Alvarenga was more than 10 years older than Córdoba. Alvarenga believes he survived, in part, because of his experience in the open sea, but he also credits simple optimism and faith that God would save him. November 17, 2012 began like any other day for the intrepid shark fishermen of Costa Azul, Mexico, Alvarenga remembers. The renegade fishermen, operating out of small, nimble fiberglass fishing boats, called themselves Los Tiburoneros, or “Shark Hunters.” They fished in the risky deep-sea waters 50 to 100 miles offshore. An El Salvador native with little formal education, Alvarenga found a way to make money in the Mexican coastal village. But he also found a way of life: play hard, work hard, fish deep.

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

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. This wind tunnel is so notorious and well marked on nautical charts that sailboats often chart a detour hundreds of miles out to sea to avoid the dreaded Gulf winds. “During the winter months . . . you can expect gales almost every day . . . winds of fifty to sixty knots [70–80 mph] are not uncommon,” reads a description in Roads Less Traveled, a respected online travel guide. “Every year, hapless vessels both large and small get caught out in the 200-mile-wide gulf when it shows its malicious side. Even large ships are unable to resist the storm force winds and fast building and breaking seas. Vessels have no option but to turn downwind and brace themselves for a long and frightening ride south and out to sea for 200 to 300 miles, at which point the effects of the Tehuantepec winds begin to fade.” Well, how interesting can a book about a bloke in a boat be? The answer is – very interesting, riveting even. 438 Days: An Extraordinary True Story of Survival at Sea is exactly that, riveting.

The length of his voyage has been variously calculated as 5,500 to 6,700 miles (8,900 to 10,800km). [4] [10] Some newspapers originally reported Alvarenga's tally of 15-plus lunar cycles as 16 months, [18] but eventually corrected this to 13 months. [3] According to Gee Bing, Marshall Islands' acting secretary of foreign affairs, Alvarenga's vital signs were all "good", with the exception of blood pressure, which was unusually low. Bing also said that Alvarenga had swollen ankles and struggled with walking. [19] On February 6 the doctor treating him reported that his health had "gone downhill" since the day before and that he was on an IV drip to treat his dehydration. Declared “the best survival book in a decade” by Outside Magazine, 438 Days is the true story of the man who survived fourteen months in a small boat drifting seven thousand miles across the Pacific Ocean. It was not the magical moment of bonding that either had imagined, but at least it was no longer a fantasy.”

438 Days by Jonathan Franklin | Waterstones 438 Days by Jonathan Franklin | Waterstones

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.’” The author's youthfulness helps to assure the inevitable comparison with the Anne Frank diary although over and above the sphere of suffering shared, and in this case extended to the death march itself, there is no spiritual or emotional legacy here to offset any reader reluctance.This riveting adventure has us in its grip, spellbound and eager to know more about the mysterious Salvador Alvarenga…His story of resilience, ingenuity, and grit is an unforgettable true-life adventure." This does what it says on the tin. You want a survival story, the typical “guy succeeds against death-defying odds” account? Here it is. Jonathan Franklin does a great job here fleshing out Alvarenga's story with as much specific detail as possible pertaining to the 438 days, but also balances this side of the story with accounts from other people who have survived long periods at sea highlighting similarities and differences. He also quotes from scientists and psychologists who have studied survival and the mental, emotional and physical changes humans undergo in extreme survival situations. This helps put Alvarenga's experience into a larger, more meaningful context.

438 Days by Jonathan Franklin - Pan Macmillan

After weeks at sea, Alvarenga and Córdoba became astute scavengers and learned to distinguish the varieties of plastic that bob across the ocean. They grabbed and stored every empty water bottle they found. When a stuffed green rubbish bag drifted within reach, the men snared it, hauled it aboard and ripped open the plastic. Inside one bag, they found a wad of chewed gum and divided the almond-sized lump, each man feasting on the wealth of sensorial pleasures. Underneath a layer of sodden kitchen oil, they found riches: half a head of cabbage, some carrots and a quart of milk – half-rancid, but still they drank it. It was the first fresh food the two men had seen for a long time. They treated the soggy carrots with reverence. 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.” José Salvador Alvarenga ( Spanish: [xoˈse salβaˈðoɾ alβaˈɾeŋɡa]; born c. 1975) is a Salvadoran fisherman and author who was found on January 30, 2014, aged 36 or 37, [nb 1] on the Marshall Islands after spending 14 months adrift in a fishing boat in the Pacific Ocean beginning on November 17, 2012. He survived mainly on a diet of raw fish, turtles, small birds, sharks and rainwater. [7] He swam to shore at Tile Islet, a small island that is part of Ebon Atoll, on January 30. [8] Two locals, Emi Libokmeto and Russel Laikidrik, found him naked, clutching a knife and shouting in Spanish. [9] He was treated in a hospital in Majuro [5] [10] before flying to his family home in El Salvador on February 10. [11] What a remarkable story! I've heard about people being found after days and even weeks at sea but never have I heard the story of José Salvador Alvarenga, a man who was adrift in the ocean for 438 days. Where was this news story??? Where was I???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. Agence France-Presse (February 16, 2014). "How castaway Jose Salvador Alvarenga survived 18 months at sea". NDTV . Retrieved February 18, 2014. Es ist der erstaunliche Überlebenskampf des Fischers Salvador Alvarenga 438 Tage auf See, in denen er nach einem Sturm vor der mexikanischen Küste erst 10.750 Kilometer westlich wieder Land erreicht. - a b c Aleman, Marcos (February 4, 2014). "Sea survivor's Salvadoran family thought he died". Chicago Sun-Times . Retrieved February 4, 2014.

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

Although Alvarenga was unaware, he carried the optimum body type and precise age for an extreme survival situation. He was exceptionally strong but not too tall or muscled to require massive caloric intake, and at thirty-four years old near the perfect vortex of maximum strength and maximum experience.” As he stumbled through the undergrowth, he suddenly found himself standing across a small canal from the beach house of Emi Libokmeto and her husband Russel Laikidrik. “As I’m looking across, I see this white man there,” said Emi, who works husking and drying coconuts on the island. “He is yelling. He looks weak and hungry. My first thought was, this person swam here, he must have fallen off a ship.” Declared “the best survival book in a decade” by Outside Magazine, 438 Days is the true story of the man who survived fourteen months in a small boat drifting seven thousand miles across the Pacific Ocean. On November 17, 2012, two men left the coast of Mexico for a weekend fishing trip in the open Pacific. That night, a violent storm ambushed them as they were fishing eighty miles offshore. As gale force winds and ten-foot waves pummeled their small, open boat from all sides and nearly capsized them, captain Salvador Alvarenga and his crewmate cut away a two-mile-long fishing line and began a desperate dash through crashing waves as they sought the safety of port. Fourteen months later, on January 30, 2014, Alvarenga, now a hairy, wild-bearded and half-mad castaway, washed ashore on a nearly deserted island on the far side of the Pacific. He could barely speak and was unable to walk. He claimed to have drifted from Mexico, a journey of some seven thousand miles. A “gripping saga,” (Daily Mail), 438 Days is the first-ever account of one of the most amazing survival stories in modern times. Based on dozens of hours of exclusive interviews with Alvarenga, his colleagues, search-and-rescue officials, the remote islanders who found him, and the medical team that saved his life, 438 Days is not only “an intense, immensely absorbing read” (Booklist) but an unforgettable study of the resilience, will, ingenuity and determination required for one man to survive more than a year lost and adrift at sea. 438 Days: An Extraordinary True Story of Survival at Sea by Jonathan Franklin – eBook DetailsPearlman, Jonathan (February 4, 2014). "Castaway from Mexico: First photos of Jose Salvador Alvarenga's boat". The Daily Telegraph . Retrieved February 4, 2014. Pearlman, Jonathan (February 8, 2014). "Castaway: two Pacific islanders, a screaming naked fisherman and three omelettes". The Daily Telegraph . Retrieved February 10, 2014. I love a book that leaves me shaking, feeling what the characters felt, and sensing the mental battles that all had to endure. Most of all, I love the books that make profound changes upon my mental composition. This book left me confessing that I would never again turn away from a hungry hand nor complain about my own personal sufferings. I am ever so thankful Jonathan Franklin was able to spend time with Salvador Alvarenga to convey a properly detailed and respected story. The BBC Radio 2 Book Club announced on 24 January that its new home is on the Zoe Ball Breakfast Show.