Peru fisherman adrift for 95 days in Pacific shares emotional reunion
:: La Republica
:: March 14, 2025
:: Paita, Peru
:: Maximo Napa, Peruvian castaway
:: 'I'm thankful to God for giving me another chance.'
:: 'I was with Him (God), I did not want to die. It was 95 days. I ate roaches, birds, the last thing I ate was turtles. I didn't want to die. My mother, my mother is alive and I said I didn't want to die because of my mother. I have a two-month-old granddaughter, I held on to her.'
:: 'I thought about my mother everyday. I had no water. I lived on rainwater.'
:: 'God is great, that's all I can tell you. God is beautiful, he protected me because sometimes I'd spend seven days without eating. At the end I spent 15 days without eating. I thank God, but I'll speak to you later. Right now I want to be with my family.'
Maximo Napa had set off for a fishing trip from Marcona, a town on the southern Peruvian coast, on December 7. He packed food for a two week trip but ten days in, stormy weather threw his boat off course and he ended up adrift in the Pacific Ocean.
His family launched a search but Peru's maritime patrols were unable to locate him until Wednesday, when an Ecuadorian fishing patrol discovered him some 680 miles (1,094 km) off the country's coast, heavily dehydrated and in critical condition.
He said he stayed strong thinking about his family, including his two-month-old granddaughter, even as he survived on rainwater he collected on the boat and ran out of food, ultimately spending the last 15 days without eating.
Napa was scheduled for more medical checks in Paita before heading south to Lima.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Chicago Tribune
17 hours ago
- Chicago Tribune
Pope Leo XIV celebrates Mass for local homeless people, invites them to lunch at summer villa
CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy — Pope Leo XIV spent the last Sunday of his summer vacation with several dozen refugees, homeless and poor people and the church volunteers who help them, celebrating a special Mass for them and inviting them into the Vatican's lakeside estate for a lunch of lasagna and roast veal. Pope Leo XIV: What to know about Chicago-born Robert PrevostLeo celebrated Mass in the St. Mary sanctuary of Albano, near the papal summer retreat in Castel Gandolfo, where he is vacationing. The Mass was attended by around 110 people cared for by the local Caritas church charity, and the volunteers who run the diocese's shelters, clinics and social service offices. In his homily, Leo celebrated the 'fire of charity' that had brought them together. 'And I encourage you not to distinguish between those who assist and those who are assisted, between those who seem to give and those who seem to receive, between those who appear poor and those who feel they have something to offer in terms of time, skills, and help,' he said. In the church, he said, everyone is poor and precious, and all share the same dignity. Leo, the former Robert Prevost, spent most of his adult life working with the poor people of Peru, first as an Augustinian missionary and then as bishop. Former parishioners and church workers say he greatly reinforced the work of the local Caritas charity, opening soup kitchens and shelters for migrants and rallying funds to build oxygen plants during the COVID-19 pandemic. Later Sunday, Leo presided over a luncheon with the guests, who included Rosabal Leon, a Peruvian refugee who has been in Italy for a few months, along with her husband and two children. Leo's other companion was an 85-year-old Roman, Gabriella Oliveiro, who lives on her own, organizers said. The luncheon was held at the Borgo Laudato Si', the Vatican's environmental educational center in the gardens of the papal villa in Castel Gandolfo. The center is named for Pope Francis' 2015 landmark environmental encyclical, Laudato Si (Praised Be). Local caterers provided a menu of lasagna, eggplant parmesan and roast veal. For dessert, the menu called for fruit salad and sweets named for the pope, 'Dolce Leone.' Greeting the pope and his guests, who were seated along two long tables under a veranda, Albano Bishop Vincenzo Viva said their coming together to break bread followed the teaching of Christ. Today's church, he said, should be 'by the side of the most vulnerable, the weakest, the young and those who are wounded by the circumstances of life and history.'
The Onion
5 days ago
- The Onion
Disgusted God Puts Giant Overturned Glass Atop Humanity
THE HEAVENS—Moments after spotting hordes of the minuscule creatures skittering across the face of the earth, the Lord, Our Holy Father, reportedly became disgusted Thursday and placed a giant overturned glass atop humanity. Heavenly sources confirmed the Almighty cursed in surprise when He first spotted the massive swarm of human beings crawling through Creation, but He soon scrambled to overturn a 70-million-foot-tall drinking vessel and contain the planet's infestation, trapping the enormous mass of 8.1 billion squirming pests inside. 'Gross, gross, gross, they're getting all over the place!' said the visibly nauseated deity, who after a short search around His Kingdom retrieved a 10,000-mile-wide paper plate He could slide beneath the glass to ensure the scampering throngs didn't escape. 'Ugh, I hate the twitchy way they move. And the tiny hairs all over their bodies. Plus, they're always kind of moist. Totally creeps me out.' 'Seriously, I might puke just looking at them,' the Lord continued. According to witnesses, God discovered the human colony late at night after turning over a cloud in heaven's sanctum sanctorum to find billions of the creatures writhing on the planet below. Several reports confirmed that after trapping humanity, the Almighty Creator exhibited a wide range of coping responses that included wincing in stunned silence as He gazed at the humans from afar, audibly gagging at the sight of saliva dripping from their jaws, and even shouting 'Get out! get out!' at the tiny noncomprehending beings for over a minute. Though he momentarily regained His composure by taking some deep breaths, the Lord is said to have fallen into a fit of dry-heaving after He spotted several humans in Central Europe expelling bodily fluids as they copulated. After recovering once more, He was seen rolling up an ancient scroll and approaching the glass with the papyrus brandished in His Divine Hand. 'If I let them out they'll infest all of Creation—they breed like crazy,' said He Who Divided the Heavens and Earth, tapping on the side of the glass as several million inhabitants of the North American continent scurried helplessly away inside the cup. 'I used to think the ethical thing was to release them, but they always seem to find their way back to me. Then they get into my shit and start eating through everything in sight. Plus, they stink up the place.' Official records confirmed this is far from the first time the Eternal One has struggled with a human incursion. Once, as a younger deity, the Lord reportedly placed a pair in His garden, gave them fruits and herbs, and even named them, only to grow bored after several months. When He remembered them several years later, Our Heavenly Father was frustrated to discover an out-of-control population scuttling all over the globe. Since then, God is believed to have grown far more impatient with humanity's tendency to decimate forests, contaminate food supplies, and spread disease. A small number is enough to send Him stomping on the fleeing beings, and sources said on one occasion He leapt onto His Heavenly Throne and refused to get down until the Holy Ghost exterminated them. 'You can smite a few of these fuckers, but there will always be more on their way,' said the Almighty, grimacing as the appearance of His Eternal Face outside the glass sent huge quantities of the miniscule beings scattering for cover in South America. 'You can set them on fire, crush them, even throw them out into space—they always bounce back and start breeding like nothing happened. Maybe I'll just put a bunch of water in there and see if they drown.' 'Although, that's never worked before,' the Creator of All Things added. At press time, God was seen spraying a massive bottle of Axe Body Spray over the entirety of Creation in a final attempt to wipe out the human infestation once and for all.
New York Post
5 days ago
- New York Post
Dear Abby: My husband is addicted to cannabis — and it makes me want a divorce
DEAR ABBY: My husband is going to be 70 next month. He is in good physical shape but has taken up smoking marijuana every day. He says he is addicted. I have told him how much I hate that he uses dope. He quits for a while and then goes back to it. We have been married almost 50 years. I would be disappointed filing for divorce, but I am starting to think it's my only way out of a situation that has become increasingly frustrating. His doctor has told him it probably won't kill him. Seriously? What's your advice, Abby? — POTHEAD'S WIFE IN ARIZONA DEAR WIFE: Unless there are other reasons why you want out of your marriage, perhaps you should lighten up. Some people smoke marijuana to relax or to relieve tension, depression or even boredom. Do you know why your husband does it on a daily basis, and why you are bothered to the point you are considering divorce? Before talking to an attorney, you might benefit from attending a few Nar-Anon meetings to gain some insight. They're as near as your computer at DEAR ABBY: I recently bought a new house. I was downsizing because my mother has passed away and my daughter went out of state to college. I invited my best friend and her son over. We have been best friends since junior high, and I love her dearly. I actually bought my new furniture with weight considerations as a factor because she and her son weigh about 1,000 pounds combined. As they sat down, my friend joked about having broken other people's furniture in the past. Then there was an audible 'crack' as they sat down on my couch. She just looked at me and made no comment. Abby, I know friendship is more valuable than a couch, but she wants to bring more of her family over to visit. I simply can't afford to buy a $900 couch every few months. Can you please help? — HESITANT HOSTESS DEAR HOSTESS: Your friend should have offered to pay to have your new sofa repaired or replaced. That she heard the wood crack under the burden of their weight and said nothing speaks volumes to me. In the future, visit her at her home, but refrain from inviting her to visit or bring relatives to your home again. DEAR ABBY: My husband and I have neighbors we are not interested in being friends with. We are a religious family and believe in God. They have a black ram's head hanging in their living room, if you catch my drift. They keep inviting us to events at their home or to spend time with them, and we don't know how to politely decline without making anyone angry. How do we keep our distance? — STAYING AWAY IN NEW YORK DEAR STAYING AWAY: Have you and your husband been accepting their invitations? If that's the case, start backing away by having 'other plans.' However, if they don't take the hint, begin sending them religious tracts from your denomination, and they may disappear in a puff of sulfur. Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.
