Dutch Harbor

I'm going to play catch up with a couple of Alaska posts before moving on to New Zealand, which is where I am fortunate enough to be living at the moment.

Because of my observer duties, I wasn't allowed to take pictures of any of the boats I was involved with or any of the crew members. But I did snap some shots of the places I went and some of the fish I saw, I just had to make sure there were no identifiable markings in my pictures. After my three week observer training in Anchorage, I jumped on the first flight out of town too... Dutch Harbor.

Known to many through the TV show, the "Deadliest Catch" Dutch Harbor hauls in more fish, pound per pound than anywhere in the nation, maybe even the world. The Bering Sea, by virtue of the upwelling of ocean currents which creates nutrient rich waters is filled with all kinds of fish and shellfish. I've got to say, National Marine Fisheries has the place locked down pretty tight too. They are committed to keeping the fish stocks sustainable, which made me feel a little better about the job I was doing.

The town of Dutch Harbor is a muddy place filled with rust. You need a tetanus shot just looking at it. But man, there are bald eagles everywhere, interesting ships of all sizes, drunk sailors stumbling around and numerous other quirks to keep one occupied. Few people actually live there and all the people I met were from the most random places. Milwaukee, the Philipines, Mexico, Poland, Chignik (had to look that one up). Some were there for the adventure, some because of family tradition. Most were up there to make some moola, and then spend it as fast as humanly possible in strip joints and then blame the government for taking it all.

Of the few thousand people who live there, even fewer were women. The saying goes that there are as many hot women in Dutch Harbor as there are trees. I think I did see a tree, a short shrubby thing hidden in a nook in town. I felt bad for the ladies though, they got hit on ALL. THE. TIME. I was surprised that they didn't walk around armed with a shotgun to ward off would be suitors. I suppose with the skewed sex ratio that you could have just about any man you wanted, but these are not just any men.

However, for a brief but shining moment in August, the Aleutian islands, or at least the island of Unalaska, is freaking beautiful. Everything is green and blossoming. There are little creeks all over the place filled with salmon. Here's a few pictures of some hikes I went on while I was waiting for the boat to leave.

A pretty crossing

There are ship wrecks and abandoned vessels all around the island of Unalaska. It would be cool to poke around a few if you had the time.

I swear I've seen yellow paintbrush (the flowers in the foreground) in just about every state in the Union. There is about a three week period in the Aleutians in which the foliage is this green. Also note the lack of trees/women...