect them. This method provided a continued, albeit grim, source of nourishment.
The psychological toll of their ordeal was immense. Alvarenga revealed that maintaining mental fortitude was crucial for survival. “The best meals of my life were those imaginary meals I had at sea,” he told Franklin, author of 438 Days. Alvarenga also found solace in mental escapism, vividly imagining sumptuous feasts and intimate moments. “The best sex I had in my life was the imaginary sex,” he said, highlighting how imagination served as a crucial survival mechanism.
Tragically, Córdoba had become depresses and seriously ill after consuming a contaminated raw seabird.
"He asked me to tell his mother that he was sad he could not say goodbye and that she shouldn’t make any more tamales for him – they should let him go, that he had gone with God,” Alvarenga said.
Tragically, Córdoba died shortly after.
"I propped him up to keep him out of the water. I was afraid a wave might wash him out of the boat," Alvarenga recalled. "I cried for hours."
Córdoba death meant that Alvarenga was left to face the vast ocean alone.
Alvarenga described his loneliness and the subsequent hallucinations, including conversations with his deceased companion - asking how he had slept or if he enjoyed his breakfast.
Although he considered ending his own life, Alvarenga revealed that he was afraid to do so as his mom had always told him that those who do so don't get into heaven - instilling in him a fear that resulted in his survival.
Despite several encounters with potential rescue opportunities, including a shipping container that passed without noticing him, Alvarenga’s hope was eventually restored. On January 30, 2014, after more than a year adrift, he reached a small islet in the Marshall Islands. There, he found a local beach house where he was finally able to secure help.
Alvarenga’s incredible journey from November 2012 to his rescue in January 2014 remains one of the most extraordinary survival stories of the 21st century, illustrating both the physical and mental challenges of enduring such an ordeal.
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