81-year-old best friends embark on adventures around the world in 80 days
Age is just a number, they say. This holds true, especially for 81-year-old besties Ellie Hamby and Sandy Hazelip who rolled through waves, sled in the snow, and rode camels in a desert as they journeyed around the world for 80 days.
Hamby, a photographer, and Hazelip, a doctor, have been friends for 23 years and met when they were on a medical mission in Zambia. They were both in Hamby's kitchen when Hazelip had the idea of embarking on a two-and-a-half-month adventure across the world in 2021.
"Ellie, we both love to travel, our health is good, we travel well together. So wouldn't it be fun to go around the world in 80 days when we were 80 years old?" Hazelip wrote in their blog titled "Around the World at 80" where they document their trips.
However, the Texas-based best friends had to postpone their plans until 2023 due to COVID-related travel restrictions in most of their planned destinations.
"Of course, COVID put a stop to the around the world at '80,' but we were determined that COVID was not canceling our plans for 'around the world.' So we delayed (not canceled) our trip, and now it is around the world in 80 days—at 81 and still on the run," Hazelip wrote.
The duo additionally told CNN, “By postponing until 2023, we will be able to include the Antarctica trip that was in our original itinerary."
The remote continent was, in fact, where Hamby and Hazelip began their globe-throttling journey on January 11.
To get there, the two "traveling grannies" had to fly from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia, Argentina then ride a ship that passed through the notorious waters of Drake Passage to Antartica's South Shetland Islands.
"The ship is ice-strengthened for icebergs and is designed to withstand 40 to 50 feet waves," the duo wrote on their blog. "Little did we know, the ship would be challenged with very rough seas and big waves. The first two-and-a-half days were spent going through the Drake Passage, and we can confirm that we experienced the full 'Drake Shake.'"
"At least 48 hours of 15-feet waves, with some waves reaching over 20 feet, racked our bodies and senses. Walking was impossible without holding on, and sleeping was just as difficult."
Hamby described their voyage to CNN as "wild" yet at the same time, truly worth it.
“But when we stepped foot on the ground on the Antarctic, you forgot all of that," she continued. "The beauty of the Antarctic is just unbelievable to see the penguins and the icebergs and the glaciers–just, this was amazing."
After ticking Antarctica off their bucket list, Hamby and Hazelip flew to another island known to be one the most isolated places in the world—Easter Island in Chile.
Here, the duo had an "incredible experience" marveling at the island's famous statue heads or Moai, as well as interacting with the locals Hamby described to be "the friendliest, nicest people" they've ever met.
They also enjoyed having "the most scrumptious fresh fish meals one only dream of," in addition to sleeping in a small cabana.
From Easter Island, the "traveling grannies" moved to Argentina, which they said was their "substitute destination" for Peru.
"Because of political violence in Peru and especially in the Machu Picchu area, we had to cancel this portion of our trip," they wrote on their blog, noting that they found many travelers "in the same predicament who also chose to go to Argentina instead."
During their stay in Buenos Aires, the best friends watched a Tango show and had "delicious Argentinian steaks" in an old opera house as well as took a carriage ride on a ranch, and visited the first public cemetery in Buenos Aires called the "Recoleta Cemetery".
The 80-day journey of the "traveling grannies" covered a total of 18 countries across all seven continents. All of which, they were accompanied by a physician and photographer, who helped Hamby and Hazelip produce content for their Facebook and TikTok accounts.
Among all their adventures, Hamby and Hazelip told USA Today that getting on a Husky sleigh ride in Lapland in the Arctic Circle.
"We just take off and we went several miles," Hamby told the outlet. "And we were turning corners, it was minus 4 [degrees] so it was so cold. And we just didn't know it was gonna be that adventuresome ... We were holding on for dear life."
Besides this, it was also in Lapland that the pair witnessed the Northern Lights up close and "in all their beautiful display."
Hamby and Hazelip's cross-continent adventures also included visiting the Roman Coliseum and other historical landmarks in Europe, the island of Zanzibar in Africa, The Great Pyramids of Egypt, the skyscrapers in Tokyo and Mt. Fuji in Honshu, and the temples of Bali.
Last on their itinerary was Australia, where they toured Sydney and went on a yatch cruise through the Great Barrier Reef. The pair arrived back in Texas on April 1.
And while it has been common for people traveling together to have unexpected arguments along the way, the besties are proud to say that they didn't have any of it throughout their trip.
“We’re both independent, very stubborn. But we seem to allow each other to give space,” Hamby told CNN. “We just understand each other and we know this is a good thing we’re doing and we kind of respect each other’s feelings.”
Further proving that age should not limit anyone from pursuing their passions, Hazelip revealed to TODAY that they are planning to go on another jet-setting adventure next year.
“We are planning another trip, So it’s going to be something when we’re 82 in 2024,” Hazelip said.
Ultimately, the octogenarians want to inspire others to embark on a worldly quest no matter what age.
"My advice is, get up out of that easy chair, step out of your comfort zone, make some plans and live," Hazelip told CNN. "Your age is only a number."