Life in this (arctic) island: Food Trip!

According to the Unalaska 2012 Visitors Guide, there are 62 real things to do in Unalaska. I think I’m about two-thirds there. The things I love doing the most are all the food related activities! So we went salmonberry picking from July to August and just this week went blueberry picking.

We also tried fishing and got myself a fishing license last July. The sales rep told me since I am not an Alaskan resident yet that it will cost me $125. That was some expensive fishing lessons and I’m still learning how to fish! The sales rep was quite amused when I asked if I have to buy bait. He gave me some valuable tips in his Russian accent – “You know the salmons they are only here for one reason – make babies. You don’t need bait because they don’t bite, you just snag’em. “Sounds easy, no? Until now I still haven’t caught one even if there are hundreds of them :-)

Luckily, some kind souls gave away their catch and that is how I learned how to make pink salmon sardines. Yum! Isn't it just cool to find your food source other than from the grocery aisle?!

They grow everywhere, on the side of
the road, beside the river and all over
the hills.

They look beautiful but they are "seedy".
I've read somewhere that the darkyellow-orange are tastier thanthe red ones.

Red, succulent salmonberries. I think
they are called salmonberries because
they are as red as the king salmon? Maybe.

Blueberries!

Unlike the salmonberry that grow during the summer
months,the blueberry are sweeter after the first
frost which is between the months of September
to November.

My tour guide. He has been all over the island thanks to his after-school program.

Hundreds of pink salmon in the lake! But you can't
fish in closed waters to protect the salmons and give
them the chance to spawn.

After spawning the next generation of salmons, they
die or get eaten by the eagles, foxes and other birds
that abound here. The circle of life right before your eyes.