Ellen

Budget slow traveler in early retirement. Sober, breast cancer warrior, now living flat. Loves chocolate, coffee, stories, puppies.

Earth Vagabonds restart slow travel lifestyle

By Ellen / border crossing, COVID-19, slow travel / April 12, 2022 April 12, 2022

Theo and Ellen in an empty Bangkok airport terminal as they restart a slow travel lifestyle in the 'new normal' with COVID.

First stop: Bangkok!

Earth Vagabonds to leave the Philippines

By Ellen / budget travel, retired budget travel, slow travel, travel experts / April 5, 2022 April 5, 2022

Ellen & Theo in the Philippines, April 5, 2022.

We are changed. We are older, and hopefully wiser.

The adorable young boy with a pellet in his ear

By Ellen / health care abroad, slow travel / March 27, 2022 March 27, 2022

Left, Narbin almost smiling; right, doctors try to get the boy with the pellet in his ear to lay still for extraction.

Another charitable effort by Earth Vagabonds.

Travel during COVID: 3 budget tips

By Ellen / budget travel, COVID-19, travel experts / March 26, 2022 May 31, 2022

3 new travel hacks for the new normal in a COVID world.

Beat marketing trickery and save money.

Broken toe on Boracay & the Cleveland connection

By Ellen / health care abroad, slow travel / March 17, 2022 March 17, 2022

Ellen's broken toe on Boracay happened near Willy's Rock.

God has a sense of humor in this small world we call Earth.

Foreign tourism opens in Philippines

By Ellen / travel destinations, travel experts / January 29, 2022 October 4, 2022

Sunset on Boracay Island with sailboats.

Three requirements get you here.

Budget vacation to Boracay Island

By Ellen / budget travel, COVID-19 / January 25, 2022 January 25, 2022

A vacation to Boracay Island means a lot of beach time on the famous "White Beach" - pictured here in the golden hour before sunset.

Ellen splurges for once.

Boracay Island in the Philippines

By Ellen / COVID-19, slow travel, travel destinations / January 21, 2022 January 21, 2022

A sailboat is seen through trees on Boracay Island in the Philippines.

So beautiful, despite pandemic problems.

How to hand wash clothes, sheets

By Ellen / COVID-19, retired budget travel, travel experts / January 19, 2022 January 19, 2022

How to hand wash clothes and sheets is not difficult, but it's time consuming and strains the back.

Not difficult, but it’s time consuming and strains the back.

The boy on the beach

By Ellen / COVID-19 / January 18, 2022 January 18, 2022

Just a story.

What progressive eyeglasses cost in the Philippines

By Ellen / health care abroad, retired budget travel, slow travel, travel experts / January 17, 2022 January 17, 2022

The progressive, Transition eyeglasses with titanium frames that Ellen bought in the Philippines.

You will be amazed.

1 year, 10 months, in Malay, Aklan, Philippines

By Ellen / COVID-19, slow travel / January 15, 2022 January 16, 2022

NASA pic of the Philippines from space, with Malay, Aklan circled.

I’m counting.

Did these tourism and travel predictions come true?

By Ellen / budget travel, COVID-19, slow travel, travel experts / January 14, 2022 October 4, 2022

A crystal ball on a beach at sunset gets Ellen thinking about travel predictions - and whether they came true.

Eleven predictions, 11 realities.

What’s happening on Boracay during Omicron phase

By Ellen / COVID-19, slow travel, travel destinations, travel experts / January 13, 2022 January 13, 2022

Boracay has few tourists during the Omicron phase of the pandemic.

The famous island and nearby mainland are on Alert Level 3.

WHO COVID vaccination certificate in the Philippines

By Ellen / COVID-19, slow travel, travel experts / January 12, 2022 April 27, 2022

The Bureau of Quarantine building in Kalibo and the WHO COVID vaccination certificates the department issues.

How foreigners vaccinated in this country can get the official card.

Boosters in the Philippines

By Ellen / COVID-19, health care abroad, slow travel, travel experts / January 8, 2022 January 8, 2022

Ellen gets boosted in the Philippines with a Pfizer shot in Malay, Aklan.

Navigating a process so unlike in the USA.

Boracay holiday vacations bring domestic tourists

By Ellen / COVID-19, travel destinations / December 29, 2021 December 29, 2021

Tourists walk on Boracay's White Beach with masks pulled down under their chins.

Ellen people watches on the island.

December update: Odette, Omicron travel & boosters

By Ellen / COVID-19, slow travel / December 18, 2021 December 18, 2021

Ellen & Tedly in Malay, Aklan, December 18, 2021.

Life is good.

Waiting for Typhoon Odette in Malay, Aklan

By Ellen / early retirement, slow travel, travel experts / December 15, 2021 December 15, 2021

Locals beached boats because of Typhoon Odette in the Philippines.

Not our first rodeo with wild weather.

Solo trip to Iloilo City

By Ellen / budget travel, slow travel, travel destinations, travel experts / December 10, 2021 December 10, 2021

Iloilo City proper with a jeepney full of passengers.

Ellen boards a bus for the biggest city on Panay Island.