Norwegian gods, trolls and arrows.
Torghatten
We make it to Rorvik, a forgettable town but useful due to its well stocked grocery store. A couple of days there was sufficient and we moved on to anchor again as soon as we could. The winds were light so we opted to motor just 10 miles to the first island north, Leka. It was here we learned of the Norwegian myths that describe many of the mountains and landmarks stretching from Leka up to the arctic circle.
In summary Lekamøya was hired as a chaperone for the seven sisters, the daughters of Suliskongen, the king of the mountains.. One day Hestmannen, the mighty horseman caught sight of Lekamøya and the seven sisters bathing and was consumed with wild passion. He leapt onto his horse and raced south. Lekamoya and the seven sisters fled, the seven sisters soon gave up the chase but Lekamøya ran on. Hestmannen only had eyes for her and once he realiszd he was unable to catch her, in a rage he drew back his bow and sent an arrow flying toward her. Nearby another giant watching the show hurled his hat into the path of the arrow to save Lekamøya, the arrow pierced the hat and Lekamøya ran on. As the sun rose all the trolls were turned to stone and there they still stand today.
Leka was in full bloom. The fields of dandelions and spring flowers were beautiful. We climbed the hills to the base of Lekamøya, a rather disappointing rock for all the fairytales. Still the view across the sound to mainland was nice. Back on Helacious Brian celebrated by taking a brief dip in the frigid water and we enjoyed the gift of a Norwegian flag and eagle feathers we found in our dinghy at the dock after our hike.
Sailing north from Leka we arrive at Torghatten, the hat with the hole from the legend. Indeed the view from afar was somewhat hat like, although we could not see the hole. We climbed the hill and finally a huge cave was revealed. It did indeed pierce the mountain, the views in both directions were splendid.
View north from the Torghatten anchorage.
From Torghatten we sail on north toward the arctic circle. We spend a blustery couple of days in Tjøtta then pass the Seven sisters, unfortunately shrouded in cloud. We would get better views on our way south. The coastal scenery was getting more and more impressive the further north we went.
Finally we arrive at the arctic circle . A monument on the small island of Vikingen marks the correct latitude. We celebrate with a wee dram as we watch the sun set over Hestmannen.
