Last Aleutian Island of this trip as our ship now heads north into the Bering Sea. The ship pulled up to the dock in the area called Dutch Harbor, which is actually on Amaknak Island, allowing us to walk off on the gangplank rather than take a boat. It stayed docked until early evening. They set up a series of small buses to get people to particular points of interest, but honestly, most of the passengers could walk everywhere.

This island is different from others we’ve seen because it has no native trees. The few scraggly trees here were planted by the Russians when they occupied the area, beginning in the late eighteenth century. Lots of grasses and wildflowers are here, most dominant being lupines.

Both of us took a van to the Museum of the Aleutians where we learned about the native Unangan people, then to the WWII museum. Then we went back to the ship for lunch. In the afternoon, Brian left with a group to go on a hike while Clare went to a Russian Orthodox Church, then a library and finally the post office. We sent postcards to each of our moms, wanting the Unalaska postmark on the cards.

Like yesterday, we saw tons of wildflowers.

So many bald eagles! They were everywhere, posing for our cameras. The ship photographer found several nests with his telephoto lens.

Today, Unalaska is an important place for processing fish. We were told that McDonalds Filet-o-Fish patties are made here from Pollock, but the main product is processed fish used for making Surimi, or fake crab meat. Also, fish oil for nutritional supplements is processed here.

• Alaska 2025