August 8, 2007

Sixty years ago, an explorer from Norway named Thor Heyerdahl made a trip on a wooden raft called Kon-Tiki.  He showed that ancient Peruvians could have crossed the Pacific Ocean to Polynesia.  On a different trip, Thor also proved that ancient Egyptians could have sailed from Morocco to the Caribbean. 

Thor passed away in 2002, but he is still inspiring.  I used to read about him when I was a child.  His crew was made up of people from all over the world.  One of his crew members studied pollution in the ocean.  Because of this work, the United Nations told countries they had to reduce the pollution in the oceans. 

The crew member who recorded the pollution was named Madani.  He visited me in November of 2005.  I will always cherish that visit.

*Entry adapted for grades 5-8 by Andrea Rogers