Eleanor Roe’s current LinkedIn status:
Travelling the world!
I am a very normal girl with a very normal dream. I want to see the world. It’s actually all I want to do. I want to explore, and learn, and marvel and wonder at this bloody incredible planet we all call home. If I am only to have one life, I would like to use as much of it as possible having a good look around and seeing what I find.
If you are at all interested in something similar, then I invite you to stick around with me. I’m not going to tell you where to go or give you tips on what to pack. That’s your adventure. But I would like to share my experience, my thoughts and my discoveries as I go. And, who knows, possibly even inspire someone else in the process!
lots of love, ellie :)
:)
Hey, that’s me!
Where it all began.
2000-2018
I’ve been fascinated with the world beyond for as long as I can remember. Growing up in a small town in suburban Leicestershire, every road I saw led outward, to somewhere more interesting, exciting, and new. I grew up on the adventures of the Famous Five, on pop-up books filled with Mayan temples and Egyptian pyramids, on films of self-discovery, bravery and exploration. My family were avid cruisers. They chose to explore the world via its oceans, knowing that the comfort of a three-course meal and a balcony cabin were waiting for them at the end of the day. I took my first steps at 18 months in Istanbul, wandered through the ruins of pompeii aged 7, hiked my first glacier in Norway at 11, and had my first shot of vodka aged 13 on the Neva River of St Petersburg (arguably way too early in life but you can blame my Grandad for questionable babysitting). I am incredibly lucky to have grown up on these experiences, this is not lost on me, and they have left me with a lifelong desire to keep going. To keep seeking and to be open to what I might find. When I was young I became obsessed with seeing all the world could offer me. I spent all year waiting for summer, waiting until I could escape again, even if it was only for two weeks. Now that I am apparently a grown up, I’m trying my best to do that small girl proud.
Opening minds and closing borders
2018-2021
I began studying for my BA in Liberal Arts in 2018. I basked in pages of South American revolutions, of indigienous water cultures across Canada and New Zealand, of European enlightenment, and all the joys and horrors that came as a result of it. I absorbed literature on human rights, on global justice, on feminism, colonialism, environmentalism, anticapitalism. My wordlview expanded on a universal scale, all from within the four walls of a classroom in Essex, and my passion to see it all for myself only blossomed. I had a year abroad planned and ready to go in the autumn of 2020. I would spend a year living and studying in California, the sunshine state of America. But in the early spring of the same year, international borders closed, and suddenly the world didn’t seem as welcoming to strangers. I was 19 when the covid-19 pandemic hit, and 21 when restrictions properly eased in the UK. I spent a long time mourning the formative years that I was promised, and reconciled with the fleeting nature of existence that the pandemic so brutally reminded us all of. I spent 2 years planning everywhere I would go when the world opened again, desperate to jump on a bus, train, or plane the moment it did.
A new era of travel
2022-present
One of the first countries to open up after the pandemic was Costa Rica. A mecca of ecotourism, the government were keen to reignite its most lucrative industry after two years with no visitors. I booked my flight for May 2022, and so turned the first cog in the next two years of my life. I backpacked Costa Rica with two good friends for 1 month, stayed in hostels, travelled by bus, met some incredible people and began to understand just how I liked to travel, away from my parents. What I could never have prepared for, was how that trip would butterfly into an early career in the travel industry. After a year-long stint in Edinburgh studying an MSc in Environment, Society and Culture in 2023, my real immersion into the crazy side of travel would truly begin. I became a specialist in Costa Rica holidays, travelled back out to Central America for another month, and worked with clients to build bespoke and incredible trips to a country that I loved. The truth is, working in travel isn’t always easy! It takes a lot of hard work to arrange the perfect trip for someone you don’t even know. I struggled a lot and learnt a lot, I succeeded and I failed! It was a journey in and of itself, but the most wonderful thing about that job was the incredible people I met. I owe this blog to many of them, because without their own inspiring travel stories, I may never have taken this new leap into the unknown. To book a one-way flight to Bangkok for January 2025 and see what happens!
If you fancy it, it’d be great to have you follow along in this new chapter! (No pressure though, you totally have free will ;)
Get in Touch →
Are you travelling? Do you want to? Do you like this content? If so, I’d love to hear from you! Let’s make this a community of people who love to explore in ways that grow ourselves, help others, and are kind to our beautiful planet!