A fisherman from Peru, who endured 95 days lost at sea in the Pacific by subsisting on turtles, birds, and cockroaches, has been rescued and reunited with his family. Maximo Napa Castro, 61, embarked on a fishing trip from Marcona, a coastal town in southern Peru, on December 7, expecting to return in two weeks. However, a storm diverted his boat off course after ten days, leaving him with limited provisions.
Despite his family's search efforts, Peru's maritime patrols could not locate him. It wasn't until Wednesday that the Ecuadorian patrol ship Don F discovered him 1,094 kilometers (680 miles) from shore, in a dehydrated and critical state. Maximo managed to survive by collecting rainwater and consuming whatever he could catch.
In a heartfelt reunion with his brother in Paita, near the Ecuadorian border, on Friday, Maximo recounted his diet of roaches and birds before turning to sea turtles. He spent the final 15 days without food. The thought of his family, including his two-month-old granddaughter, kept him going, he said. "I thought about my mother every day. I'm grateful to God for this second chance."
His mother, Elena, shared with local media that while the family remained hopeful during his absence, she had started to lose faith. After being rescued, Maximo was taken to Paita for medical evaluation and then flown to Lima, Peru's capital. At Jorge Chávez International Airport, his daughter, Inés Napa, greeted him with a bottle of pisco, Peru's national beverage, amidst a media frenzy.
In San Andrés, his home district in the Ica region, neighbors and relatives decorated the streets to celebrate his return. His niece, Leyla Torres Napa, mentioned plans to celebrate his birthday, which had passed while he was adrift. She remarked, "His birthday was special because all he had was a small cookie, so this celebration is significant for us as it feels like he has been reborn."
Similar survival stories include Russian Mikhail Pichugin, who was rescued after over two months adrift in the Sea of Okhotsk, and Salvadoran fisherman José Salvador Alvarenga, who survived a remarkable 14-month drift in the Pacific, subsisting on rainwater and turtles.