Alaska: Dutch Harbor

 Friday, June 30, 2023, Dutch Harbor, Alaska

We spent 4 days crossing the Pacific Ocean from Japan before arriving in Dutch Harbor, Alaska, but we crossed the international date line so it was only 3 (in a way). Charlie performed with the Insignia house band at a talent show and brought the house down.

Charlie with other talent show performers


The ship arrived at 7:00 am in Dutch Harbor, part of the Aleutians, a 1,000-mile-long archipeligo. Since we were arriving from Japan, Customs Border Patrol officials came on board. After going through customs, we had to tender in to shore. We saw seals in the harbor on the way in. It rained off and on. 


Customs Border Patrol agent on the ship.
On the tender

View of Dutch Harbor airfield from the tender boat.


We were exploring on our own, and took taxis to get between locations. This was basically locals making some extra money driving their own cars. We started with the Aleutian Worlds War Two National Historic Area. During World War II, the Japanese occupied two islands. There was a 15-month air war in this region, and a mass relocation of the Aleut people, who had occupied this part of the world for thousands of years. In the Battle of Attu, the island of Attu was reclaimed. However the residents were never able to reclaim their homeland. They were held prisoners of war for 3 years and survived horrific conditions. This museum was dedicated to this.


At the Aleutian World War II National Historic Area visitor center

Diorama of WWII communications office


We saw bald eagles all over the place. 

Bald eagle on tree outside the museum


We shared a taxi over the bridge to Onalaska and stopped by a small church on the way. Then, what was probably the most interesting place we visited here: the Museum of the Aleutians. It contained displays of traditional Aleut cultural artifacts. The staff was friendly and mailed postcards we bought. It’s a very nice museum.


Small church on the way to the Museum of the Aleutians

Mask display at the Museum of the Aleutians

Once outside, we went down to the water and explored, then again shared a van back to the ship, where we saw whales in the water.

On an inlet beach

Whales once back at sea



The seas were getting rough and the next day we were unable to stop at our next port, Kodiak Island. Disappointing.



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