They tell of how Borg on Vestvagoya (Lofoten's most populous island, now producing more meat and milk than anywhere in northern Norway) was an important trading centre, along with Oslo (known as the Cove), Trondheim and Bergen. The Viking sagas tell of the richness of the cod, fished with bone hooks. This natural phenomenon, the world's largest cod harvest, is the root of Lofoten's wealth, its settlement, its customs and its contentment. Cod can live to 40 and make the 1600-kilometre round trip each year to Lofoten. Females each lay between two million and nine million eggs, though only between four and 20 eggs make it to maturity. In winter, they come in their millions from their Barents Sea summer grounds, turning the sea between Lofoten and the mainland into the world's largest maternity ward. He begins with the customs surrounding the migration of the Norwegian Arctic cod or "skrei". It would be easy to simply focus on Lofoten's utter beauty – the darkly architectural gneiss and granite volcanic mountains, eroded summits of a submerged mountain range the startling, ice-white sand beaches and turquoise waters, the painterly landscapes that lure artists chasing "the hour of the wolf", when the Nordic world turns a rich shade of blue beneath the polar night.īut we are fortunate to have a local guide who colours in this scenic world with stories from the ages, emphasising the islands' cherished original ways. The Vikings named this place Lofoten, meaning lynx foot, for its shape. This we learn on our five-island sweep, beginning in Svolvaer, Lofoten's unofficial capital on Austvagoya Island in the north-east and tracing south-west across Gimsoya, Vestvagoya, Flakstadoya, and Moskenesoya islands. It's all about the fish, the light and the bovine lingerie. But financial success is simply a byproduct of Lofoten tradition, which, salted with a dose of contemporary wisdom, is the wellspring of island happiness.
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