438 Days: An Extraordinary True Story of Survival at Sea

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Alvarenga perfectly describes a process known as "self-mummification" when talking about Ezequiel's death. It's a process that Alvarenga (who could barely read and write) probably didn't have any education on. It normally takes a monk five years to self-mummify, but the monks did it in a slow manner. They started exercising first, gave up food little by little, and dehydration was the last step before suffocation.

438 Days: An Extraordinary True Story of Survival at Sea 438 Days: An Extraordinary True Story of Survival at Sea

He focused on finding food. He prayed more and sang hymns, even in the most devastating moments at sea. Alvarenga remembers numerous cargo ships passing him by, but he doesn’t know if all the ships were real or if he imagined them. “I would signal them and nothing would happen,” he said. “But I thought God will determine which boat will save me.” a b c d Haddou, Leila (February 3, 2014). "Pacific castaway recounts his 13-month odyssey". The Guardian . Retrieved February 4, 2014. Don’t think about death, if you think you are going to die, you will die…everything will work out…don’t give up hope, remain calm”.Patience had long left Córdoba, Alvarenga said. “He would cry a lot, talking about his mama, eating tortillas, and drinking something cold. I helped him as much as I could. I would hug him. I told him, ‘We’ll be rescued soon. We’ll hit an island soon.’ But he would sometimes get violent, screaming that we were going to die.”

438 Days | Book by Jonathan Franklin | Official Publisher

Ezequiel continually burned more calories than he ate, by bailing water and hauling fish into the boat. a b "Jose Salvador Alvarenga's family had given him up for dead". CBC.ca. February 4, 2014 . Retrieved February 4, 2014. Days is an inspirational tale that is incomparable to any other non-fiction story I have ever read. Not only is the story itself noteworthy but Jonathan Franklin’s deft handling of the tale is nothing short of exceptional. The famished fisherman crawled naked through a carpet of sodden palm fronds, sharp coconut shells and tasty flowers. He was unable to stand for more than a few seconds. “I was totally destroyed and as skinny as a board,” he said. “The only thing left was my intestines and gut, plus skin and bones. My arms had no meat. My thighs were skinny and ugly.” He is admittedly a different man. He may be a better man. And Salvador Alvarenga says he is absolutely a grateful man. “I’m happy to be alive. I’m happy to be with my family. I’m proud to be what I am. I am simply glad I’m here.”I really enjoyed this book. Alvarenga comes across as a very humble hero. His story is so incredible. I spent lots of time trying to imagine what I would do to survive. The most compelling evidence of Alvarenga’s resolve is that his crew mate died after the first 4 weeks. Surviving 4 weeks at sea is no small feat, but Salvador Alvarenga lost the only human company he had and then went on to live another 13 months alone. It is hard to really comprehend what he went through.

438 Days by Jonathan Franklin - Pan Macmillan

Alvarenga was not a narco or willing to run even the occasional cocaine bale up the coast, despite the promise of riches. At sea off the coast of Mexico, he had seen the savage fate of fishermen who gambled in the business of “Los Kilos” and run afoul of drug lords. Once he had motored up to a fisherman’s half-sunken boat and found the hull riddled with bullets. He tried to haul it home but it sank. There was no sign of the crew. Being eaten alive by sharks was probably the least violent way they could have died. At least sharks didn’t torture. Despite his physical and geographical solitude alone on his boat, Alvarenga found a deep happiness living ‘without sin, without evil, just [him]self with no problems, no one to accuse [him] of anything. [He] was tranquil, and adapting to the ocean. This was [his] new life.’” Alvarenga was free to work as hard, as long and as sporadically as his party lifestyle permitted. During his four years in Costa Azul, he was rarely involved in fights or ugly incidents. His longtime fishing partner Ray explains, “I never saw him get into a fight except when some guys were breaking up the furniture at Doña Mina’s [a local restaurant]. There was an ugly fight with chains and you could tell this guy knew how to rumble. But he was always looking for a laugh, he was the life of the party.” How do you go for a swim, or to scrape tasty barnacles from the bottom of the boat when there are sharks around? How do you overcome the depression of having fishermen wave to you from a container boat and pass on by? Franklin is a superb writer, chronicler of the only person ever to been documented surviving and living off the sea for more than a year.

About the author

Everything in this book comes from Alvarenga's POV. He could've lied about any number of things. He mentions hallucinatory like dream-states. For all we know, Ezequiel was successful in suicide, and Alvarenga didn't want Ezequiel's uber-religious family to know. There are hundreds of questions, to which, only Alvarenga knows the answer.

Book Club: 438 Days | News | RGfE Radio 2 Fact not Fiction Book Club: 438 Days | News | RGfE

Ezequiel Córdoba, his body hardening and turning purple, did not reply. So Alvarenga answered for his dead sea mate. “Good. It is peaceful.” Alvarenga looked out to the horizon, the ocean as endless as it had been for the last two months that they’d been lost at sea.I enjoyed the book. The descriptions of the men’s ordeal are really well written, and the story of the main protagonist is well set out before main part of the book unfolds. It’s a bit of a niche read but pretty unputdownable once you get into it.” In the end, it was not a boat, but land that saved Alvarenga. After 438 days of floating on endless water, he saw mountains. When he felt he was close enough, Alvarenga dove into the water, swimming toward what he would later learn was one in the string of the Marshall Islands. I was so hungry that I was eating my own fingernails, swallowing all the little pieces,” Alvarenga later told me. He began to grab jellyfish from the water, scooping them up in his hands and swallowing them whole. “It burned the top part of my throat, but wasn’t so bad.” a b c d e Johnson, Giff (February 4, 2014). "Real-Life Castaway Survived On Dreams Of Tortillas And Family". Business Insider . Retrieved February 4, 2014. This is a stunning story. How does a hard-partying, spendthrift illegal immigrant (into Mexico!) who sells his catch for subsistence level pay and has no ambitions actually have the wherewithal to survive so long drifting at sea both physically and mentally?