Kon-Tiki!

We have a joke within our family about pilgrimages. I have been part of a few notable ones, including the Bowhunters Warehouse, the first Quaker Meetinghouse, and of course, Click and Clack's Car Talk Plaza above "Hahvard" Square. I can confidently report that today, I topped the charts. I made my pilgrimage, and it was AWESOME.

View from the ferry headed Bygdøy

As some of you know, I have been reading Kon-Tiki by Thor Heyerdahl. Heyerdahl was a zoologist, anthropologist and explorer from Norway. This is book is Heyerdahl's account of his experience attempting to prove his theory of island migration. He believed that the Polynesian Islands were first populated by natives of South America who traveled to the islands by raft. He couldn't get any support for his theory, and decided that the best way to prove himself was to sail a balsa wood raft across the Pacific Ocean. In 1947, along with five other crew members, Thor Heyerdahl did just that.

The crew of Kon-Tiki, 1947 (The author is third from the right)

 In the book, Heyerdahl takes the reader along with him, from the forests of Peru to the sandy beaches of Polynesia and the shark-infested waters between. The author tackles the book like an adventure novel. Despite what you may believe, it is far from a dry account of the day-to-day happenings of a bobbing balsa raft.

Today, I made my own (much shorter and less valiant) voyage to the Kon-Tiki Musuem, a short ferry ride away from central Oslo. I even wrangled a friend into joining me for the adventure. I explained my fascination with the voyage, and she still agreed, so off we went! 

Cruisin' on the Oslo Fjord

The museum is located on the Bygdøy Peninsula, home to numerous other museums, including the Viking Ship Museum.  

We headed straight for the Kon-Tiki building, which wasn't hard to find...

Could this be the museum about Polynesian islands?

My expectations were high, and the anticipation had been building since I finished the book on Wednesday. Needless to say, I was excited.

After a surprisingly reasonable entrance fee, we entered. The first display was about the Ra, Thor Heyerdahl's papyrus boat that he took across the Atlantic in the 1970's. Interesting, yes, but not the reason I had come. 

Then, I saw it: The vessel of legends. 

This was the real deal! I took too many pictures. I bored my companion with tales of misadventures on board. I lectured to whoever would listen about navigation techniques used on the voyage. I searched for signs of the important center planks needed for stability. I analyzed the bamboo hut and leaned far enough over the barrier to peak inside but still stay on my feet. Needless to say, I took it all in. 

The bow

Thor Heyerdahl and his team harvested nine balsa trees from the forests of Ecuador. They floated the logs down the Palenque and the Guayas to the Pacific, where they assembled the raft, according to historic building plans. No nails or metal of any form were used.

Bearded Kon-Tiki

The raft was named after the sun god who, according to legend, led his people from Peru to the islands of the Pacific. Native Peruvians and Polynesians had almost identical stories about Kon-Tiki, which strengthened Heyerdahl's argument.

The crew's "house" for 101 days at sea

This bamboo hut contained the radio corner and some room for sleeping. All of the meals were eaten right outside the cabin door.

View from the stern

The crew took 4 hour shifts at the steering oar in the stern of the raft. Once they were in the Humboldt Current, the sea did most of the work for them.

Hey! How did those seagulls get in here?

Camera, suntan cream, and food. What more do you need?

The crew had enough food supplies (military rations, provided by the US Government) on board for the whole voyage, but the fishing was great, so much of it went unused. The US Military supplied the crew with most of their gear, all of it in the testing phase. 

The whale shark, looming beneath Kon-Tiki

As you can tell, the Kon-Tiki was as great as I expected it to be. The journey that those six men took was a game-changer in the anthropologic debate. They took a huge risk trusting their lives to a couple of balsa logs, hemp rope, bamboo and canvas. The risk paid off, and it is an adventure that has gone down in history as a true "epic." As I reflected, I felt the sharp bite of the adventure bug. Watch out, World! Who knows what's next!