Alsguth Travel Blog

Hello from the Equator! As I'm sure many of you are tired of hearing, our "next" adventure has taken us to the Galapagos Islands.  Getting to Galapagos from Houston is pretty straightforward really, a quick 5 hour flight to Quito, Ecuador (the capital at the highest elevation in the world) followed by a 2.5 hour flight to Galapagos. There are permits and park passes and special baggage screening to navigate but once you set foot on the island .... Wait, there is a $5 bus to take you to a $1 ferry where you are greeted by a local seal. Finally, a taxi to the hotel. We had an overnight on Santa Cruz and then departed for the Tiburon Explorer, our home for a week of diving. Now we are on the dive boat having finished three very cold dives today. We actually have five done so far! It is not possible to add a video to this blog - sad! We have seen sea lions swimming around, marine iguana hanging out in 20ft deep water eating algae off the rocks, a school of hammerhead sharks a...

Hello dear family and friends! Carsten and I send the very best greetings to you and all those you treasure. We are thankful for the community we have been blessed with, both near and far. 2025 was a hard year for us. We had no idea back in January what the new year would bring. Life is always full of ups and downs but my mom's rapid health decline and death just floored us. A loss like this reminds you of how precious life is and how important it is to be thankful for every moment we are given. We are navigating the holidays like a soldier thru a minefield - no idea when grief will knock us down again. It is hard to write but, besides Mom's death, we are all doing well.  Austin and Jamie moved back to Houston after 18 months in Detroit. They bought a house about 1.5 miles from Marieke and Alex. We are overjoyed that they are home and the dogs are happy too! Austin and Jamie are rooting for their Texas Tech Red Raiders in the college football playoffs! The Longhorns in the grou...

Hello! We are getting ready to head home, time to wrap things up. As I lay here in bed I hear the church bells chiming in the Old Town of Ljubljana. We enjoyed a lovely, if a little cool, four days here.  We had a little hiccup in our travels from Venice to Ljubjana, no big deal, we just had to take a bus part of the way where the rail was under construction. This is just part of traveling in Europe. Regardless, we arrived and found our studio apartment. The manager told us about the market on Saturday - I love a market! We bought honey, cheese and some salami. All delicious! Ljubljana has several famous bridges. This is from the Dragon Bridge. This dragon is the one Jason and the Argonauts fought when returning from stealing the golden fleece. The dragon is the protector of the city.  This Jesuit church was originally red but faded and was repainted this lovely salmon color. This statue in Preseren square is of Preseren. He was a poet as well as a general letch. He was marrie...