Last week a friend asked about the blog and about Gohere Bay, but he pronounced it "Here-Go". I must admit, I winced a bit, but then I suppose the fault for the confusion lies with me. After growing up on Gohere Bay, I had not seen it written until I was in junior high. And I admit to confusion at seeing 'Gohere' when I had always heard 'gaw-rah'.
For years I have sought the origin of the name. I have asked friends who spoke different languages and those who studied language. I thought I had hit on something when reading Nordic mythology I came across the character of Gerdr, which in Norse script more closely resembles Geror. The anglicized translation, however, is Gerda. This Jotunn, or giantess, is married to Freyr, though romantically connected to Odin in other myths. In certain adaptations, this union is seen as the "divine coupling of sky and earth or at least fertility god and representative of the soil." I think many who have visited Gohere Bay, with its gently sloping shorelines, grassy shallows and plentiful weedbeds, would agree this seems to be a place where sky and earth meet.
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