Ep 2: The Impossible Journey - José Salvador Alvarenga's 438 Days at Sea

n November 2012, Mexican fisherman José Salvador Alvarenga and his companion Ezequiel Córdoba were swept out to sea when their small boat's motor failed during a storm. What followed became the longest verified solo survival at sea in recorded history. After Córdoba's tragic death four months into their ordeal, Alvarenga continued alone for more than a year, drifting over 6,700 miles across the Pacific. Surviving on raw fish, turtles, birds, and collected rainwater, he endured extreme isolation, hallucinations, and severe physical deterioration. His remarkable odyssey ended 438 days later when he washed ashore on the Marshall Islands in January 2014, emaciated but alive. Initially met with skepticism, his extraordinary account was ultimately confirmed through physical evidence, oceanographic data, and medical assessment. Alvarenga's survival represents not just a feat of physical endurance but a testament to psychological resilience and the profound human capacity to adapt to extreme circumstances.