Date: 06. November 2019
Author: Linus
Position: Teneriffa, St. Cruz
Geographical Position: 28°27.908 N/ 16°14.708 W
Etmal: 0

Today we went to the Kon-Tiki museum and I will take the chance to write my daily report about Thor Heyerdahl and his journeys.

Thor Heyerdahl

Thor Heyerdahl was born in Norway at the 6th October 1914. After graduating in Biology and Geography, Thor visited the Marquesas Islands in Polynesia. The biggest part of his interest was dedicated to human migration. He thought that they not only took place on land but also on the sea. Because of this, he built several primitive vessels, which he crossed the main Oceans with. So here are his four most important journeys.

Kon-Tiki (first journey)

In 1947, Thor made an expedition, on which he wished to reproduce the simple conditions of navigation that the pre-Inca people knew. So he built a balsa-wood raft, called Kon-Tiki. He sailed from Callao in Peru, to Raroia in Polynesia. With a crew of five Scandinavians he sailed 8,000 kilometres in 101 days. In this time, he made a documentation movie of his journey, which already won an oscar.

Ra & Ra II (second and third journey)

Later, his interest was centred on the cultural parallelism on either side of the Atlantic. For example step pyramids, mumification and the use of watercraft made from reeds. He guessed, that there might have been some transoceanic contact. In 1969, he organised the Ra expedition to cross the Atlantic, for wich he built an Egyptian style craft of twelve meters in lenght made of papyrus reeds. He started in Safi in Morocco, with an international crew of six people, but for reasons of construction, Ra was abondoned close to Barbados after a journey off 56 days and almost 5,000 kilometres. In 1970 he made the Ra II expedition using a similar boat. He started from Safi again with an international crew of seven men. After 57 days and over 6,100 kilometres, Ra II reached the Barbados. In the time on the Ra II he observed the ocean pollution and reported it to the UN.

Tigris (fourth journey)

In 1977, he built Tigris, a boat made of berdi reeds of 18 metres in lenght. With ten men from different countries and with different political and religious ideas, he sailed from Irak to the Persian Gulf and Pakistan. He also crossed the Indian Ocean until he arrived in Djibouti, in Africa, at the entrance to the red sea. This expedition should reproduce the maritime traiding routes that may have existed between Mesopotamia, the Indus Valley and the Nile Valley.

PS: Im Übrigen sind wir der Meinung, dass wir in der Mitte des Atlantiks baden gehen sollten (Anmerkung der Allgemeinheit)

PPS: Im Übrigen ist Ocean College der Meinung, dass das geregelt und mit Miriam und Kapitän längst besprochen ist. Insofern kann auf dieses PS zukünftig gerne verzichtet werden. Viel Spaß beim Baden, wenn es die Bedingungen in der Mitte des Atlantiks erlauben. (Anmerkung von Johan)