The Safe Harbour and It’s Wisdom

Måløy has always been a safe harbour — a place of stability, work, and growth. Its landscapes, harbour, people, and culture carry memory and wisdom that shape both those who visit and those who guide them.

Måløy is more than a coastal town. It is a safe harbour, a hub of human ingenuity and natural resilience. Through fisheries, marine industries, and community life, the town has blossomed over generations, carrying both knowledge and aspiration.

Like the mountains and coastline, the town itself is a Wisdom Keeper:

• Its streets, docks, and workplaces hold lessons in resourcefulness, collaboration, and endurance.

• Its history teaches adaptation, longevity, and the rhythm of human and natural systems.

• Its culture contains both celebrated achievements and quiet, less visible stories — memories that shape communities, livelihoods, and the people who inhabit them.

“We approach landscapes, places, and people not as resources to be used, but as Wisdom Keepers — living fields of memory. As guides, we enter into relationship with this wisdom — for ourselves as well as our guests.”

Every experience in Måløy - a hike, a paddle, a conversation - is mutual learning. Guests engage with the land and culture, while we as guides continually deepen our understanding, presence, and connection.

The Four Qualities of Måløy’s Wisdom

Every part of Måløy - mountains, fjords, coast, town, and people - invites engagement with four aspects of human experience. These qualities are not skills to master, but ways to enter into relationship with the Wisdom Keepers, for both guests and guides alike.

Grounding: Returning to the Body

• Offers: Orientation, presence, a sense of place in the world

• Asks of us: Slow down, listen before acting, accept limits

• Human experience: Safety, belonging, being held by something larger than ourselves

Whether hiking mountains, paddling the fjord, or wandering the town, grounding invites full presence for all participants - a shared awareness of body, terrain, and moment.

Continuity: What Has Been Carried Forward

• Offers: Collective memory, rhythm, knowledge shaped through practice

• Asks of us: Respect for what came before, humility, willingness to learn

• Human experience: Meaning, lineage, a sense of being part of an ongoing story

From fishing traditions and maritime craft to local architecture and festivals, continuity connects everyone - guests and guides alike - to the lineage of people, place, and culture.

Tension: What We Don’t Always Talk About

• Offers: Honest complexity, friction between ideals and reality, space for unanswered questions

• Asks of us: Stay present with discomfort, resist simplification, hold beauty and struggle at the same time

• Human experience: Growth, reflection, resilience - without romanticising

Måløy teaches that life is rarely simple. Every challenge of weather, terrain, or human work is a lesson in balancing ideals with reality, offering both guests and guides space to reflect and grow together.

Possibility: What Is Still Unfolding

• Offers: Imagination, reinterpretation, new relationships with old places

• Asks of us: Responsibility, care, conscious participation in what comes next

• Human experience: Hope, agency, courage to shape the future gently

Every experience invites active participation in shaping meaning. Guests explore new ways of connecting to the land, culture, and people, while guides learn alongside them, continuously observing and adapting.

Engaging with Explore Måløy

Wisdom is everywhere:

• Mountains: Endurance, presence, and stillness

• Coast and harbour: Rhythm, adaptation, and connection to resources

• Town and community: Collaboration, continuity, and cultural memory

• People: Skills, experience, and relational depth

Every trail, activity, or conversation is an invitation to mutual learning and reflection. Guests explore, notice, and connect, while guides continually deepen their own understanding.

“Explore Måløy not just as a place, but as a teacher - for guests and guides alike. In landscape, culture, and people, we are all students, participants, and co-creators of living memory.”

A Vibrant Community

Måløy, a vibrant coastal town located by the Nordfjord in Vestland County, is a prime example of how a lively community is shaped by the interplay between human activity, coastal culture, and natural forces. The town's unique character and daily life are deeply rooted in its maritime heritage and the natural conditions of its surroundings.

Måløy's vibrant community is closely tied to its historical and modern fishing activities. For centuries, the town has been a center for fishing, with generations of fishermen contributing to its development. The active fishing industry, along with modern industries and trade, has created a dynamic society where people work closely together and share common interests. This collective effort fosters a strong sense of community and solidarity among resident.

Måløy’s coastal culture is deeply influenced by its maritime lifestyle, where the role of fisherwomen is central. Historically, women in Måløy have been indispensable to maritime activities, contributing to fishing and processing, maintaining households, and supporting fishing families. Their work has often involved balancing both practical aspects of fishing and the vital social networks that support the community. This important role helps to sustain and strengthen the community while reflecting the diversity and resilience of the coastal culture.

The natural forces surrounding Måløy have a significant impact on local life. The dramatic coastline, tidal movements, and often unpredictable weather play a major role in both lifestyle and community structure. Nature not only provides a backdrop for outdoor activities and recreational life but also shapes the daily operations in the town. Natural forces have a profound impact on how people live and collaborate in Måløy. This adaptation to nature helps build a strong and interconnected community.

Måløy is a prime example of a vibrant community where human activity, coastal culture, and natural forces are in constant interplay. The town's strong sense of community, deep cultural roots, and close relationship with nature contribute to a dynamic and resilient society. The maritime lifestyle, including the crucial role and balancing forces of fisherwomen, is key to maintaining this harmonious balance. Måløy continues to be a place where people live in harmony with their maritime heritage and the natural conditions that shape their daily lives.

The Bedrock of our Adventures

Exploring the deeper landscapes of Måløy, for they are true holders of the wisdom of Patience and Robustness.

Our beloved hometown is often recognized by the peak of Mount Veten and Mount Brurahornet. As a litte girl I thought they looked like volcanos, and I kept having dreams of fleeing from lava erupting from the top of the mounatins. Little did I know that my nightmares were not that far fetched.

The solid foundation of mother earth was formed 1.8 billion years ago. Deep within this bedrock, Veten and Brurahornet were formed from Magma 1,6 billion years ago! Magma refers to molten rock trapped underground, if this molten rock makes it to the surface and keeps flowing like a liquid, it is called lava.

This type of rock is called Mangeritt, they are tremendiously solid and in a world context they are very rare. The rock came to the surface on the coast of Norway because of the rise and fall of the Caledoninan chain of Mountains 400-500 million years ago, in combination with erosions during the Iceage.

So the next time you are hiking in the mountains of Måløy keep in mind that you are truly walking on solid ground!

The Stories of Inner and Outer Landscapes

Harnessing the deeper truths, knowledge and potential of people, nature and life events to create meaning and change.

During the Ice Age, nature worked its magic carving the spectacular landscapes of Norway. The vast and spectacular fjords are only here today as result of the freezing chill of the Ice Age. When the coastline rose from the glaciation, human settlements sprung up on lands that had previously only been occupied by nature. Dramatic climate change set the stage for ecological and cultural evolution.

Our landscapes holds memories, myths and notions. Archaeologists have previously been aknowledning base of resource and communication as the main reason for the earliest costal settlements. But the traces from our ancestors also tells the story of belonging, trust and fundamental interactions with nature. It`s fair to say there are some hidden gems at the core of our landscapes.

Life is like moving through open landscapes, never knowing what comes next. There will be steep hills and rough terrain, storms and rainy days, as much as there will be clear paths, sunshine and magical sceneries. Each day is an adventure. The little things are just as important as the Big thing. The hard times are just as eligible as the happy times. Navigation asks of us to become aware of our inner and outer landscapes; Sensing, feeling and conscously choosing, and then - Just let it be. At the end of the day it`s out of your hands, every outcome is possible.