Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors

by Piers Paul Read

‘It’s like Holy Communion. When Christ died he gave his body to us so that we could have spiritual life. My friend has given us his body so that we can have physical life.’

so the cousins uncovered one of those who had been smothered in the avalanche and cut meat off the body right in front of everyone’s eyes. The meat before had either been cooked or at least dried in the sun; now there was no alternative but to eat it wet and raw as it came off the bone, and since they were so hungry, many ate larger pieces, which they had to chew and taste.

They also ate the blood clots which they found around the hearts of almost all the bodies. Their texture and taste were different from that of the flesh and fat, and by now they were sick to death of this staple diet. It was not just that their senses clamoured for different tastes; their bodies too cried out for those minerals of which they had for so long been deprived – above all, for salt.

What they would do was to take the small intestine, squeeze out its contents onto the snow, cut it into small pieces, and eat it. The taste was strong and salty. One of them tried wrapping it around a bone and roasting it in the fire. Rotten flesh, which they tried later, tasted like cheese.

bruh

The last discovery in their search for new tastes and new sources of food were the brains of the bodies which they had hitherto discarded. Canessa had told them that, while they might not be of particular nutritional value, they contained glucose which would give them energy; he had been the first to take a head, cut the skin across the forehead, pull back the scalp, and crack open the skull with the axe.

forcing y'all to squirm with me