(CNN) — A note, written in red and recovered on August 22, filled a nation with hope.
“We are fine in the shelter, the 33 of us,” said the note, which was attached to a probe by miners trapped inside the San Jose mine. It was the first evidence for rescuers that they were alive.
On Wednesday, the last of the 33 miners was rescued, marking the end of a harrowing 69 days.
With the rescue, new details are emerging from the miners about their experiences in captivity. Among the revelations is that the famous proof of life note was not the only note that the miners wanted to send to the surface.
Luis Urzua, the shift foreman and the last miner out, recounted for Chilean President Sebastian Pinera the exciting moment when the probe reached the miners for the first time.
“We had a protocol for when it arrived, but everyone nearly forgot it,” Urzua said. “Everyone wanted to hug the hammer (on the probe).”
Some of the miners wanted to send notes to the surface such as, “Send me some potatoes,” “I’m hungry,” and many messages to family members on the surface.
These potential notes reflect what some miners have described as the hardest times, the first part of their ordeal. At the time that the probe reached the miners, they had survived for 17 days by sharing small amounts of tuna and mackerel that were in the shelter. At that point, they were eating only once every 48 hours. They didn’t know when their next real meal would come. They didn’t know when they would see their loved ones again.
In the end, their training kicked in and they sent the now-famous note.
“We only sent what we had to send,” Urzua said.
Even during the difficult times, Urzua said, “we had hope that some day we would be rescued.”
“I am so proud of what you have done,” the miner told the president. “Thank you to all the rescuers, to all of Chile, to everyone. I am so proud to be Chilean.”
Pinera said he asked the miners on Thursday how they managed to make decisions with so many of them inside the mine. He said he was told there was a democracy in place, under which the miners voted and the majority prevailed.
Another miner, Mario Sepulveda, said Wednesday that he emerged from his confinement a changed man.
“I buried 40 years of my life down there, and I’m going to live a lot longer to be a new person,” he said in a video conference, hours after surfacing from half a mile underground.
Sepulveda, the second miner extracted from the mine, has advice for those who take risks in their lives.
“I think I have learned a lot of wonderful lessons about taking the good path in life,” he said. “For those of you able to call your wives, or your husbands, do so.”
During the time he was trapped inside the mine, Sepulveda said he saw both good and evil.
“I was with God, and I was with the devil. They fought, and God won,” he said. Sepulveda said he grabbed God’s hand and never doubted that he would be rescued.
Sepulveda praised the efforts of the rescue crews, but argued for reforms in the mining industry.
“I think this country has to understand once and for all that we can make change. In the area of labor, we have (to) make many changes,” he said. “I think the owner has to give the tools so that the middle managers can bring changes in terms of labor. The middle managers cannot carry on like they have.”
The rescued miner had high praise for the doctors and psychologists who aided the miners via video conference.
“They gave us our lives back. It’s incredible that with 700 meters between us and not seeing us face-to-face they revived us,” he said.
With the world watching and the media attention at the mine intense, Sepulveda said he hoped to maintain a low-key profile now that they are being rescued.
“The only thing I ask personally is that you please not treat us like celebrities or journalists. I want to continue being treated like Mario Antonio Sepulveda Espinace, the worker, the miner. I love that, and I think that, in some shape, way or form, I want to continue working,” he said.
Sepulveda was flanked by family members as he spoke.
“I’m very happy for all the beautiful things that were done for us,” he said. “I’m very excited to be up here again.”