When islanders first got a glimpse of Jose Salvador Alvarenga , they saw an extremely weak man wearing only tattered underwear . On his battered boat , a live bird was tethered by its foot -- narrowly missing becoming his next meal . And as he recounted his story , faster than his rescuers could comprehend , Alvarenga ate like he had n't had a full meal in months . As crazy as it sounds , his tale just might be true after all . New details from the day Alvarenga mysteriously turned up in the Marshall Islands appear to lend weight to his story of drifting across the Pacific Ocean for 13 months . It was a rainy , windy day on Ebon , the atoll where Alvarenga was found January 30 . Mayor Ione deBrum was first alerted to the mysterious visitor when a boy biked to her office from the other side of the island . The boy had been dispatched by Amy Libokmeto and Russell Laikedrik -- the islanders who first spotted Alvarenga , yelling and waving a knife from one island over . Libokmeto motioned for him to drop the knife , and then the pair sprang into action , sending word to the mayor and providing Alvarenga with food , water and clean clothes , deBrum told CNN . Alvarenga inhaled pancake after pancake as he and his rescuers communicated with each other using a mix of charades and hand-drawn pictures . DeBrum 's son even helped translate the Salvadoran 's story , using Spanish skills learned entirely from the animated children 's series `` Dora the Explorer . '' The story was beyond belief for many . Alvarenga said he set off in late 2012 from Mexico on what was supposed to be a one-day fishing expedition . But he and a 23-year-old companion were blown off-course by northerly winds and then caught in a storm , eventually losing the use of their engines . They had no radio signal to report their plight , he said . Alvarenga said that four weeks into their drift , his companion died of starvation because he refused to eat raw birds and turtles . Eventually , he threw the body overboard . Alvarenga 's claims have garnered widespread skepticism about how he could survive the more than 6,000-mile trek across the open ocean . But officials in the Marshall Islands have said repeatedly they have no reason to doubt the story . After more than a week on the island , Alvarenga began his journey home Monday . He posed for photos with dignitaries from the Marshall Islands before boarding a plane headed for Hawaii . Appearing frail but in good spirits , he was taken to the plane in a wheelchair and helped up the stairs by two people . He said that he was very emotional , that he was feeling good and that he was looking forward to getting home . Plans for his repatriation to El Salvador were postponed last week after his health took a turn for the worse . But Marshall Islands Foreign Minister Phillip Muller said Monday that the castaway was in good health and ready to travel . His flight from Amata Kabua International Airport arrived in Honolulu Monday . He is expected to continue his journey and arrive in El Salvador on Tuesday .
A flight carrying Jose Salvador finally arrives in Manila . New details from the day castaway appeared lend credibility to his story . A live bird was found tethered to his battered boat in the Marshall Islands . He communicated his story to his rescuers using charades and drawing blood .