This exterior photo shows the Marshall Islands Resorts hotel where Jose Salvador Alvarenga stays in a room, seen at second right on the second floor, in Majuro, Marshall Islands, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2014. AP
MAJURO, Marshall Islands—The Salvadoran man who says he drifted across the Pacific Ocean for at least 13 months in an open boat has flown out of the Marshall Islands on his way home.
Jose Salvador Alvarenga washed ashore in the island nation late last month with the amazing story of survival that many have questioned.
He told officials during his two-week recuperation at the hospital and a hotel in the capital, Majuro, that he left Mexico in late 2012 with another fisherman, who later died, when a storm threw them off course.
The 37-year-old Alvarenga flew out on Monday first to Hawaii and then on to be reunited with his family.
At the Majuro airport, he thanked the people and officials of the Marshall Islands for their hospitality.
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