Máximo Napa Castro, a 61-year-old Peruvian fisherman, has told his miraculous story of survival after being stranded at sea for 95 days. Castro had set off on a fishing excursion from Marcona, a seaside hamlet in southern Peru, on December 7. He had prepared enough food for a two-week excursion, but his voyage took an unexpected turn.
Only ten days into his journey, Castro's boat was pushed off course by bad weather, leaving him stranded in the huge Pacific. Despite his family's attempts, Peruvian naval patrols were unable to locate Castro. It wasn't until last Wednesday that an Ecuadorian fishing patrol discovered him, about 680 miles off the coast.
When Castro was ultimately rescued, he was very dehydrated and in grave condition. In a sad interview after meeting with his brother in Paita, near the Ecuadorian border, he said: "I didn’t want to die. I ate insects and birds, and my final meal was turtles."
According to Napa, he was able to survive by collecting rainwater on his boat, but his food supply ultimately ran out. In a terrifying ordeal, Napa was forced to go without food for the final 15 days of his 95-day expedition, surviving exclusively on rainwater. "I had a granddaughter who was just a few months old, and I hung on to her. Every day, I thought about my mother. "I'm grateful to God for giving me this second chance," he remarked. Napa's mother, Elena Castro, told local media that while her family remained hopeful, she had begun to lose faith, anticipating the worst for her son's fate.
She told TV Peru. "I told the Lord, whether he's living or dead, please bring him back to me, even if only to see him. However, my daughters never lost faith. They kept telling me, "Mom, he'll come back. He'll come back."