Dutch Harbor

There is an eagle on the internet.

 Pretty much as soon as we arrived in Dutch Harbor a bald eagle parks on the Starlink, and the satellite internet stops working. 

Rude.

We’re spending the day in Dutch before setting off for our next island. Katie, Kim, Mike and I head off for some exercise, since we’ve got a long transit ahead of us. 

We catch a local taxi to Ballyhoo, a big hill not far from town. I do a sketch of Dutch Harbor, overlooking the big fishing ships, the Norwegian adventure tour ship, and when the clouds part, our very own lil’ Tiglax. 

We also visit the Alaska Ship Supply Store, which is having a clearance on XTRATUFS. The entire team hits the sale hard and we purchase 13 pairs between us.

We get some lattes and head to the Museum of the Aleutians, which is an excellent museum near the harbor.

Along with a really beautiful collection, there is a fascinating documentary playing about the treatment the Aleut population went through during WWII. From 1942-45 they were forcibly evacuated from their homes and  interned in horrible conditions in SE Alaska. Ostensibly it was to protect them from potential Japanese invasion, but it was incredibly mismanaged by the government. One of the most shocking parts was that the men were transported back up to the Pribilof Islands during the fur season and treated as essentially slave labor, so the lucrative harvest wouldn’t be missed. I won’t try to summarize the whole thing, it’s best to watch and listen to the people’s own words. 

In the lobby we meet a sweet lady named A.B., who is the daughter of one of the internees. 

Stacey and Lauren use their shore time to check out a nearby cruise ship and see their biosecurity protocol. It’s top-notch - good job, MV Roald Amundsen.

Katie and I take a long walk across the bridge to Unalaska, passing through the fish-processing plant and into the residential area. Colorful wooden houses dot the thick green slopes and it reminds me a lot of a trip to Newfoundland a few years ago. We find the Orthodox Church - I was raised Russian Orthodox and faith is a huge part of life here.

 I want to find out more about it, but the church is closed and there’s a call on the radio from Hailey to get back to the shore for pickup. 

Joey, Aaron and Brie are safely away back to Anchorage, and we are heading out to sea again. We’re in for a 42 hour transit to Great Sitkin, where the rat portion of this cruise will finally begin (suuuuure, guys). 

In the meantime I shower, do laundry, put on my new XTRATUF slippers and settle in to catch up on sketches. My legs are sore after 8 miles of walking in rubber boots and I’m looking forward to some cozy boat time. The internet is still not working, but that doesn’t feel like the end of the world somehow.