Earth Vagabonds

20/06/2026

It’s Habagat in the Philippines — monsoon season. Heavy rain and sudden thunderstorms.

But it’s also an El Niño year, so tourists have mostly rain-free days and off-season prices.

We enjoy it either way.

Life is Now.

(Real photo, not AI.)





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17/06/2026

The night skies are still poppin’ ova heeyah in the Philippines.

Pictured: the current ‘parade of planets’.

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15/06/2026

Got lucky with a cloudless few hours just after midnight for Milky Way viewing.

The last time we saw the Milky Way: the last time we were here in Malay, Aklan, Philippines.

Pic with an iPhone 17e, 30-second exposure.

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14/06/2026

Just another creature to visit our Philippines rental house. This one is supposedly harmless, but since Ellen was bitten by a different snake in Malaysia last year and ended up in the ER, she stayed far, far away. Pic by Theo.

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06/06/2026

A foreign fruit in the Philippines is like a mix of grapes, cherries, and plums. It’s called duhat or jamun, or java plums.

The trees bear fruit only a few weeks a year as the season shifts to monsoon time.

They are nutrient dense powerhouses with tannins and more, and have a unique and intense ‘astringency’ quality on the tongue. And yea - they turn your tongue indigo!

About a kilo cost $2 near the local market. We shared our bag with friends — duhat only keep for a few days once ripe, so we’ll eat ‘em up!





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03/06/2026

Sazan Island (‘Trump Island’) in Albania is in the news because Albanians are protesting the luxury development by Jared and Ivanka Kushner.

Protestors are against it because it looks like Kushner got special treatment and permission to build in a highly sensitive environmental area. A corruption investigation has been launched.

Anyway. Here is what the island looks like from the lovely nearby city of Vlorë, where we spent a month in late 2025, and where we would like to return one day.

https://www.earthvagabonds.com/trump-island-photos-from-around-vlore-albania/





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Sazan Island, as seen from around Vlore.

01/06/2026

A comfortable place to stay on the “mainland” in Malay, Philippines, with a super friendly, helpful owner.

(Not pictured: the modern two-bedroom apartment where we stayed during the pandemic; there is a tenant there this month.)

31/05/2026

Top 10 reasons to love the Philippines and Filipinos:
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10. It’s an island nation with big variety — volcanoes, beaches, jungles, forests, waterfalls, and of course, cities.
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9. It has some of the best snorkeling and diving in the world.
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8. Filipino people still call older women “ma’am” and older men “sir” as a show of respect.
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7. Filipino children do the mano gesture: they put adult hands on their foreheads as they give a slight head bow, as a show of respect.
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6. It’s an extremely affordable place for American budget slow travelers like us.
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5. Filipino people accept American expats as neighbors, friends.
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4. 80s rock music rules here!
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3. No smoking in public places — including restaurants.
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2. Great transportation options: air-conditioned buses, regional buses, jeepneys (like a small bus), V-hires (shared vans), trike taxis, habel-habels (motorcycle taxis), ferries, boats, Grab, hitchhiking…..
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1. Filipino people are some of the nicest in the world.
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But wait!! There’s more! ‼️

⚕️Bonus #1:
Good health care can be found at reasonable costs (compared to the U.S.) in larger cities.

🗣️ Bonus #2:
Most people speak at least some English. Actually, English is one of two official languages – the other being Filipino.

We take a deeper dive on a few of these points: numbers 1, 2, 4, 5, and 10, specifically for budget slow travelers like ourselves:
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https://www.earthvagabonds.com/10-reasons-to-love-filipino-people-and-the-philippines/





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24/05/2026

Pictured: an early-retired overachiever relaxes in the refreshingly cool Nabaoy River in Malay, Philippines.

Every day this last week felt like 90+F with high humidity.

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20/05/2026

Fear can really trip us up. These spiders in the Philippines look scary, and might make you scream if you saw them in your home.

But here in the tropics, their roles in eating ‘bad bugs’ like mosquitoes are so important that we didn’t kill them.

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- The St. Andrew’s Cross Spider is an orb weaver. This web is half done. It will make another line to form an ‘X’ and hide behind it so unsuspecting pray will fly around it onto the web. Their venom is not a serious issue for people.

• Ellen left it alone; it’s on the outdoor staircase of our rental.

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- The Huntsman Spider doesn’t make a web at all — it actively hunts and can move really fast and jump pretty far with those long, thin legs. Their specialty catch: cockroaches. They are nocturnal and won’t bite unless threatened. Their venom is not a serious issue for people— like a bee sting.

• Ellen left it alone in the bottom utility cabinet; we haven’t seen any cockroaches.

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- The Philippine Tarantula is also a hunter without a need for a web. It will sit in burrows, flower pots, etc., and pounce upon cockroaches and smaller spiders with unbelievable speed. They are nocturnal, and their venom will hurt more - and swell up more - than a bee sting.

• Ellen moved through a little fear to get this one outside using a glass top and cardboard bottom; it was crawling across the floor at 4:30 am.

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