Post #506046 by abstractiki on Thu, Jan 21, 2010 8:47 PM

Tikitam sent me these very cool Thor Heyerdahl souvenir coins! :) Thanks Tikitam! I just put 4 nice pieces of Islander Bamboo in the mail for her a couple of days ago. That makes 18 pieces Total in Canada now!

From Left to Right, Top to Bottom;

KON-TIKI Museet

Kon-Tiki was the name given to a raft by Norwegian explorer and writer Thor Heyerdahl in his 1947 expedition. On exhibit at the Kon-Tiki Museum is Thor Heyerdahl's original Kon-Tiki balsa-wood raft, used on this expedition from Peru to Polynesia to prove that the Polynesians originally came from South America.

Kon-Tiki Museum - Easter Island

In 1955-1956, Thor Heyerdahl organized the Norwegian Archaeological Expedition Easter Island. The expedition included experiments with regard to the carving, transport and erection of the moai statues.

Kon-Tiki Museum - Ra II

In 1969 and 1970, Thor Heyerdahl built two boats from papyrus and attempted to cross the Atlantic from Morocco in Africa. Based on drawings and models from ancient Egypt, the first boat, named Ra, was constructed by boat builders from Lake Chad in the Republic of Chad using reed obtained from Lake Tana in Ethiopia. After a number of weeks, Ra took on water after its crew made modifications to the vessel that caused it to sag and break apart.
A similar vessel, Ra II, was then built by boatmen from Lake Titicaca in Bolivia and likewise set sail across the Atlantic from Morocco, this time with great success. The boat reached Barbados, thus demonstrating that mariners could have made trans-Atlantic voyages by sailing with the Canary Current.

Kon-Tiki Museum - Tigris

Tigris was the name of the third boat built by Thor Heyerdahl, intended to demonstrate that trade and migration could have linked Mesopotamia with the Indus Valley Civilization in what is now modern-day Pakistan.
Tigris was built in Iraq and sailed with its international crew through the Persian Gulf to Pakistan and made its way into the Red Sea. After about 5 months at sea and still remaining seaworthy, the Tigris was deliberately burnt in Djibouti, on April 3, 1978 as a protest against the wars raging on every side in the Red Sea and Horn of Africa.

close up, Kon-Tiki Museum - Easter Island