438 Days by Jonathan Franklin
The story begins with Salvador Alvarenga arriving from El Salvador to Costa Azul, Mexico for two reasons i.e., evading his possible execution by the local mob and to try his hand at his long-cherished work, shark fishing. He finds fishing fascinating and loves the adrenaline of going into the wild pacific for distances up to 100 miles for weekly supplies of catch. Although, his beginning was not very fascinating as he struggled a lot doing random jobs around the fishermen’s houses to eventually being hired by a gentleman named Willy. Lovingly called by his colleagues as ‘’Chancha’’, Alvarenga was a hardened and resilient fisherman as he had long learnt hostile weathers and diminishing fish reserves in shallower waters.
Fateful was the day of 17th November 2013 when against all advisory, Alvarenga after a good catch on previous day, prepared his boat once again for fishing at around 110 miles from shore. His known companion doing his chores, Alvarenga hired an amateur named Cordoba. With dreams of massive batch of fish and the fun and folly that would follow his weeklong vacation later, he sailed into violent pacific. On the contrary, ocean was violent with a Category-1 Norteno (Sea Storm) at their step. Alvarenga on being ambushed by the storm in the middle of their fishing trip is bewildered as his companion Cordoba, is suddenly seasick. With their boat rapidly filling with water while facing waves of 15-20 ft, he is compelled to drive the boat while persuading Cordoba to keep bailing (Throwing out the water).
Unfortunately, the duo had come as close as 20 miles off their home shore, when the motor broke down and began the harshest of survival tales in the history of mankind. Alvarenga expected to be rescued within hours if not days of their drifting in the pacific. Hours turned into days, days into weeks, and weeks into months. The first 10 days without an ounce of water to drink and to eat, at around 500 miles from shore, left Cordoba contemplating jumping in the shark colonies in the ocean but Alvarenga was tremendously positive and kept prompting Cordoba to quit thinking about it. Alas, the men are compelled to hunt and eat raw fish, sea birds, turtles, and baby sharks also quench their thirst by drinking turtle blood. Their story also gives a glimpse of the oceanic situation in remote locations normal humans would hardly encounter, the issues of floating ocean garbage. Although the same garbage helped in saving the solitary souls, but the scene makes their heart convulse with resentment.
Eventually the duo drifts near to the equator in the pacific, there so calm were the waters the drifting was no more than a mile a day. Had they known the ITCZ (Intertropical Convergence Zone) they were passing, according to Shang-Ping Xie a climate researcher at Scripps Institution of Oceanology, receives the heaviest rainfall on earth, would have found drinkable water on the surface of otherwise saline oceanic water. There came a time when hunger and thirst led to pathological and psychological issues and the men began hallucinating as if they were ashore. This also kept them positive but not for long as finally on 118th day, Cordoba succumbed to his suffering. It was a devastating moment for Alvarenga, as now he feared isolation in an already isolated place. He encounters death at arm’s length as he is woken by scraping of his boat by a 30,000-pound whale shark. That was a turning point in his otherwise survivable situation.
Around 424th day of his isolation from family and friends, deprived of hope of getting rescued long ago, Alvarenga notices a faint ray of light from a distant lighthouse. This revives his hopes and eventually on 438th day, he adrift ashore on the islands of Ebon and is located by a humble family that plays a vital role, in him being able to tell the otherwise unbelievable tale. It follows storm of publicity, press, governments, and enthusiasts wanting to know his story. This story has been a historical tale of resilience and human prowess to fight the hostility of mother nature and is etched into human history forever.
Alvarenga on being asked the motive behind
assisting Jonathan writing his story, he explains that if he could battle the hardships in such an environment no man can even begin to imagine, then other humans can face their daily challenges too. He wishes that his book motivates the reader, and even if one of them relinquishes the idea of suicide, he would be content as it was him always telling his companion Cordoba to reconsider committing suicide. The book is an eye-opener for people who consider giving up to even miniscule snags.
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