Salvador José Alvarenga, 37, is the protagonist of a unique history, as output of the best fictional stories and adventures. On Wednesday he returned to his native El Salvador, who received him like the prodigal castaway and example of overcoming. At the humble home of his parents, in the distant and almost invisible Salvadoran coastal community west Garita Palmera, a large sign painted by children in his family, says: " Welcome home." The fisherman is hospitalized and is expected within 48 hours to finally travel to his people.
Alvarenga is one of the millions of Salvadorans who have migrated to other lands in search of a better life. He went to America to work on anything, as does most fleeing because of poverty or violence. He left 15 years ago to southern Mexico to continue devoting himself to his art: shark fishing.
One day in December 2012 he went fishing with a young assistant named Ezequiel CÃ_rdova Rios, who has not confirmed their age (between 15 and 22 years). Apparently they left the shores of Tonala (or Côte d'Azur, according to other versions), in Chiapas, southern Mexico, and within hours not heard from them. They were reported missing. Fishermen in the area and the families of Cordova Rios searched for 15 days. "We hope to know how our son died. What we want is to have examined this person and check his story, "said the father of Ezekiel, Nicolas Cruz Cordova, the Mexican press.
Alvarenga 's story is pretty amazing. While at sea the engine of his boat, which was about twenty feet long, broke down and fishermen adrift and unable to communicate with Earth to call for help. Disappeared after 13 months, appearing live more than 10,000 miles away in the Marshall Islands in the Micronesia region in the Pacific. His story has many dark spots. The most dramatic of which little is known fact is the fate suffered by the young CÃ_rdova Rios. Alvarenga said she had died a few weeks of the wreck by refusing to eat and had to throw the body into the sea.
Alvarenga narrated that he survived by feeding on raw meat fish and turtles drinking turtle blood, rainwater and even his own urine.
The arrival of the Alvarenga Ebon Atoll on 30 January, caused great surprise. The fisherman could hardly express. Bearded, hairy and almost unable to move on his own, was treated at a hospital in Majuro, capital of the Marshall Islands, where he undertook flight home on Monday. I had to make stops in Hawaii and Los Angeles (USA).
The story of how he survived contrasted with the image of the subject on arrival at the atoll: a man apparently healthy with no signs of malnutrition and little haggard. The correspondent of the British newspaper The Telegraph, Jonathan Pearlman, who spoke in Majuro Alvarenga, said that, "despite his ordeal appeared well fed and in good spirits, except when he tried to describe the loss of the traveling companion [ Ezekiel CÃ_rdova Rios ], who died after four months adrift for refusing to eat. " Pearlman concluded that " there were several incomplete details " and that Alvarenga sometimes " contradicted ".
"Turtles have great nutritional value," he told the BBC Giuseppe Russolillo nutritionist. Which means that in the flesh of these turtles, the castaway would have gotten a source of fat and protein, and in his blood, a concentration of sugars, nutrients and major sales to survive. "Although many foods are lacking [ vegetable, fruit and fiber ] life is only going support and desnutriendo " Russolillo said.
" I do not know their fishing capacity, but if you eat a lot of protein, did not need to lose weight and could stand perfectly... And if it was able to cover themselves from sun exposure and stay wet to avoid losing water oozing from the skin, then could spend all that time drifting, "added the expert.
So far, the longest case ever recorded in the area is that of the three Mexican fishermen who arrived in 2006 after spending nine months adrift in the Pacific Ocean. The men went fishing sharks, but soon his boat engine broke down and the current dragged out to sea. They traveled 8,500 miles away to be rescued by a Taiwanese tuna boat. But Alvarenga version confirmed, would be a very similar story but her ordeal is longer and solo.
Neither the Mexican nor the Salvadoran authorities deny nor confirm the veracity of the 13 months of shipwreck, but ensure that the data given by Alvarenga have been collated with the date of his disappearance.
Alvarenga, for now, remains a hero. Dozens of journalists, foreign and domestic, waited to shipwreck in three strategic locations: the International Airport of El Salvador in San Rafael hospital and Garita Palmera, coastal town, where the family resides.
A day before his arrival in San Salvador, Foreign Minister, Jaime Miranda, had warned the media that both the fisherman and the family would not make statements as "felt overwhelmed." Finally, on Tuesday night, Miranda left the room protocol to the international airport and introduced Alvarenga, who was mobilized in a chair beg. Miranda said the fisherman wanted to say a few words to the press.
He was given a microphone, journalists fell silent, but Alvarenga could not utter a single word. With one hand he covered his face and the other raised waved hello. Journalists and public applauded and cheered him. He was taken to hospital San Rafael and the first medical report confirmed that, in general, physical and mental health is good, although you have symptoms of anemia.
Tags: Alvarenga, JosÃ, life