Next Stop...Oslo, Norway:

Kon-Tiki Museum: Thor Heyerdahl (1914-2002) is one of history's most famous scientists, adventurers, and environmentalists. The Kon-Tiki Museum houses original vessels and exhibits from Thor Heyerdahl's world famous expeditions. The museum is home to permanent exhibitions about: Ra, Tigris, Fatu-Hiva, Kon-Tiki, and Easter Island. I was extremely excited to be visiting this museum because I have long been fascinated by the work of Thor Heyerdahl. This is one place that I recommend all travelers to Norway pay a visit.

Thor Heyerdahl: This man was my hero when I was a teenager. "He was a world renowned explorer and archaeologist." He was fascinated by the origins of the Polynesian race and culture, and set out to prove that the first immigrants to Polynesia came from Peru on balsa rafts via the North Pacific conveyor (an ocean current). For more information about Thor Heyerdahl, please see this web site: http://www.greatdreams.com/thor.htm

Bow of the Kon-Tiki: This balsa wood boat was constructed by Thor Heyerdahl, and was sailed 4,300 miles from South America to the Tuamotu Islands (a chain of atolls in French Polynesia). Heyerdahl's goal was to prove that boats like this could travel large distances, and that these two different cultures could intermingle.

I read the books "Kon-Tiki" and "The RA Expeditions" while in college. They were fascinating books, and well worth reading.

There are many web sites with information about Thor Heyerdahl and his adventures, but for some general information, please see this web site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thor_Heyerdahl

Ra II Mid-Raft: This is the housing for the crew of the Ra II. Whew...close quarters, if you ask me. Did you know that the Ra II traveled across the Atlantic Ocean in 57 days?

Ra II paddles: This is the stern of the reed boat that Heyerdahl named "Ra II". Can you imagine traveling across an ocean with just these paddles as supplements to the sail? Amazing...

Walking Monolith: " Rapa Nui (aka Easter Island) is known for its giant stone monoliths, or moai. These moai sat on top of great stone platforms, built all along the coast, where they stood facing inland and looked after the people. The statues represented venerated dead chiefs and were part of an ancestral cult. All moai were carved from one quarry in the extinct volcano of Rano Raraku. The earliest carved statues were smaller and different in shape from the classic stone monoliths which were first carved between AD 1300 and 1400.

From AD 1200 to 1650 the peoples of Easter Island carved out more than 800 stone monoliths ranging in height from 1 to 21 meters. How could these statues be carved using only crude stone picks? And, how were these statues transported to the coast? Heyerdahl believed the oral tradition and commissioned a group of local Rapa Nui men to carve and erect a statue. Oral tradition also claimed that the statues had walked across the island. In 1986, Heyerdahl brought the Czech engineer Pavel Pavel to the island and together with the locals they made a statue walk again. By pulling ropes attached to the statue, it moved forward in a wiggling motion or nekeneke, which is the unique Rapanui word for this way of walking." Click on this link to learn more about Easter Island: http://www.netaxs.com/~trance/rapanui.html

Egyptian Painting of a Wooden Boat: There were a number of interesting artifacts that had been collected by Thor Heyerdahl on his travels. The boat in this painting is based on earlier models of reed boats. There was no age given for this painting, but it is indeed ancient.

Reed Boat Design on Pottery: This drawing is Egyptian, and may well be one of the oldest examples of early writing.

Reed Boat Model: This stone model was found on Easter Island, Chile. I found it quite interesting, and I cannot imagine how ancient it must be.