Letting go
Alone on the fishing boat with no help in sight and no companion to lean on or talk to, Alvarenga was bereft. The fisherman described to journalists that he continued talking to Cordoba for days after he died, unable to accept that he was no longer with him. It must have been a terrible thing to bear.
Eventually, six days after Cordoba passed away, Alvarenga managed to bring himself to throw his friend overboard, burying him at sea. Saying goodbye to his long-term companion meant finally acknowledging that he was now on his own, in the middle of the vast ocean, with no one coming to his aid.