Salvador Alvarenga, a fisherman who spent 438 days adrift

Salvador Alvarenga is a real shipwrecked man.His story is as prodigious as it is incredible, according to many products of a very fertile imagination.He knows what happened to this Salvadoran fisherman in 2012.

Salvador Alvarenga, a fisherman who spent 438 days adrift

Born in El Salvador, in Ahuachapan, in 1975, and in 2000 he launched into the migratory adventure: he moved to Mexico, specifically to Chiapas, to live as a fisherman.Alli would work in a small fishing village, on the beach of Costa Azul near the town of Pijijiapan, on the Chiapas coast, facing the Pacific.

A day like any other, on December 21, 2012 , left in his small boat of fiberglass of 7 meters in length accompanied by Ezequiel Cordoba , another young fisherman.Despite some storm warnings, they decided to go to the sea equally, because it was not the First storm with which he, Salvador Alvarenga, ran into.He was very skilled in fishing and in the na vegacion, but the storm reached them, and huge waves crashed into the boat while hurricane winds shook them; a few hours after leaving, and having damaged the radio, engine and GPS thanks to the storm, the boat drifted, diverting its route.

Salvador Alvarenga, a fisherman who spent 438 days adrift

As a good sailor, Salvador Alvarenga had He had taken more provisions than he needed, since on more than one occasion he had to stay on the high seas more than planned.Once the provisions were finished, and already convinced that a rescue would not be possible in the short term, he began fishing turtles, fish and traps for birds.

He could never make a fire, so the meat was always raw.They were very careful not to drink salt water, and so, at first they drank their own urine; But Salvador realized that he was very thirsty and, since it was not raining, he could not collect rainwater.He had an idea: to drink the blood of the turtles, and that he did, but the other young man, Ezekiel, refused to do so.

Four months passed, and Ezekiel's health was seriously compromised, because he refused to eat; He rebelled against that diet, even at the thought of his own death.I slowly stop eating raw meat, and if it didn't rain I didn't drink water.Until the fatal and inevitable outcome happened: that young fisherman died, and left alone Salvador Alvarenga on that marine immensity.

Nine more months passed, and he finally saw land; He once again laid a beach on January 30, 2014, at Ebon Atoll in the Marshall Islands, 12,500km from Chiapas.The American journalist Jonathan Franklin , a contributor to some newspapers such as The Boston Globe , The Guardian and The New York Times , decided to write their story and interview Salvador Alvarenga, who were present in the Marshall Islands when he was appeared and those who accompanied the fisherman during his hospitalization.The book is called Salvador: the incredible story of Salvador Alvarenga and his 438 days adrift , and in the story he tells adventure of his shipwreck, of his anguish, of his madness by being completely alone, of his despair.

Salvador Alvarenga, a fisherman who spent 438 days adrift

Recreational route of Salvador Alvarenga's boat, which sailed a distance of 12,500 km

However, and as if that were not enough, time after returning to El Salvador, to his hometown, his neighbors accused him of being a drug dealer and talk, and Ezequiel's relatives filed a lawsuit against him for cannibal, because of in no other way could he have survived so long.

In the face of all this, Salvador Alvarenga hired a lawyer, but then refused his services and hired an American law firm; The former lawyer contacted the relatives of the other young man and they have sued him for a million dollars .Before the accusations, Alvarenga decided to undergo any polygraph and psychological exams, and the results say there are no lies, that Salvador's version is true.

“Never think about cannibalism; by then he was right-handed in catching fish and turtles, and always We had a five-day supply.Hezequiel despaired, thought they wouldn't save us and didn't eat.In the end he was so weak that he couldn't even speak anymore."

Canibal or not, Salvador Alvarenga now he fears the sea and his health is not as good as before.If he ate human flesh or subsisted on turtles and fish, we will never know for sure; He survived an extreme adventure, that's right.He was at sea 438 days, on his little boat, alone.

Meet other shipwrecks, like these 5 of which you would like to know.And also these 4 cases of survival cannibalism.

Images: Gerard Van der Leun, Commons Wikimedia

Comments

There could be a planet like our Earth at 16 light years ...

Since 1992, when the first extrasolar planets, or exoplanets (planets outside the solar system) were detected, 1,288 planetary systems have been discovered, with some 2,030 celestial objects that could be considered as planets.Most of these objects are closer to Jupiter than to Earth, both in terms of size and composition, as they are usually gaseous, like the four great planets of our solar system. The search for planets outside our planetary system is oriented to an eventual identification of objects similar to Earth, both by location and size and composition, and we may be about to find one at a relatively close distance. There could be a planet like our Earth 16 light years away... A team of astronomers coordinated by Suman Satyal , of The University of Texas is studying a planetary system of the state Gliese 832 , a red dwarf with half the size of our sun, located 16 light years away and with two planets orbiting it: Gliese 832b , a giant Jupiter-like gas; and Gli...

The paper do you really know how it's done?

How paper is made is a question that unfortunately we almost never ask ourselves.First, because of the interesting history behind it, and then because of the current manufacturing process, extremely polluting and terrible for the environment. Paper is an object so present in our lives that we rarely take it into account.Here we offer you some information about its history and its elaboration. Paper do you really know how it is done? Since in ancient Egypt they began recording symbols on various surfaces, including the papyrus , humanity has not stopped writing and using scrolls and papers to do it. As you certainly know, papyrus was widely used to make different objects, but the most important was the writing support , whose elaboration was Royal monopoly .From the word papyrus comes the modern paper . Making papyrus.On the right, an ancient papyrus, probably from the Book of the Dead. In the European Middle Ages what was used was the parchment , skins of lamb or g...

The stone that reflects the bottom of the sea, the Opal

They say that the opaque, is that stone in which one can observe the sea floor in it .Of course this is only an optical effect, but the game of its nuances, its colors and its transparency, offer to our imagination, a whole small world of fantasy.Of incredible things.It is a precious stone that also encloses in its old crystal entrances, a few curiosities that you will love to know. Curiosities about the blackout Sometimes, nature tends to imitate other entities, either by chance or by survival.We think for example in that flower that resembles for us a woman's kiss.Well, there are many who ensure that the opaque glass brings us the seabed inside...full of algae and corals, incredible nuances that give us only the purest opals. Opals usually change color and opacity depending on whether they are cos or wet.When they are wet, their base color becomes clear and bright, and it changes as it dries. This gemstone was already used as an ornament from the In fact, curious ...

Why do you get nervous? Discover it and face it!

Nervous sensations are actually very useful.They go back thousands of years ago, at a time when most of what humans did not know, did not understand or could not predict, literally, that I could kill them .If the first humans were brave enough to walk on a meadow of unknown grass, for example, they could end up becoming the dinner of some wild animal that was on the prowl.So, get nervous in that situation , it was normal, and also necessary to be alert. Why do you get nervous? Discover it and face it! So humans and other animals developed a fear built into the unknown.In a dangerous, uncertain world, it was very useful for the first human beings to be able to react to danger quickly and effectively .This response to fear was connected to the nervous system.It was designed to give a great deal of strength, intelligence, and speed.When the first humans faced dangerous wild animals For example, the fear response helped them run and hide.It also helped them find strength, even to ki...

The mystery of prehistoric giant mushrooms

Imagine a primitive scenario , halfway between fantasy and mystery.It is a time where Earth has only two continents: Euramerica , to the north, and Gondwana , to the south.Imagine now that you are walking on a soil almost devoid of vegetation, there are hardly any plants, and your steps explode in the thicket of a rocky stage, where they stand... The authentic giants of the Earth: the prototaxites.These giant mushrooms were like strange mastiffs that could reach almost 8 meters.The higher the height, the greater the possibility of escaping their spores, and hence their sovereignty In these scenarios of Silurico and Devonico , almost 420 million years ago... But, what were they? Trees, bushes? ...The prototaxites were fungi.If you have felt a chill or have been stung by curiosity, do not hesitate to know more about these creatures worthy of appearing in the "Lost World" of Jules Verne. The era in which the Prototaxites, giant fungi, dominated the Earth Scientist...

Is stopping eating carbohydrates bad for your health?

Eating carbohydrates are not as harmful as you think.Those foods that when we are trying to lose weight give us terror and we see them as forbidden, may not be so bad. Stop eating them can generate Differences in our body, which are sometimes not so good. Stop eating carbohydrates is good or bad for your health? Carbohydrates are the main source of energy of your body , which allows you to practice physical exercise, digest food and ultimately function.Many people say they feel better when they try to consciously control carbohydrate intake, but is it really true? According to experts, stop eating carbohydrates can lead to certain negative changes for your body, such as muscle loss, Mood swings, dehydration, and others, such as kidney damage or lack of energy. If you think that reducing carbohydrates may be right for you, this is what can happen: 1.Loss of muscle After your body has worked with stored carbohydrates and burns some body fat, look for another sourc...

The best optical illusion of 2016

Every year a jury of the Neural Correlate Societ and choose the best optical illusions created during the previous year.Inventiveness and creativity are rewarded.They are not tricks as a magician, but illusions that show how the brain processes perceptual experiences that do not really coincide with the physical reality that has originated them.The organization that rewards these "illusions" does not do so only as an award to the creation of a diversion, but as a form of discovery .Illusions show the mechanisms of the brain in the act of perception.They deduce from it that every perception has an "illusory" part and the study of these illusions helps to understand the sensory perception and many ophthalmological and neurological diseases .That said, we will know the best optical illusion of 2016 and some of the finalists.all who arrived In the end, here is a link. The best optical illusion of 2016 «Integration movement unleashed: new tricks for an ol...

The maximum distance you could navigate in a straight line on our planet is this

In the Science Daily Online team we wonder if you are one of those intrepid people who love travel and adventure, if your answer is yes, first of all, we advise you to take a look at The Happy Traveler where you will find routes and trips to satisfy your thirst for adventures.But as for today's article, in the Science Daily Online team we have asked ourselves a curious question that we hope you will help us solve... Have you ever wondered how far you could go in Straight line before you have to embark on a ship or get on a plane? Or, better yet, how far could you navigate in a straight line before bumping into the mainland? For this Last question, a while ago, an anonymous wikipedia collaborator launched a conjecture on what would be the longest navigation route and currently a team of researchers has provided some data to determine if that anonymous person was right or not./p> Navigate in a straight line, how far? In 2013, an anonymous public published a hypothesis ab...

10 things you don't know about your body

Okay, you may know some of the ten points that we are going to present to you.But we assure you that many of these concepts are going to surprise you ...if you think you know everything about your body you are wrong, the human being is the result of a long, long and complex process of evolution of which, we still understand very few things. Our brain is a fascinating machine, we know it, but what if we told you that you have another brain almost as sophisticated? If you want to know more, do not miss the opportunity to open our doors to the curious...we would love to make you smile and teach you something to make us, among all , a little wiser. 1.The stomach, the second brain Yes, it is.Our stomach has an incredible number of neurons.This is explained by the enteric nervous system, embedded precisely in the walls of the stomach forming a complex network , which in turn, induces us for example that irresistible desire to eat sweet at any given time, especially when we are goi...

Are we human thanks to dogs?

In Science Daily Online let's make you once when the dog became man's best friend.In this occasion we want you to know the influence of the dog figure in our evolution as humans, such as people that we are.The dog really was, is and will be our best friend. The dog's best friend There are several theories about how the domestic dog was domesticated by humans: the more or less classic version counts as a step of being a carronero animal, that went after the human feeding of the leftovers , to be an active participant in the hunt, locating and helping to capture the prey, work that did for some food security and a lot of love.On what there is no consensus is when this curious association between two affective species began and in as affection to the evolution of both. We know that man, through contact and genetic management, turned the dog into a species that moves more comfortably in human environments than in natural or wild spaces.But the relationship wi...

Science Daily Online

Search This Blog