After more than three months alone in the Pacific,\u202fM\u00e1ximo \u201cGat\u00f3n\u201d\u202fNapa Castro says prayer\u2014and a diet no one would choose\u2014kept him alive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Castro, 46, set sail with provisions for 30\u202fdays. When his motor died, the Peruvian fisherman faced 65 more days with nothing but scraps of food, a leaky water jug and his unshakable will to see his family again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
First came strict rationing: fish that flopped into the boat, a single bottle of water sipped sparingly, and a silent promise to last \u201cone more sunrise.\u201d But supplies vanished fast. So what would you<\/em> do when hunger claws? Castro grabbed whatever nature offered\u2014cockroaches skittering across the deck, unwary seabirds that landed at\u202f2\u202fa.m., and even turtle blood when the canteen ran dry. This is the survival menu at sea:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cCalm\u202fdown,\u202fGat\u00f3n,\u201d he repeated whenever despair set in. That mantra mattered as much as the meager calories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Castro told CNN he spoke to God daily, pleading for another chance to hug his mother, brother and children. Faith replaced breakfast; memories became dinner. Yet even hope wavered\u2014three times he held a knife, tempted to surrender. Nevertheless, each dawn lit a fresh resolve: You can do it.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
Why faith and thoughts of family sustained Gat\u00f3n through 95 harrowing days<\/h2>\n\n\n\n