On the Trail of the Feathered Serpent

Peruvian myth tells of a wise man known as Viracocha who sailed away to the north after a period of persecution. And Mexican legend is filled with tales of Quetzalcoatl, a godlike figure who appeared by sea from the south, who established law among the Aztecs, and whose fame grew as a teacher of all things. In Mexico and Yucatan, in the Andean caves, and in the jungles of Peru, extraordinary likenesses have been noted among stone carvings relating to these legends and in the ornamental work found among the ruins of the ancients. Others had dismissed these similarities as coincidence. Gene Savoy felt sure that hundreds of years before the Spanish Conquest - and much earlier than scientists had thought it possible - cultural interchange had taken place between South and Central America. Guided by the legends, he theorized a sea link. To prove his assumption, he set out to duplicate the mythological voyage of Virachocha/Quetzalcoatl from Peru to Mexico. The tale of this daring and exciting sea expedition in a totora reed vessel rivals the adventures of Kon-Tiki. From the first, the expedition seemed doomed to failure. Yet Savoy and his crew of two, pitting their skill and knowledge against the sea, overcame the defects of their craft and the natural hazards of storms, doldrums and tricky currents. This book, profusely illustrated with photographs, maps and drawings, is the dynamic record of one man's dream become reality, historical theory turned fact, and human endurance triumphant over nature.