Munoz's reed boat stops over in Tangier

A primitive reed boat, Mata-Rangi III, which is trying to cross the Atlantic ocean, made a stop over in the Moroccan northern city of Tangiers over the weekend before sailing on Sunday towards Rabat.

Head of the expedition, Spanish explorer Kitin Munoz, told MAP the purpose of the trip is scientific, but it is also meant to promote the ideals of peace and friendship between peoples.

Munoz, 43, a native of the Moroccan southern city of Sidi Ifni, and his multinational seven-man crew-- including members from the Easter Islands, Japan, Venezuela, Bolivia and Colombia-- are trying to prove that ancient seafarers could have crossed the Atlantic Ocean.

After Rabat, the 20-meter reed boat will sail to Casablanca, Agadir and Sidi Ifni, from where it will try to reach Colombia's Caribbean coast on a voyage expected to last up to five months.

Munoz had visited Morocco last April and was then received by King Mohammed VI.

He had told reporters in Barcelona early May that his boat is identical to the boats used by ancient navigators, using ancient indigenous techniques, without any modern materials such as plastics.

Munoz, an honorary ambassador to UNESCO, made two attempts to cross the Pacific Ocean during the late 1990s, but both failed. Munoz's Mata Rangi I sank shortly after setting off from Easter Island, while Mata Rangi II sailed 10,000 km before the crew had to cut the boat in two to get rid of an infestation of sea termites which were eating it.