On this sea day we attended a morning lecture by Ian on the upcoming Japanese port of Yokohama. Spencer was cooking up grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup in America’s Test Kitchen. For lunch there was a special Biergarten Festival in the Lido where they served up beer, sausage, roasted pigs, sauerkraut, lots of desserts and other German dishes.

In the afternoon Ian lectured on three upcoming Japanese ports. Guest speaker Michael Hick gave his last lecture on Japan and its economy. Michael said that the future forecast for Japan’s economy is not good. As the population is aging and the birth rate is very low they will have trouble caring for the aging with the small work force. They are so against letting foreigners into the country that they only let about 20 people into the country each year. Of those folks let into the country they need to have a PhD degree, under 40 years of age and an income of more than $350,000. These high standards keep most people out but there appears to be no plan for the future and who will be taking care of the aging population.

The evening’s entertainment was a show by the Amsterdam singers and dancers called Salsamania. The show was a fast-moving energetic show with many upbeat songs and fast dances in a variety of styles from Salsa to Country.

This sea day continued to be cloudy and overcast with small patches of blue sky. It was certainly an improvement over the dark gray and rain of yesterday.

We attended the morning show with cruise director Jorge who was interviewing the five-member Amsterdam band. The band director, Irving, is the same band director that we had on the 2013 World Cruise and he has been working for Holland America Line for 26 years. They do an incredible job accompanying all of the Amsterdam singers and dancer shows as well as all of the guest entertainers.

Ian Page the Explorations Central Guide shared his insights on our visit to Kushiro, Japan. Guest Chef Denise Vivaldo showed us how to prepare a pecan crusted Halibut filet with a Dijon cream sauce and prosciutto wrapped scallops with pesto in America’s Test Kitchen.  She didn’t seem too organized, but she was very entertaining with her chef stories.  Michael Hick lectured on Japan including the Pearls of Hokkaido, Kushiro and Hakodate, the island we would be visiting the next day. Michael discussed how Russia has two ports near Japan but that both of them freeze over in winter and that ships from these ports must transit by the northern or southern shores of Japan, making it difficult for them to get to sea.   During WWII, Russia took possession of several smaller islands to the north of Japans Hokkaido Island.

The evening’s entertainment was a new show by Tasmanian Comedian and Magician Bodane Hatten (now living in Australia). Mark was selected to participate in two different magic tricks. The first was an trick where Bodane pokes a knife through Mark’s sportscoat. The second was a card trick where Mark selected a card out of a deck of cards and signed his name on the card. Bodane then shuffled the cards and before you knew it, he pulled the card Mark had signed out of a sealed envelope in a billfold that was sitting on the table.

When we returned to our cabin for the night we found gifts on our bed. This day’s gift was a power bank used for giving your computer or tablet extended battery power when away from a power source.  We each got one, along with chocolates.

The weather had taken another turn and was cloudy, gray and raining once again.

This day was the first of two sea days before we arrive at the town of Kushiro, Japan. The morning activities included the Morning Show with cruise director, Jorge, interviewing the two guest lecturers. Ian gave a lecture on the upcoming tours that were available for the ports of call between Tianjin, China and Hong Kong. Next came Spencer in America’s Test Kitchen where he prepared Chinese Dumplings (Shu Mai), Shrimp Pot Stickers, Chili Oil and a Soy Ginger Dipping Sauce. The recipes have a variety of ingredients that we don’t normally have at home but they looked very delicious. When we get home maybe I will be brave enough to try making them.

The afternoon included a lecture by Dan Benedict on the Travelers Century Club for travelers who have visited more than 100 countries. The club has very specific criteria as to what constitutes a country on the list. In the case of the U.S. even Alaska and Hawaii can be counted as additional countries due to the separation from the main 48 states. I’m certain that we could join the club with all of the travels that we have done but all it gives you is bragging rights.

Michael Hick lectured on Japan and its unique culture and how it differs from other parts of the world. Japan’s culture is based on relationships whereas north America’s culture is based more on facts. The Japanese are more about family and a collaborative effort in the workplace while north America is more about the individual.

In his free time, Mark continued his work on the jigsaw puzzles with his puzzle ladies and Kent continued reading the news in the Times Digest.

The four female vocalists in the group called Voce performed on the mainstage this night. They all have incredible voices and performed solos as well as group numbers from a variety of musical styles. Opera, Broadway, Judy Garland songs and contemporary songs.

Russian Trinity Cathedral Interior

Russian Volcanoes

Russian Smoked Salmon

Russian Caviar

Petropavlovsk is a city and the administrative, industrial, scientific and cultural center of Kamchatka Krai, Russia. Petropavlovsk has a population of approximately 180,000 inhabitants. The city is situated on a peninsula with high hills surrounded by volcanoes in the southeast region of Russia between Japan and Alaska. The city was founded in 1740 by Danish navigator Vitus Bering in service of the Russian Navy. He named the City Petropavlovsk after his two ships the St. Peter and St. Paul. During the 20th century the city was a great source of fish, particularly salmon and crab meat for the Soviet Union. Since the end of the Soviet era, fishing rights have been granted to foreign interests. Poaching of salmon for their caviar remains a problem amid tax law enforcement and widespread corruption.

Today the city has developed a tourist infrastructure with a wide range of services from bear hunting to paragliding. No roads from the peninsula connect to the rest of the world so travel is dependent on ships and the local airport.

We took a three-and-a-half-hour panoramic tour of the area to get a little idea about the area and what it has to offer. The panoramic drive introduced us to the natural history of the Kamchatka Peninsula. We learned about the lifestyle of its inhabitants and saw some of the city’s highlights.

Our first stop was at the Trinity Cathedral Church completed just eight short years ago. This large imposing structure is topped with five onion shaped domes covered in brass. The interior of the church is all new so what might have been gold-plated in an old church is now painted gold instead. The paintings and ornamentation throughout the church are very modern in style. The ceiling is painted and one large wall is covered in gold framed paintings of icons. The Russian Orthodox churches do not have any pews but instead people stand for the normal two-hour services.

Panoramic views from the church grounds include the volcanoes in the surrounding areas. The tallest of these snow peaked volcanoes stands some 3,456 meters or about 11,250 feet.

Next, we drove to Lenin Square where we paused to see the monument to Lenin and view the Kamchatka Regional Administration building. At the foot of Nikolskaya Hill, we saw the Chapel Monument devoted to the heroes of the Petropavlovsk Battle of 1854. There’s a common grave where French, English and Russian soldiers are buried. At Liberty Square, we saw another tribute to fallen soldiers. The Monument to the Kuril Islands Defenders was erected in 1946 to commemorate the 1945 victory of Russian troops over the Japanese.

We then took a drive up the hillside to the highest peak where there is a wonderful outlook over the harbor and town. The hillsides were lined with birch trees that had begun to lose their leaves.

Next, we stopped for a visit at the USSR Museum that houses hundreds of objects dating back to Soviet times. The collection includes cameras, radios, pianos, skates, gramophones, toys, household items, posters, photographs and so much more. It reminded us more of an American antique shop than a museum as things were just stacked around the room and not really presented in a formal manner like you would expect at a museum.

Of more interest at the museum was a Russian woman who explained to our guide in Russian what life was like in this town during the Soviet times. The guide then translated what she said into English. The winters are very harsh by our standards with as much as twenty feet of snow fall. The temperature when we arrived in town was only 37 degrees with an expected high of 55 degrees. The wonderful thing was that it was sunny and clear for a change which was greatly appreciated after all of the gray days we have had.

The last stop on our excursion was at the local market which I expected to be an open-air market but it was not. The market that they took us to was a multi-storied mall with white marble floors throughout. The ground floor was mostly food items with an enormous assortment of red caviar and smoked salmon of all sorts. The caviar was stored in five-gallon plastic containers one right next to another, each slightly different from the last. Fresh fish and live crabs were available as well.

Most of the meat is sold frozen as this is the way that it arrives in town generally transported by train and then shipped from mainland Russia down to the tip of this peninsula. Fresh fruits looked beautifully displayed and many bakery shops offered many types of breads, crackers, pastries and decorated cakes.

The most surprising part about the market was how clean everything was and how everything was in modern refrigerated cases. And, it was difficult for the locals to respond to our nods and hellos with a smile!

On the upper floors of the market building there was one modern clothing store after the next. We did not recognize the names on the shops but they sold all types of clothing and especially things like heavy coats and boots that would be needed in this part of the world.

For dinner there was a seafood extravaganza in the Lido. They had prepared fresh seafood like lobster tails, clams, mussels, salmon, etc. in a variety of ways. There were soups, chowder, seafood pot pies, steamed, grilled and baked varieties. Following dinner was a new show by comedian Bud Anderson who was very funny.

This day was another quiet sea day on our way to Petropavlovsk, Russia. The weather was much improved with sunshine, no rain and calmer seas.

We attended Ian’s lecture on things to see and do in Petropavlovsk. Spencer cooked up a steakhouse dinner for two in America’s Test Kitchen. He prepared a steak with a Béarnaise sauce as well as baked potatoes with two toppings and a wedge salad with bacon bits, blue cheese dressing and cherry tomatoes.

In the afternoon Michael Hick finished his lecture on Russia discussing the extensive land mass and its vulnerabilities from those who might want to invade the country especially from the west. Russia is so large that it has twelve different time zones and is so far north that it has very limited opportunities to produce its own source of food. It relies on other countries to provide most of the items that it consumes, including food.

The evening entertainment was provided by a young Russian violinist by the name of Inna Tolstova. The violin that she played was an electronic version which has a unique sound. She was accompanied by the Amsterdam band but the majority of the songs she performed all sounded alike.

We continue to eat more than we should even though we are doing our best to cut back by eating three meals a day in the dining room where the portions are more controlled. Desserts seem to be our largest downfall as they offer a list of them at lunch and dinner and we are rarely able to resist.

Since we left Dutch Harbor we have been turning our clocks back one hour each night. Even with the extra hours of sleep we still manage to enjoy a good night’s sleep right through the extra hour.

This was an extremely quick day as we crossed the international date line and skipped the entire day.

This day was our 5th wedding anniversary. Five years ago on this day, we were married in San Diego at the County Administration building on the waterfront in downtown San Diego. We have been together more than 26 years although we were only married in 2013. We got no cake from the ship…..what a shame!

This was our second sea day of three between Dutch Harbor and Petropavlovsk, Russia. Jorge’s morning show featured Comedian/Magician Bodane Hatten. Spencer taught us how to make an easy creamy parmesan polenta and potato gnocchi with a gorgonzola cream sauce. Michael Hick lectured on Russia and how all countries have their own personalities. The personalities can change like people from time to time, but they all have personalities. He discussed prominent figures in Russian history like Ivan the Terrible who killed his own son and Catherine the Great who had her own husband locked up and executed. For a long time, Russia has been obsessed with its land mass being larger than any other in the world.

Canadian Thanksgiving is celebrated on October 9th but since we will be crossing the international date line on the 9th, we celebrated the holiday on the 8th. For dinner we invited Spencer, the chef from America’s Test Kitchen, to join us. Spencer is from Long Island, New York, and quite accomplished for his 27 years. He is well educated, has had wonderful work experiences and loves what he does. This is his second year working on ships and he loves the lifestyle, people and his job onboard. He has a gentle manner about him and loves to interact with the guests onboard. He is working on some new cooking shows to present during our cruise.

The entertainment was a show performed by the Amsterdam singers and dancers titled That’s Life. It was an eclectic mix of songs from Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. as might have been performed in a jazz club.

Masked Ball

This was the first of three Sea Days on the way to our next port of call, Petropavlovsk, Russia. We attended the morning show with Cruise Director Jorge who interviewed the assistant cruise director Amanda. Amanda comes from a background of sports and cheerleading and runs health and fitness activities onboard. She hosts a sit and be fit, water aerobics a morning stretch.

In America’s Test Kitchen Spencer showed us how to make southern biscuits with a pimento cheese and fried pickles with a homemade ranch dressing. Not probably something that we would make, but interesting to see how they are made.

The seas continue to be rough and the skies are mostly gray with scattered showers. We look forward to sunshine and clear skies.

In the main dining room, they served a spectacular brunch from 11:00 to 1:00. It was a four-course fixed menu. The first course was an assortment of pastries, fresh squeezed orange juice served in mini glass milk bottles with colorful straws, coffee and tea. The second course was a cold sampler plate with all of the following in bite sized servings: fresh fruit skewer with granola parfait, Caesar salad, bay shrimp cocktail shooter, Norwegian smoked salmon on brioche, deviled egg with Osettra caviar, prosciutto and coppa on six grains baguette and Beecher and Maaslander cheese on crackers.

The main course consisted of all of the following: vegetable omelet pot with crispy oven roasted bacon, sautéed jumbo shrimp, a breaded fried chicken tender, tenderloin medallion a la minute with béarnaise sauce, steamed broccoli and home style roasted potatoes, biscuit and gravy and a stack of quarter sized pancakes with Dickinson’s maple syrup.

Dessert included a small chocolate crème caramel, a pecan pie bite and a mini baked apple strudel.

Michael Hick lectured on the Aleutian Islands. This string of islands has an extraordinary number of active volcanoes and one island was also used to test an atomic bomb years ago.

The black and silver gala dinner had folks dressed up in suits and long gowns. The dining room chairs were covered in black and silver fabric covers and the linens were changed to match. Party favors of masks for the masked ball later in the evening were placed at each place setting on the table. Favorites like filet mignon and crab legs were included in the menu.

The evening’s entertainment was a pianist from Manchester, England, who performed a variety of music from the classics to the contemporary. He enjoys mixing a classic song of the past with a song from artists like Michael Jackson or Lady Gaga. He was accompanied by the Amsterdam band.

At 9:30pm there was a Black and Silver Masked Ball in the main showroom. The Station Band that normally performs in the Crow’s Nest was set up on the stage for the music. Guests brought a variety of masks from home or wore the masks provided at the Gala dinner for a festive evening. Kent and Mark observed from the balcony in the theater. Later in the evening a chocolate surprise arrived with waiters carrying trays of delectable chocolate treats. It was a wonderful sea day filled with more temptations of food than anyone needed but we managed to enjoy it all.

Russian Orthodox Church Interior

Russian Orthodox Church Exterior

Dutch Harbor Landscape

Dutch Harbor Bald Eagles

Sunrise was not until about 9:15am this morning. Dutch Harbor is located in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska with a population of about 4,500 inhabitants. Dutch Harbor in the 1760’s was part of the Russian fur trade and until the mid 20th-century, natives, Russians and their descendants comprised most of the population. The name Dutch Harbor is really the name of the bay located between the islands of Unalaska and Amaknak. In the 1890’s a dock was built on Dutch Harbor and folks began booking passage to Dutch Harbor. During World War II the military built a runway next to Dutch Harbor and after the war private airlines took over the runway and booked people on flights to Dutch Harbor.

The US purchased Alaska on October 18, 1867 making Unalaska part of the US territory. The US Navy recommended that a base be built here in 1938 with the first army and navy troops arriving in 1941. Dutch Harbor is one of the few sites, besides the attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii in American territory, to be bombed by the Japanese during World War II. On June 3, 1942, 20 Japanese planes from two aircraft carriers of the Imperial Japanese Navy bombed Dutch Harbor targeting the radio station and the petroleum storage tanks. 43 Americans died during the attack that lasted two days. By 1943 there was a peak of 10,151 sailors and 9,976 soldiers stationed here.

In the 1950’s, Unalaska became the center of the Alaskan king crab fishing industry and by 1978 it was the largest fishing port in the US. A 1982 crash in king crab harvests decimated the industry and the mid 1980’s saw a transition to bottom fishing. Today, Dutch Harbor is ranked as one of the top fishing ports with more than a billion dollars transferred each year. Huge harvests of pollock and cod from the Bering Sea are part of this total. The Discovery Channel reality television series Deadliest Catch has been filmed here since 2005.

The town offered guests the opportunity to take a school bus into the town center where there is a Safeway supermarket, a fishing supply store and a hotel. The ride took us less than ten minutes but it had begun to rain about the time we arrived into town.

We walked the 2.4 miles to the local Russian Orthodox Church in the rain. In 1825, the Russian Orthodox Church of the Holy Ascension was built in Unalaska and it still stands today. It is one of the oldest churches in Alaska and is significant as the site from which Missionaries brought their religion to the local Aleut people. The young priest was giving the tourists a history lesson on the three-room church and its altars with many icons painted on canvas. Given the distance to the church and the weather, there were not many ship passengers who found their way to the church. By the time we left the church the weather had improved dramatically and the sun came out making the walk back to the Safeway so much more enjoyable. We joined our fellow passengers, Anna and Sandy, who also live in our condo building in San Diego, on the walk back.

The winding streets of the islands follow the sea making the walking fairly easy. The surrounding hillsides were covered in a multitude of hues of greens and golds as the fall colors began to set into the vegetation. The only other color remaining was some lavender colored clover flowers. Many bald eagles were spotted around the town on top of ship masts, telephone poles and light posts. One couple of eagles even had a juvenile with it. Several fur seals were spotted in the water as we crossed a bridge from one island to the next. At the sailaway party in the crow’s nest we were able to spot several whales as we sailed out of Dutch Harbor.

The evening’s entertainment was called Alaska in Concert. This beautifully produced film showing scenes of Alaska produced by BBC Earth was accompanied by seven of the musicians onboard. The film showed extraordinary scenes of bears, whales, salmon, foxes, bald eagles and more in their natural habitats.