Dutch Harbor/Aleutian Islands, Alaska

New-to-us Port: #62.

We started our day with a whale sighting while Insignia was on its way to Dutch Harbor. Too far away to identify, but I had the feeling that it was feeding time since the whales kept popping up around the same spot.

We took this as a good omen for wildlife sightings today. Indeed, we saw countless bald eagles — adult and juvenile; several sea otters; and, as Insignia began its crossing to Kodiak, a big flock of brown birds that looked very much like fulmars to me followed alongside.

After five days at sea, this morning we arrived in the Aleutian Islands … the 1,100-mile long arc of islands that seemingly reach out into the Bering Sea from the tip of Alaska’s Katmai Peninsula and continue towards Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula. It is further west than Hawaii; further south than Ketchikan, and oddly, can be considered the easternmost point of the USA because it dips into the Eastern Hemisphere by crossing the 180th parallel.

Dutch Harbor is the port for Unalaska Island. A deep-draft port that is ice-free year round, it is a major commercial fishing center on Amaknak Island, which is connected to Unalaska by the “Bridge to the Other Side.” Dutch Harbor has led the USA in catch volume for 20 years. It is probably best known for the TV documentary series, “Deadliest Catch,”

Arriving at a US port meant that before we could tender ashore, we would have to meet the Customs & Border Control agents for immigration formalities. The schedule had the meetings starting at 8:00a, but that was delayed when the authorities arrived late. Easy peasy despite the delay. By 9:30a, we were on the tender to go ashore.

Although Insignia was anchored offshore from the town center, there was no pier for the tender boats on that shoreline … just beaches. We ended up tendering 3 miles to go around the island to the Carl E. Moses Boat Harbor in Captain’s Bay.

We arrived to find nothing to help us figure out our day … no information desk, no maps. But at the top of the pier were a number of shared van taxis standing by to the take us where ever we wanted to go … for $5/person one way. And the drivers had a stack of brochures and maps in their vehicles to give out.

The day was overcast, wet, and cold … a high of 47F was forecasted. The mountaintops were cloaked in clouds. Bundled up in our polar layers, we were OK with the conditions. But concerned that the clouds would move down further and obscure the views, we’d already nixed hiking a trail or two. Instead, we decided to take one of the taxis to do some sightseeing.

A bunch of us piled into the first taxi in the queue. The others in the van wanted to go downtown. We wanted to go in the opposite direction to check out the Holy Ascension of Our Lord Russian Orthodox Cathedral on Unalaska Island. No problem. The driver dropped us off at the church with the promise of returning to pick us up after he dropped off the others. He was a no-show, but it all worked out OK regardless.

The Cathedral is the oldest cruciform-style Orthodox church in North America. Completed in 1896, it sits on the site where former Orthodox chapels have stood since 1808. Declared a national historic landmark in the 1970s, restoration work has since removed it from the 12 most endangered historic landmarks list. I understand that the nearly 700 icons and relics within the cathedral are undergoing restoration at present. We didn’t see them since the church was locked up … due to being “between bishops” we later learned.

We wandered the grounds; checked out the cemetery; crossed the road to Iliuliuk Creek, which flows into the bay by the same name, for a closer look at the eagles keeping an eye on the occasional salmon that swam by in its quest to reach the spawning grounds. We saw a couple salmon successfully navigate upstream.

When the taxi driver neglected to show up, we began to walk. The distance into town was more than a mile … doable if the rain held off. But it didn’t. So, when another taxi driver stopped and asked if we wanted a ride, we took her up on it.

The driver dropped us off at the Museum of the Aleutians. The mission of the facility is to “… collect, preserve, and share the rich legacy of the Aleutian Islands region.” Inside, we found informative panels, as well as archaeological, ethnographic, and art collections. … with topics ranging from the pre-contact Unangan way of life; to early Russian and American history; to natural history; to the impact of WWII on the islands … particularly on Dutch Harbor, which was bombed by the Japanese on June 3 and 4, 1942; to present day life and industries, including maritime and fishing. I particularly enjoyed the exhibits featuring Unangan artifacts.

From the museum, we walked the short distance to the Grand Aleutian Hotel. I had read that of the small number of restaurants, the one at the hotel offered better food. When our second taxi driver recommended it as well, we decided to eat there. When we entered the lobby, the woman at the desk directed us to the Margaret Bay Café, which offers a seafood buffet at $20/person, as well as an a la carte menu.

The food at the café was decent. The buffet offered halibut, cod fish and chips, crispy fried shrimp, rice, sautéed green beans, and salad fixings. The patrons were all locals … some of them fishermen off the crabbing and fishing boats. Their plates, piled high with food, would put a sumo wrestler to shame 😉

After lunch, we crossed the road to the Alaska Ship Supply store … just to see what they sell. A lot as it turns out. Everything from groceries, to hardware, to clothing, to liquor. The prices on some of the items were many times more than what we see in the lower 48 … understandably since everything has to be shipped here from elsewhere.

Near the airport was the Aleutian WWII Interpretive Center., which we could have checked out today as well. But we decided to head back to the ship instead. It was getting colder. The rain was falling a bit harder. We really wanted to get some exercise after our days at sea, however. Trusting that our rain gear and layers would keep us dry and warm, we walked back to the tender pier … about 1.5 miles. It felt good to stretch our legs and I was rewarded with an up-close encounter with a bald eagle that allowed me to approach to get photos of it munching on a fish.

We were back on the ship shortly after 2:00p. I gathered up my iPad and headed to Horizons to read, and stayed on to have some tidbits and hot tea. It was that kind of a “cuppa tea” day after all.

Our last tender from Dutch Harbor was supposed to be at 4:30p, which would have delayed the planned 5:00p departure due to the distance to the tender pier. With a “weather front” in the forecast, Captain B moved the last tender up to 4:00p to avoid a late departure. This last minute change was announced by CD Dottie before tendering operations began this morning. So far, the weather is cooperating. We’ll see what tomorrow brings.

By the way … a bit of trivia. In June 1996, a 459 pound/8 foot-long Pacific halibut was caught in Dutch Harbor, thus setting an all-tackle world record that has yet to be broken.

And … YAY! No time change tonight! We are on Alaska time and will stay in this zone for a week. After losing seven hours over six days, we are all happy we won’t have another one any time soon.Read more