Rafting

[Eagle43]

http://www.nytimes.com/learning/gene...8.html#article

Thor Heyerdahl and his 5 crewmembers set out on 28 April 1947 from Peru to drift across the Pacific, as pre-Inca voyagers are believed to have drifted from South America to Polynesia. It took them 15 weeks to make the 4900 mile trip on a balsa wood raft. They landed Raroia Reef, Tuamotu Archipelago, some French Islands, on 7 Aug.

Ya want cheap travel and lodging? Can't get any better than this. But, I don't know if I could spend 1 day on a raft, much less 101 days drifting.

I've always been impressed by this feat and by Mr. Heyerdahl. If you're interested in him, try this link: http://www.greatdreams.com/thor.htm

[Martha]

I read Kon Tiki as a child and loved reading about his adventures.

[charlie]

Geez Martha, you made me feel old when you
said you read "Kon Tiki" as a child. It seems
like yesterday for me and I was no child.

Cheers,

Charlie

[Austin_Explorer]

Anyone else been to the Kon Tiki museum in Oslo? Thor lived a pretty exciting life. The nearby polar exploration museum was cool too, literally. My wife and I were on a skiing trip (Lillehammer) and we were there in the middle of winter, but it was colder in the polar museum than it was outside, and not by a small margin!

[yakers]

I loved reading Kon Tiki as a child too. But Heyerdahl was trying to prove a point, that Polynesia was settled by South American natives. Unfortunately, that theory is completely off. DNA studies have tracked the Polynesian migration from various islands, the last being Hawaii settled from the Marquesas. New Zealand was settled from Rarotonga/Cook Islands.
But what an adventure Kon Tiki was!

[cute fuzzy bunny]

I read all his stuff when I was practically an embryo. (sorry charlie

Even if his theories were completely off, his efforts with the wood raft, the straw raft, and building idols on easter island demonstrated to me two things.

Almost anything is possible with persistence and ingenuity.

Never look at something that seems impossible and think for a second that it cant be done.

[sgeeeee]

Quote:

I loved reading Kon Tiki as a child too. But Heyerdahl was trying to prove a point, that Polynesia was settled by South American natives. *Unfortunately, that theory is completely off. DNA studies have tracked the Polynesian migration from various islands, the last being Hawaii settled from the Marquesas. New Zealand was settled from Rarotonga/Cook Islands. But what an adventure Kon Tiki was!

Yeah. Thor was interesting and charismatic. But his antropological theories and work have been almost completely discredited. The people I met on Easter Island still love him though.

[MRGALT2U]

I tried rafting once. Made my ass Thor

JG

[WanderALot]

I blew off the Kon Tiki museum in Oslo, but did go to the Polar Exploration Museum (that's couldn't have been the name, but can't remember the actual name) and really liked it. But nothing beats the Viking museum that had a reconstruction of a Viking ship from the 10th (?) century!