A Hole in the Mountain

The ship docked in Brønnøysund (prounced ‘Brawny-sund) and we crossed over to the island of Torgo and up to Torghatten Mountain.  Along the way we learned that Norway has over 10,000 island, most not inhabited, with the largest concentration of them in this area.  The islands and mountains are the result of the continental drift, pushing and pulling, being covered by the sea and then rising above.  The hole in the mountain is the result of all the erosion caused by the sea and wind and ice.

I like the Legend of the Troll Mountains explanation better. My shortened version of the story is that there were two troll kings, one with a disobedient son and one with seven wild daughters.  The son wanted one of the daughters and started to chase the girls.  Finding that he could not catch them, in a rage, he raised his bow and shot an arrow.  But his dad saw what was happening and threw his hat into the air, deflecting the arrow.  The pierced hat fell to the sea just as the sun was rising.  Everyone knows that trolls turn to stone in the sunlight. Thus the hat also turned to stone with a hole where the arrow had run through.  And we have Mount Torghatten.

The hole looks small from the sea.

Shortly after we left Brønnøysund the ship pulled into a small harbor and we proceeded to wave and greet the towns people in this small village.  Evidently this is something that has become a tradition between the ship and the town.