Sometimes what we see in the movies is inspired by real life events; events that are uncommon, that test endurance of a person, both physical and emotional.
Imagine living on a private island, amidst a vast sea where no one could come unless invited; and one day, lands a naked man. A grown man with full grown beard, running around laughing like a kid; but when the story pans out, he is a real life cast-away character who survived 438 days in the dreadful loneliness of the sea.
It is actually a true incident that happened on Tile Islet in the Pacific. What brought the crazy strange man there?
Uninvited Guest
It was January 2014 and a couple lived on a private island in the Marshall Islands, far away from the civilization, out in the middle of the sea. They weren’t used to surprise guests on their island for obvious reasons: it was their private island.
One day, a crazy looking hairy stranger, who seemed desperately hungry and obviously dehydrated, stumbled on their island. He hadn’t seen a single soul for months and he couldn’t stop laughing upon reaching the island.
The couple was bewildered to see him and his condition. They had no idea how this man landed on their private island. It was impossible for someone to just swim to that place, as it was very far away from mainland.
Sea Venture
The couple tried to stay calm and thought he might need help. They tried to talk to him but all he could speak was Spanish; the couple couldn’t understand anything but English. They called for help from neighboring island.
Later the couple found out that his name was Jose Alvarenga and he set sail on an overnight fishing trip from Mexico, 438 days ago! This made the couple curious and they wanted to know his story, how he ended up 5000 miles away from Mexico!
How It All Began
Alvarenga was a fisherman who belonged to a lower middle class community. He wanted some quick money, thus he planned an overnight fishing trip expecting to catch some big fish and sell it.
Alvarenga got too ambitious in planning the overnight fishing trip. If he is successful in catching enough tuna, shark and mahi-mahi, it would make him financially stable for a while and he would be able to live comfortably for some time at least. Now he needed a fishing partner.
A Volunteer Fishing Partner
Alvarenga was himself a very experienced fisherman. But trips like these need a dependable partner for sure. Who knows how dangerous it could get out there in the untamed waters?
His regular fishing buddy was unable to join him on his venture for some reason, and going out there alone would be a foolish choice. He decided to hire someone else to accompany him.
Before he knew, he got a willing volunteer to join him. His name was Ezequiel Córdoba, and he was all excited for this dangerous mission.
A Quickie Of A Trip
Alvarenga and Córdoba planned their trip and set out for sail. The plan was to be in the sea for 30 hours, which will be enough to catch plenty of fish, and get back.
They had a small uncovered fishing boat which provided them with some shelter from the elements. Spending more than one night on the water in this boat will be extremely hard, especially in case of bad weather.
Alvarenga’s fishing trip was meant to be short and weather seemed clear for some time. So they set out to sail.
Unpredictable Weather
It was the dry season when they left for their voyage, and rain was least expected. But the weather in the sea is always unpredictable. Thus happened the unfortunate, a storm cloud formed and hit them hard. Their small boat was incapable of handling such a storm, and they were at the mercy of the sea.
Their little boat flung left and right, and they had nothing they could do to change what was happening. Continuously battered by the waves, there was a real danger of capsizing and breaking.
Did They Survive The Storm?
It was very hard to navigate through a big storm in a little boat, but Alvarenga was trying his best. With some luck, they spotted a small pice of land at a distance, which gave the fishermen dup some hope of survival.
But as they began proceeding in the direction towards the shore, their difficulties increased. The engine faltered and broke down completely. What could they do now! It wasn’t in their hands anymore and they were at the will of the sea, going wherever the waves and the storm took them.
Mayday
Things went very bad real fast and Alvarenga almost lost hope that they will make out of this situation alive. What could they do, they were helpless in the middle of the storm-hit sea!
Alvarenga decided to call for help. It was a desperate time, so he turned his radio on and tried to contact his boss, Willy. The radio wasn’t fully charged, but as a good omen, Willy answered right away.
Planning An Escape Route
Willy understood the gravity of their situation and knew right away that they were in grave danger. He asked for their location so that he could send help, but it did not take much time for Alvarenga to realize that getting help was going to be impossible.
The reason for that, he couldn’t tell the location exactly. His only hope, his GPS was not waterproof and turned useless after the storm. The two men were lost in the sea and they had no idea where they were. It seemed nearly impossible to navigate without a GPS.
Lay Down The Anchors
Willy said that the best they could do in this situation is to lay down their anchor so that they can stay at one place. That would make it easier for someone to spot them and help them out of the situation.
But when bad luck strikes, it strikes full on. There was no anchor in his small boat. Alvarenga never thought he would ever need an anchor as he used this boat for small trips only. Willy knew that without an anchor, their boat will keep on drifting, making it even harder for a search team to spot them.
Search Begins
Willy immediately informed the authorities about a missing boat. They acted instantly and sent a search party to look for them. In no time, several boats and an aircraft were trying to spot the stranded fishermen.
Search continued for 48 hours but they had no luck. The weather was too bad to let anyone identify anything in the sea. It seemed that the fishermen were now on the mercy of waves and they have to keep drifting to find a safe spot.
No Updates
The story of the missing boat reached local news and people were curiously listening for updates. Time kept on passing, and an entire year went through without any news.
People just lost hope and weren’t too optimistic about their survival. The locals were sure that they won’t return at all. No one knew that 14 months down the line, there is a big shock in store for them.
Caught Out
The weather took away both the fishermen out to the sea, and they started thinking that only if they are incredibly lucky, someone will find them someday.
When they lost contact with Willy, they knew that from that moment onwards, they are on their own. No help was expected and only with shear strong luck they would survive. They were stranded in the middle of the sea and there wasn’t much they could do about this.
All they could do is fight to survive in such harsh conditions and focus on ensuring that their boat stayed intact during the storm.
Throwing Away Their Catch
Alvarenga and Córdoba were in a very difficult situation. They had to make some critical decisions in order to survive as long as they could.
The boat won’t stop rocking and it needed to be stabilized quickly. They decided to throw away their huge haul of fish overboard. The sea was cold, and on order to keep warm, they would huddle together in the icebox meant for their fish.
Desperation is the biggest teacher and survival instinct is the biggest motivator. They learnt to catch fish with bare hands in a few days.
Water, Water Everywhere, Not A Drop To Drink
We all know that sea water is not potable. One can’t drink sea water without getting sick. Only choice they had left was to drink their own waste fluid. Couple of weeks went down while they were living off their own bodies, rain blessed them with hope.
They were already in a really bad shape, but rainwater helped them a little to go on for some time more. They had been stranded in the sea for months, and they did not know if there was any use of keeping themselves alive; if they will ever be found and saved.
Dead-Cold Sea
One can’t save themselves from the effects of surroundings in such a small boat like the one they had. The climate was rough and hypothermia was a real danger lingering overhead. They had nothing to protect themselves from the bites of cold winds and rains.
Both of them were soaked after each day spent floating. At night, they would huddle together in their icebox to keep warm. So cold it was, that they couldn’t even make fists.
Unable To Make It Through
For some time, both of them survived off the fish and sea-birds, but things weren’t looking good for any of them. For Córdoba, things went even worse.
Though both of them were getting weak, but Córdoba became very sick one day. There was nothing Alvarenga could do to care for him or help him recover. After so many weeks out at the sea, Córdoba could take it no more, and he passed away.
Alvarenga was now alone, sitting in his boat with the corpse of his partner, stranded amidst the deadly sea with no hope of survival.
Letting Go
Córdoba was his only company for so many months on the sea, and now he was gone too. Just a lifeless corpse lay there, not responding any more to him. Soon he might be gone too, thought Alvarenga.
He continued to talk to the lifeless corpse of his companion for several days. He found it very hard to accept that he was now alone. Finally on the sixth day, Alvarenga gathered the courage to accept what had happened and he knew it couldn’t be undone.
With a lot of courage and little of energy that was left in his weak body, Alvarenga said farewell to his dead companion and buried him at the sea. He was now forced to acknowledge that he was completely alone from then onwards.
Last Wish
Córdoba made Alvarenga promise to fulfill his last wish once he was healthy enough. Córdoba sunk deep into depression during the time they were stranded hopelessly on the boat. He had no hope that any of them would survive this struggle to stay alive.
Córdoba got sick and refused to eat. He made Alvarenga promise to visit Córdoba’s mother if he got out alive. Alvarenga made this promise to a dying man, his only companion in the toughest situation he could ever imagine to be in. He intended to keep his promise.
Dealing With Loneliness
After Córdoba passed away, Alvarenga was incredibly lonely. He had nothing to do to distract himself from thinking about the situation he was in and whether he would make it out alive. He started considering ending his life, as he thought it might be less painful than living in such misery.
But Alvarenga, being a religious man, did not give up that easily. He believes that his faith kept him going. He would wander the world in his imagination and would eat, drink and talk to people in his head to stay hopeful.
The Anger
The loneliness and his situation started making him very angry. He threw stuff over board, including the radio that had its battery drained long ago, and the broken GPS which came to no use in the time of dire need.
He was angry and he had no hope that he will be out of this alive. He picked up the club that he used to hit fish with, and rained blows on the motor of the boat. He knew it was never going to work again, so he took out all his frustration on the things that betrayed him in tough situation.
Fisherman’s Hand
Alvarenga learnt how to fish bare handed over time. He was already an experienced fisherman and learning this new fishing technique helped him and his partner survive for quite a long time, given the circumstances.
He used to simply dangle his arms into water, sometimes for hours, waiting for fish to swim by, eventually something would find its way into his grasp and he would quickly pull it on board.
Diet Of Desperation
Although it is obvious that in Alvarenga’s circumstances, a person would munch on anything they could get their hands on, to stay alive. But no one would ever dare to find out if a jelly fish was edible. Alvarenga was so desperate, he was even feeding on jelly fish.
He would grab the jelly fish and straight away push it down his throat, wholly. Although they did hurt his throat on the way down, Alvarenga was happy to have eaten at least something to stay alive. It did not matter what he was eating at that point.
Scavenging
Definitely some luck was coming his way, but in general it is a sad sign. As he drifted through the sea, there would be piles of discarded garbage just floating on the surface.
He picked up all the bottles he could find to collect rain water whenever it would rain again, so that he could store it for later as well. With some luck, he also found some garbage bags with carrots and other vegetables which he could eat for a change.
Ten Months Adrift
This continued on for ten months and Alvarenga continued his hustle for survival. One day, he spotted something on the horizon—It was land! He never felt this much joy to see land ever in his life. He cut off the buoys that he had attached to the boat to keep it stable, and he could see where he had to go.
Leading the boat to the little island wasn’t an easy task, given how weak he had grown, but he did it anyhow. The island he was headed towards, was called Tile Islet in the Marshall Islands. After full 438 days out at the sea, Alvarenga was desperate to feel the sand under his toes once again.
A Surprise Guest
Alvarenga landed on the Tile Islet Island in January 2014, which belonged to Emi Libokmeto and Russel Laikidrik who also lived there.
The island is a part of a bigger cluster of islands in the Pacific Ocean, known as Marshall Islands, and it is much closer to Australia than to Mexico. Emi and Russel weren’t expecting any guests and Alvarenga took them by surprise.
Did He Swim Here?
This man seemed like a strange encounter to Emi and Russel. He looked extremely skinny and was barely stumbling about their beach in a massive beard. Emi’s first thought was that this man fell off a ship and swam to their island. Apart from his apparent weakness, Emi wasn’t sure of anything else. Somehow, Alvarenga had almost reached Australia after being drifted over 5,000 miles from the coast of Mexico.
Finding Help
The couple was a little concerned about the stranger’s behavior, but they took him in and started to seek help for him. Russel went to a nearby island on his boat to find if he can get some help for the man in need.
Russel returned to Tile Islet after a short while, accompanied by a nurse and a police officer. Jose Alvarenga was taken to the nearest main port, from where he got to Ebon and told them his tale. Soon the rumors in media were spreading around, recognizing the lost fisherman.
Bad Condition
When he was rescued, his condition wasn’t any good. His first stop was a hospital where he had a doctor look him over.
Such a long time at sea without essentials made his condition very poor, and to add on, he was anemic with an infected liver and swollen limbs. Doctors figured the reason for this was parasites residing in his liver as he ate raw fish to survive.
Little Kooky
His time alone in the middle of the ocean got to him a little. He appeared a bit crazed, but it was understandable, knowing the situations he had to deal with. He wasn’t in a good shape, both mentally and physically.
For last 10 months, he was cut off from the entire world and every day seemed like last day for him. Upon reaching the island, he was found jumping around naked with a knife in his hand.
Some Luck
If Alvarenga hadn’t managed to reach the shore of Tile Islet, he wouldn’t have been alive to tell his dreadful tale of survival. He was very lucky to manage to catch a break and get washed in the direction of that small island.
Had he missed it, his corpse would have kept on drifting in that small boat and would have reached above Australia, and wouldn’t have found a land again until reaching Philippines, 3000 miles away!
Laughing It Off
Upon reaching Tile Islet, he began explaining himself to Emi and Russel, but there was an obvious communication gap. The couple spoke and understood only English, but Alvarenga communicated in Spanish.
He drew pictures to try and explain himself; he looked like a crazed madman. When he couldn’t convey what he wanted to tell, he just burst out laughing. This was pure happiness, he knew he was now saved, no matter what.
Forgetting The Day
He spent so long out at sea, that he lost track of time. He had no idea what year, month, week or day it was.
Being an experienced fisherman, he knew how to keep up with time using the moon. His grandfather taught him to read time by monitoring the changing phases of the moon.
Took Time To Share
Alvarenga’s story already got a lot of attention from media, and they began to swarm around him to be the first to cover his story. But he had been through a lot and he wanted to take some time to regain his sanity before letting his tale of adventure out.
He was reluctant to give out his story, but this did not stop media from covering him. There were two questions that circled everyone’s head: how did he survive that long in the ocean; and what happened to Córdoba?
Scratching For More
Everyone wanted to know the entire story and the moment Alvarenga was ready to talk, many news outlets came to cover him. Many other reporters from all around the world who wanted a bite at his tale too, soon swarmed the Marshall Islands.
Giff Johnson was the first to break out his story, and he wrote for Agence France Presse, one of the three largest media outlets.
Doubt
While there were people who sympathized with him and saluted his ‘never give up’ attitude, there were people who did not think all that actually happened. People said he looked too healthy to have survived the sea for 14 months, stranded in a boat amidst the Pacific.
Many questioned if he was trying to scam people with a made up story, and just wanted a free holiday for himself at Marshall Islands.
Testing His Story
It seemed very unlikely that he was making all this up, still there were doubters. To prove whether the tale was feasible, some expert oceanographers conducted an experiment to see if it was at all possible to drift from Mexico to Tile Islet.
Researchers put some buoys directly into the water and they actually drifted right into Marshall Islands, roughly taking same amount of time.
True Story
Despite being hounded for his version of events as soon as he got on land, Alvarenga kept most of his experiences to himself until recently. He released a book to let people know of the details of his survival.
He decided that writing a book will help him get everything out of his head, and come to terms with what happened; also he thought it might help him raise some money from the tragic event he survived. Rumors are the book might be made into a movie in the future.
Conflict Of Facts
After his story came out, the reports were conflicting about the details surrounding their time stranded out at the sea. Some said the radio and GPS were washed overboard, while others say there wasn’t enough battery in the radio.
There was one question which did not halt. Where was Córdoba? Few doubted Alvarenga’s story, and wondered if he actually threw Córdoba overboard after he died.
Inhumane Act?
According to some reports, Córdoba passed away because he refused to eat and got very sick. Alvarenga also said that they had been eating seabirds when Córdoba got sick.
According to him, one of the birds might have eaten a poisonous snake, or they might have eaten too many of those birds. On the other hand, Córdoba’s family believes that the young man was executed by Alvarenga so that he could eat him.
Back To Family
Alvarenga went through a very rough time. After being rescued, the media was scratching their claws for more details of his story and were taking a lot of pictures of him as he started to recover from the worst fishing trip ever,
But the attention he got was a blessing in disguise, his family learnt that he was alive and were desperate to meet him again.
Not A Mexican Native?
Their fishing trip started from Mexico, but originally Alvarenga belongs to a small village called Garita Palmera in El Salvador.
Just like many other people, he chose to shift to Mexico for better prospects, assuming he would have a better fortune as a fisherman. After living in Mexico for a while, he had a falling out with his family and stopped visiting them.
Let Bygones Be Bygones
Alvarenga’s relationship with his family was almost non-existent after he refused to speak with them for eight years. But now the signs were showing things might change.
His strained relationship with his family pushed him from El Salvador to Mexico but things changed when news of his rescue broke. United States even paid for Alvarenga to fly back to El Salvador when they found out that he had a daughter back home.
Man Of His Words
Alvarenga remembered his promise he made with his companion Córdoba and had no intention of breaking it. Before re-uniting with his own family, as soon as he got healthy, he paid a visit to Ezequiel Córdoba’s mother, Ana Rosa.
He wanted to do whatever he could to help them. They talked for hours and he answered everything Córdoba’s family asked him.
Recruitment Of Córdoba
When Alvarenga’s usual fishing buddy could not accompany him back then, he recruited Córdoba as a partner. Alvarenga hired him to go to the sea with him for a small fee of $50.
Córdoba loved playing soccer and was fit enough to handle tough tasks expected on a fishing trip. He would have to help run the boat and both carry and catch fish that were expected to be huge.
Acquainting Córdoba
Alvarenga did not know much about Córdoba previously, but as he was in dire need to earn some good money, he hired him anyhow. He wasn’t too sure though, whether a soccer player like Córdoba would be able to fulfill his duties as a co-fisherman or not. Things get tough on a boat.
The fishermen duo did not know each other that well. They were barely in contact with each other before setting sail from Cruz Azul on the Mexican coast. The trip was expected to be tough, but it was only meant to last a little over a day. Thus, Córdoba agreed to go on that fishing trip for a low fee of $50.
The Turn Of Tables
The fishermen-duo planned to stay out on the water for not more than 30 hours. That’s why Alvarenga did not bother much about the functionality and condition of equipment on the boat. What he did not know was that he was entering a gaping mouth of death and suffering.
Alvarenga’s two-way radio was half-charged, and GPS wasn’t built waterproof. On top of that, he did not feel the need of carrying some extra pay-load of an anchor. These careless preparations and lack of acknowledging what may go wrong proved deadly for Córdoba and an eternal suffering for Alvarenga.
Faith And Survival Instincts
Had Alvarenga given up or not survived, no one might have known the actual story of the fishermen duo. What made him go on? What gave him hope to keep living? 438 days out in the sea, and seeing the death of painfully sick partner can shatter anyone’s will to live and force them to choose an easy death. But Alvarenga had ‘Faith’.
Experts also believe that sometimes survival instincts matter more than survival equipment. One’s will to keep on living and not lose hope is incredibly important. After all, where there is a will, there is a way; and only there, is life. This small addition to the common saying fits more appropriately in Alvarenga’s case.
Song Of The Solitary Fisherman
After Córdoba passed away, Alvarenga was hit with bleak loneliness, which became the hardest part of his experience to fight, to live. How can one fight with loneliness?
Well, the only solution his mind could figure out was creating an imaginary world of his own. He had nothing to do, so his mind would wander and explore the world he created in his head. That is how he would pass his time during the never ending and aimless drift of his boat on the sea.
What not he dreamt of: meeting beautiful women, visiting beautiful places around the world’s famous cities, eating delicious foods, feeling land under his feet, sleeping in a bed and so on. He had a lot of time to kill.
Strange Accusation
Alvarenga wrote a book, 438 days, about his entire experience on the sea and people showed curiosity to know more about his story. This book made him quite a lot of money. But Córdoba’s family is asking for half of the money he made from book. They believe that there is no way Alvarenga could have survived without eating their family member.
Alvarenga claims all those accusations are a result of their trauma and he did not take so much as a bite of his fallen companion. He says that he discarded the dead body of his companion overboard once it started to decompose.
Anyhow, only one person knows the whole truth: Alvarenga himself.
Legal Troubles
Some legal troubles were waiting for Alvarenga after he made safely back to the land. Firstly, he had a falling out with his lawyer who was assigned to him to look after his interests in the immediate aftermath of him arriving on Tile Islet.
His former lawyer took Alvarenga to the court for breach of contract. To add on to the baggage, his deceased companion’s family was demanding profit share he earned by selling his book.
Shooting Blames
Alvarenga had to deal with the trauma from his long ordeal. He had a really tough time on the boat, and the fact that he had to push his dead and decaying companion overboard, scarred him badly.
Alvarenga was pinned to be the reason why Córdoba ended up dead in the middle of the Pacific Ocean after being stranded for months. He was questioned as why he was the one to survive. He felt so bad about the entire thing that he said he almost fainted the moment he pushed Córdoba overboard.
Nyctophobia
Owing to the trauma he faced after suffering for over a year amidst nowhere, Alvarenga has been suffering from fear of darkness, clinically known as Nyctophobia. Even though he was back in the civilization, now fit and healthy, he struggled to sleep at night without lights on.
His state of mind is self-explanatory. He always felt a need yo have somebody around him due to his prolonged loneliness.
Life Goes On
Alvarenga was in shock for several months after he was back to the land safely. The once skilled fisherman was terrified of even seeing water; going back into the sea was something out of question.
Years later, he feels he has overcome it all, and he has strong faith in hope. He feels his survival is an example why one must never give up and must have faith. While he was out on the sea, he suffered extreme hunger, thirst, loneliness and sickness; he still stopped himself from giving up on life. According to Alvarenga, we must appreciate the only life we get.
Hope Is Everything
Alvarenga’s story is one of hope. He proved his faith and never lost hope, however bleak situation he was in, however hard it was to keep pushing. Even when no hope could be seen, his faith pushed him and gave him courage to go through, as someday at some stage, things will change for better.
His story also has a very important message: readiness to face a situation and never to underestimate where one is headed. Had the GPS been properly working, had Alvarenga not left the anchor behind carelessly, both would have been alive today!