Two best friends in their eighties from Texas launched into the adventure of a lifetime, traveling around the world in 80 days.
Sandy Hazelip and Ellie Hamby each of them, aged 81, had recently returned home from a two-and-a-half-month journey that began in Antarctica and took them to the wonder of the world, the North Pole and all the way down.
The journey began as an idea in 2020 when two friends were working in Hamby’s kitchen one evening and Hazelip had the outrageous idea of traveling for as many days as their age.
“Ellie, we each like to travel, our health is sweet, we travel well together,” Hazelip said. Blog “Around the World after 80”. “So would not it’s fun to go around the world in 80 days while you’re 80?”
Hazelip, a physician, and Hamby, a photographer, would want almost two more years to start out their journey as COVID travel restrictions affected their travels to most of their planned destinations.
“By 2023, we’ll have the option to incorporate a visit to Antarctica that was in our original itinerary,” said the two grandmothers who met 23 years ago on a medical mission to Zambia. he told CNN.
![Hazelip and Hamby stayed at the Taj Mahal while in India.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/81yearolds1.jpg?w=1024)
The trip began on January 11 with a flight to Argentina, where they’d board a 60-passenger boat to cross the Drake Passage to succeed in the least-visited continent and walk with the penguins.
From there, the adventure took them to Easter Island to see “a mystical island, filled with beauty at every turn” together with the heads of statues of the same name or Moai.
The friends traveled with their very own small retinue of a physician and photographer who helped document all destinations through their blogs and various social media accounts.
The 2-year deferral allowed for higher budget planning, which allowed them to get great deals on their hotels.
They even slept in airports simply to be on time.
![The friends traveled with their own small retinue of a doctor and photographer who helped document all destinations through their blogs and various social media accounts.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/340108419_953116142486257_740329966839726090_n.jpg?w=960)
“You haven’t got to remain at big chain hotels. In other countries, the best hotels are local places.” – couple said TODAYclaiming that the average cost of their hotels was $29 per person. “Possibly it isn’t a hotel. They will be someone’s home. They could only be small, small places, but they’re the best shopping and the most fun.”
The journey of a lifetime had some obstacles that forced last-minute changes to the itinerary.
“After leaving the mystical Easter Island, we planned to go to Peru and take the train to Machu Picchu,” friends wrote in a February 5 blog post. “As a consequence of the political violence in Peru and particularly in the Machu Picchu area, we needed to cancel this a part of our trip.”
![Hazelip and Hamby stopped and saw Easter Island and the Maoi.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/326345870_729449115195136_2091874444879493066_n.jpg?w=896)
![The duo admired the northern lights in Finland.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Northern-lights.jpg?w=1024)
Then they went to Northern Europe and the Arctic Circle, where they met reindeer, rode in a sleigh pulled by huskies and saw the amazing Northern Lights
The second leg of the trip took the friends to the historic sights of Europe, including the Roman Colosseum, the Sistine Chapel, Notre Dame and Buckingham Palace, before heading south to Africa.
In Africa, Hamby visited the island of Zanzibar, trying out the historic spice port that led to a semi-autonomous windfall dubbed “Spice Island”.
Zanzibar led them to Egypt where they explored the Great Pyramids.
![Hazelip and Hamby stayed at the Taj Mahal while in India.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/81yearolds8.jpg?w=682)
![Bali offered its diverse land, including picturesque beaches.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/81yearolds9.jpg?w=682)
They then went to India’s Taj Mahal, after which they went on a journey to see the breathtaking views of Mount Everest and Mount Fuji.
Land Down Under was the final leg of their trip, covering sites in Sydney and the Great Barrier Reef before returning home to Texas on April 1.
For individuals who think this was a one-of-a-kind trip, the best friends aren’t done yet and are already planning their next one.
“We’re planning one other trip, in order that’ll be something once we’re 82 in 2024,” Hazelip revealed TODAY.
![While in Japan, the best friends were gifted with breathtaking views of Mount Fuji.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/334201042_1003886314331548_4059614219835676289_n.jpg?w=629)
Hamby and Hazelip’s trip inspires others to embark on their very own adventure
“My sister (single) and I (widow) try to go to each continent. We have been doing it for 8 years! We’re in our thirties – let’s go, ladies!” said one in all the photographers on TikTok.
“Wish list,” one other person said.
Many other commentators have claimed that lots of the places friends have visited are wishlist items for their very own adventures.