At sea, en route to Kodiak.
September 9, 2022
I just finished a page and a half of delightful prose and musings then hit delete instead of copy. So you’re going to get short snippets and pictures instead. The really good pictures are Myrta’s.
Sunrise at sea
The Dutch
Dutch Harbor
September 8, 2022
Sometime on every cruise it seems you visit a port that didn’t sound that interesting on paper but somehow the planets align and you have a delightful time. Such was our morning in Dutch Harbor, a vital seaport on the Aleutian Islands and home to the Deadliest Catch boats.
We docked around 8:30 this morning, before the sun was up. (Getting used to the wacky doodle times of sunrise and sunset up here is a grin and a giggle.) The hale and hearty amongst us opted to brave the drizzly 40 F weather to hike to the top of Bunker Hill at the mouth of the harbor. For the majority of us a unique Hop On, Hop Off shuttle was arranged using school buses driven by local volunteers. The two buses (the scheduled third bus had some mechanical issues) crossed the bridge that connects Dutch Harbor and Unalaska and the landing strip of the airport (stop, look and listen for anything coming or going) stopped at the Russian Orthodox Church, the Museum of the Aleutians, WWII National Historic Park and the Grand Hotel, closed for remodeling, but next door to our favorite one-stop shopping spot, the Alaska Supply Co.
On the way out to the Church of the Holy Ascension our driver told us about the eagles that are everywhere up here as well as the pink salmon currently swimming up the little river near the church to spawn and then die. It’s the eagle buffet. A juvenile eagle was perched on the street light in front of the churchyard. The church is small, made of wood and sitting at the harbor water’s edge. Inside it was quite beautiful with an elaborate chandelier and numerous icons on the walls. A Russian Orthodox priest was there as well as a parishioner and a naturalist from the ship’s Discovery Team to answer any questions about the church or the area. We walked down the street (one car passed us) to the foot bridge over the creek where we could see hundreds of the small Pinks jumping and twisting their way up river. And then there were the floaters that had spawned and died and now would become food for the wildlife and fertilizer for the soil. The circle of life.
The other bus driver was a chatty guy who told us that the locals were fish snobs and wouldn’t eat Pink salmon but the roe was fantastic. He also told us that the king crab fishing had been halted for two years and now maybe a third. The warming waters and higher salinity coupled with fishing has reduced the crab population. So no US crab fishing + no trade with Russian fishermen = no king crab. They were still catching brown kings. We’ll, that explains the $129.00 price for king crab at the restaurant in Anchorage! We passed on the WWII park (Dutch Harbor was bombed by the Japanese in the early days of that war. Pill boxes and bunkers are dotted on the hills around the harbor.) and went instead to the Aleutian museum. It was small but showed how the indigenous people had made their hunting canoes and waterproof parkas ( take the intestines of a sea mammal, spend four days cleaning the blood off with human urine, then soak it in sea water for a few more days and finally blow the intestine up like a big long balloon. When it dries, cut it into strips and sew it into lightweight, waterproof outer wear. And to think I just went down the street to the REI to buy my raincoat. No effort, no skill involved or required.) as well as a wonderful exhibit of rubbings made of the various fish and other sea creatures in the Alaskan waters. Great gift shop, too. We ran into Jessica who had given a great lecture on Bering and the other ship captains who were the first Europeans in this area. She had a stack of children’s books about the sea life, birds and animals of Alaska. Said she wanted them to know about something other than trains and trucks. The young woman at the entrance told us they would maybe get 15 visitors in a day but had already had 117 that
morning. We told her the other 30 passengers from the Scenic were schlepping up the mountain.
Our last stop was a short walk to the Alaska Supply Company. Jim and I remembered that place so well from our previous visit to The Dutch. Keep in mind that Dutch Harbor is hundreds of miles from the nearest “big city” so the ASC is like a general store crossed with a Costco. Need rugged waterproof pants, jackets and boots? Groceries? A child’s push car? Nail polish? Washing machine? They’ve got it! They also have Kirkland Decaf Keurig cups that I’ve never seen in the Kennesaw Costco. But the score of the day? Two 28 ounce bottles of authentic Huy Fong, rooster on the label Sriracha sauce. And only $7.29 a bottle. The last time I checked on Amazon it was way over $20 a bottle. Haven’t seen that in any store since last April. Jim is beside himself with joy and has 12 days to figure out how he’s going to pack it and get it home safely.
Back on the Eclipse we watched the helicopters take off from the helipad aft on Deck 8. ($695 for a 30 minute ride.) Jim was taking pictures from the dock in the rain. Myrta and I watched on close circuit TV on the bridge. We also chit chatted with a couple of ship pilots from Anchorage who were working in Dutch Harbor for a month. This is our ship’s first time doing this itinerary and thus visiting any of these Alaskan ports. It’s definitely eye catching. The size, the design and that helipad are so different from the big, boxy cruise ships. The pilots wanted to kick the tires, so to speak, and test the coffee (their verdict—terrific) and definitely try the food for lunch!
(Hope they had the creamy tomato ginger soup with basil oil. Delicious. And the cinnamon gelato was ethereal. But I digress…)
Before we left the dock, a pick up truck from Alaska Supply arrived, full of boxes of provisions including, we hope, the apple juice Myrta asked for at lunch. A small army of crew members formed a human chain from the ship, down the gangway to the truck and then passed each box from man to man. From high tech on the bridge to low tech on the dock, there’s always something going on.
Then the helicopter landed and we were off. We had barely left the harbor before the captain had slowed the boat to a crawl and then came over the PA to tell us to put on a jacket, grab your camera and/or binoculars and get to the observation deck on 5. There were multiple pods of humpback whales (the whale expert counted at least 50) spouting, fin slapping and fluke waving all around us. It was windy and cold but what an experience. What a day! Eagles AND whales.
Tonight we’re dining in the French restaurant. It’s 600 nautical miles to Kodiak so we’ll have a sea day to ruminate and recover.
The Queen is dead. Long live the King.
Crossing the Bering Sea
September 7, 2022
Yay! Sea day! Time to do a little, a lot or somewhere in between. Perhaps a spa day, a presentation by one of the Discovery Team, time in the Fitness Studio, even a visit to the Bridge. The Captain has an Open Bridge policy so passengers are welcome to pop in and learn a little about operating this vessel.
There are 145 passengers and 200 crew members on board. That’s better than a 1:1 ratio. I’d heard that the service is sublime and boy is it. It’s not in your face, but suddenly you realize that someone seems to anticipate your needs, answer questions or do little things that make it all a little nicer. Curious to know the name of the birds following us along? Well, Pablo, the Spanish ornithologist can tell you. What’s the menu going to be at Lumière on Friday night? Michael, the very debonair maître d’ from South Africa will find out in a jiffy. Need something in your stateroom? Dial “1” n your phone and your butler will get it for you. The re-entry into the real world is going to be painful!
And let us not forget the food. We’ve tried four of the eight restaurants so far. The Azure Cafe has a curated selection of little bites appropriate for the time of day as well as a menu of pizzas, burgers and sandwiches plus a full bar and coffee service. Think Starbucks without the attitude. The Yacht Club is aft with a clear view of where we’ve been. It’s open for breakfast and lunch with a variety of cold and hot dishes, breads, fruits and salads plus desserts and frozen treats made daily. I’m taking one for the team and have volunteered to try a different frozen dessert every day. So far I’ve had pomegranate frozen yogurt, green apple gelato with a drizzle of caramel sauce and guava sorbet. It’s a sacrifice I’ll gladly make. Element is the main dining room open for lunch and dinner ordered from a menu changed daily. Tonight we tried Koko’s for Asian fusion. Delicious. Tomorrow we have dinner reservations at Lumière, the French restaurant. The menu there changes every third day. It’s every other day at Koko’s. It’s sheer bliss not having to plan meals, shop and cook. And that’s going to be another real world re-entry issue.
Just as we were sitting down for dinner on the starboard side, the ship slowed way down as an announcement was made that there was an enormous pod of pin whales and humpbacks on the starboard side. Myrta grabbed her phone and went to that side and came back with pictures of a full rainbow and plumes of water spouted by the whales, looking like little geysers on the horizon. I’m certain we’ll see a lot more marine animal activity in the days ahead. Sooner or later it’ll be on the side of the boat where I’m standing.
Onward to “The Dutch”
The most remote place in Alaska…
Matthew Island
September 6, 2022
Our itinerary has changed. Instead of visiting the remote outpost if St. Paul, we’re heading 350 nautical miles southwest of Nome to Matthew Island, said to be the most remote place in Alaska. A Coast Guard base was established there during WWII, but now it has no people, no trees (it is above the latitudinal tree line), just red fox and voles and lots of birds, mostly migratory. There is one endemic species that is found nowhere else, the McKay Bunting. This has the birders all aquiver. Myrta’s assignment is to photograph puffins.
Our cruise is a hybrid of pure adventure and more accessible activities. The Discovery Team is quite excited that today’s activities are firmly in the Adventure column. MI is reached by Zodiacs, with a “wet landing.” Passengers are fitted with big rubber boots to handle the wet landing and advised to wear waterproof pants and jackets. (Oops. No have got.) There’s a choice of the long hike, five miles over tundra in two hours, the moderate hike, just two miles and finally the just wander around at your own pace or kayaking.
I chickened out (chasing whales in the Gulf of Alaska in a Zodiac 15 years ago was enough for me) but Myrta and Jim tugged on their boots, boarded a Zodiac and off they went. I snapped photos of them from the sun deck way up on top (10th floor). It wasn’t raining but it was about 40 F so they stayed only about an hour or so, Myrta photographing various birds, including puffins, Jim poking around the rocky shoreline collecting trash that had washed up from who knows where.
The ship is fitted with a myriad of high tech systems including one that uses the engine, thrusters and GPS to hold the ship in one spot without using an anchor and disturbing the ocean floor. It’s so effective that we were all surprised that we weren’t anchored. It also has very efficient stabilizers that keep her steady in rolling seas and a power system that makes the engine nearly silent. You have no sense of movement unless you look out a window and see the ocean slipping by.
Everyone was back aboard by dinner time and once the Zodiacs were stored away we were off, headed to Dutch Harbor, in the Aleutians 500 nautical miles away. We’ll have a day at sea tomorrow , arriving there Thursday morning.
Tonight we ate at Elements, the main dining room. Another beautiful, contemporary space and more delicious food. We all chose a different risotto with an variety of vegetable preparations to share and then rewarded ourselves with a little something something from the dessert menu.
Everyone seems to be settling in to this very comfortable and gracious life on board.
On the street where we live. Jim and I are on the port side, Myrta’s a few doors down on the starboard side. It’s very film noire-ish.
This is the test.
