In 1933, Heyerdahl entered the University of Oslo and specialized in zoology and geography. In Oslo, he spent a lot of time in the home of a wealthy wine merchant and family friend who had a huge library of Polynesian artifacts. With his girlfriend Liv Torp, Heyerdahl decided to quit college and make an expedition to the South Seas. His father agreed to finance the trip. Heyerdahl and Torp were married on Christmas Eve in 1936, and the next day they set out for Fatu Hiva in the Marquesas Islands, their hand-picked Garden of Eden. On the island Heyerdahl discovered evidence that Peruvian aboriginal voyagers had visited the islands. The inhabitants told him stories of Kon-tiki, a bearded, white sun king who arrived over the sea. Heyerdahl's stay on Fatu Hiva is recounted in his 1996 book, Green Was the Earth on the Seventh Day.
Daring Raft Voyage
In 1938, the Heyerdahls returned to Norway and settled in a log cabin in a mountain wilderness near Lillehammer. He wrote a book in Norwegian about their expedition to Fatu Hiva, Pa Jakt efter Paradiset (On the Hunt for Paradise).
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