5 out of 5 stars
On Amazon (universal link)
On Goodreads
How I discovered this book: it was submitted to Rosie's Book Review Team, of which I am a member.
In a Nutshell: An account of Torgeir Higraff's Kon-Tiki 2 Expedition
I enjoyed this book a great deal, having an endless fascination for real life adventures of this magnitude; I think it's something about getting away from 'normal' life and seeing what one is made of that appeals. Torgeir Higraff's aim was to re-enact the famous voyage of Thor Heyerdahl's balsa raft Kon-Tiki, but this time to do the return journey as well: from Peru to Easter Island and back again.
Both Higraff and Heyerdahl were keen to discover the origins of the Polynesian population, who also travelled by balsa raft over a thousand years ago; the aim was to see if the journeys back and forth were possible. In this book, Higraff gives much historical detail which is most absorbing; aside from the ancient, he also talks about other raft voyages - I very much enjoyed chapter sixteen.
The rest of the book addresses the birth of the idea, the struggle for sponsorship and necessary permits, the actual building of the raft, and, of course, the voyage itself. The storms. The loss of vital supplies and deterioration of the logs and ropes that plagued them throughout. However, the book is cheerful in tone, and Higraff talks a lot about his fellow sailors, both on Tupac and the sister raft, Rahiti. The relationships between, their vastly different personalities and skills.
It's a highly readable book and I enjoyed it throughout. During the time I was reading it, I watched the 2012 film based on Heyerdahl's voyage, Kon-Tiki, partly to give me a better understanding of the mechanics of inhabiting and sailing via raft. If you're interested, click HERE for more about it, including trailers and where to watch. I also looked at Torgeir's site - click on any of the photos and you can flick through all of them, they're great! It's HERE
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