Anchored off the Kon-Tiki Monument, which is located at position: 16°03.873'S 142°21.548'W

Armed with a photo that our friend Jim resized and emailed us, from the article about the monument dedication, we finally located the monument. Of course, it is the only islet within a mile in either direction that we hadn't set foot on, it is the first one south of our first anchorage--which Dave had decided was too far north.

There is a nice plaque on the 'pile of rocks', and people have put shells and flowers on the 'altar'. It's very nice.

Even in the 3 years that have intervened since the photo was taken, the tree topography has changed--the most prominent palm tree in the picture--the tall one on the left--is no longer there. But with the amount of other non-palm vegetation in the picture, it was obvious that this had to be the island.

The waypoint that Jim found on the internet for Kon-Tiki is 16°04.649'S 142°21.980'W. The only thing that doesn't match up is that this waypoint is 8/10's of a mile from the island. The book says they camped on an island 600-700 yards north of the Kon-Tiki, which is more like a third of a mile. So we're not sure exactly which is right.
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At 7/25/2010 9:19 PM (utc) our position was 16°03.85'S 142°21.68'W

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Labels: Tuamotus