We stayed in Rørvik for a couple more days as we waited for a windy patch to go through. Though not too bad, there was a bit of a fetch through the harbour as the wind came straight down from the entrance, so we had a bouncy night. However, we managed a lovely walk up the nearby hill Gluggfjellet with a great view over the town and the channel in an out of it.
Once the weather settled we decided to head north again. We had chosen a small town called Berg – just over 40 miles to the north. This time, after a few hours, the wind played ball and we had a lovely sail – a nice change and not having to listen to the engine all trip. In fact the sails only came in as we rounded the corner to Berg. Berg is just a small village (a population of around 600) and the highlight appears to be the local concrete factory. However, it was a convenient and sheltered place to moor as we made our way further north.
Berg is actually directly opposite one of the highlights (or perhaps lights!) of many Norwegian coastal cruises – Torghatten. Torghatten is a hill, but it’s fame comes from the fact that, like a polo, it has a hole in the middle. Torghatten is 258 metres high and has a hole through it which is 160 metres long, 35 metres high, and 15 to 20 metres wide, so quite sizeable! Geologists will tell us that this was caused by erosion in the Great Scandinavian Ice Age and the sea pushed a hole through the mountain as it was forced upwards .
However, reality and science can be a little blinkered. A hole in a mountain in Norway must have some other cause and really what could the cause be other than a troll (or trolls). Sure enough, this is how it was really caused. The troll Hestmannen was chasing a maid called Lekamøya as he was consumed by desire for her (even trolls have to have something to do other than lurk in dark mountains and forests!). Lekamøya was looking after the seven daughters of Suliskongen (the Troll King of Sulis). However, Hestmannen realised that he wouldn’t catch Lekamøya before the sun came up (Trolls turn to stone if the sun shines on them), so he fired an arrow at Lekamøya. Luckily for her, the Troll King of Sømna threw his hat in the way to protect her and, as the sun came up, the hat fell to the ground and formed Torghatten – a mountain with a hole where the arrow pierced it. So – take your choice – geological erosion or an arrow fired in passion. Whichever you chose, the sight of Torghatten with a hole through it is quite stunning …..
