Dutch Harbour, Amaknak Island, Alaska

It was good to step ashore to get some fresh air, to feel the earth beneath our feet...

We are docked out of town, and there was no shuttle available. So, a few people got a taxi while many others walked. The nearest place was a World War II Museum, to which many people made a beeline. The next closest thing was a supermarket, and then further walking was required to get to the small town and another museum.

Paul and I went to the WW II Museum to get a permit to walk up Mt Ballyhoo. There are a few forts on the mountainside. The route we chose started near the small airport. We soon discovered that the track was steeper than it looked from further away. It was a 1:3 gradient. Also, we didn't see any forts or fortifications as we walked up, even though - according to the map - we were literally walking past or over them. They might have been dismantled....

Anyway, we got 3/4 of the way up to the top of the mountain when we decided to walk back down. We are not as fit as we should be, and the steep path was no match for our knees.

There is another path that starts closer to the ship, but we don't know what that would have been like, nor if there are visible forts either.

Once back at the road, we walked towards the museum and to the supermarket. From there, we took a slightly different route back, which brought us back to the coastline and near the airport. An aeroplane was about to take off, so booms went down across the road, preventing drivers from entering or leaving the industrial area.

We got back to the ship, rather footsore, and had a very late lunch. We were just glad to sit down to ease our steaming feet!Read more