In Lapland, Finland, two girls of their 80s and a pack of huskies whizzed by on a sleigh, roughing it out in -4˚ F climate. Their names: Sandy Hazelip and Ellie Hamby.
What appeared like a straightforward tourist-friendly suggestion from their resort turned out to be the true deal—a sled with no seats and a whip-fast race for no less than a few miles. However the most effective associates had been vacationers, not vacationers. They usually weren’t recognized to draw back from an journey, even when it was a shock one.
“We simply had been holding on for pricey life,” Hamby tells Fortune. The fun was a spotlight of her two-and-a-half month journey around the globe with Hazelip earlier this 12 months; the fantastic thing about the surprising made it all of the extra enjoyable.
The pair, now 82, goals to deal with every thing the world throws their means, documenting their whirlwind journey adventures on TikTok to their 63,000-plus followers. One video, that includes them doing every thing from driving camels to snowshoeing, racked up a million likes. Saying “sure, and an additional serving to extra please” to journey, these seniors are on no account restricted by their age or societal expectations.
Nonetheless working full-time, Hazelip as a hospice medical director and Hamby as a medical mission director, the 2 had been prepared for a a lot wanted break. Hazelip, who says she hadn’t taken actual day off in 45 years and had turning 80 on the mind, proposed to Hamby: “Wouldn’t it’s enjoyable to go around the globe in 80 days at age 80?” Having traveled effectively collectively earlier than, Hamby instantly agreed.
Impressed by Phileas Fogg’s 80-day journey around the globe, they deliberate to go to a few of the similar cities because the famed fictional character, all seven continents (together with Antarctica), and as most of the Wonders of the World as potential (see: the Northern Lights).
With tickets booked and their eightieth birthdays on the horizon, they had been able to go—till the pandemic slammed the brakes on every thing. “COVID shut it down,” Hazelip says. “However COVID didn’t shut us down.” They lastly launched into their journey in January, on a $20,000 price range and with a brand new theme: “Around the globe in 80 days at 81, and nonetheless on the run.”
A friendship with nice mileage
Hazelip and Hamby first met 23 years in the past on a medical mission, however weren’t as tied to the hip as they’re now. 5 years later, Hazelip rang up Hamby; she needed to dwell close to the observe she labored at in Abilene, Texas, which occurred to be the place Hamby was primarily based. The 2 struck a deal: If Hamby gave Hazelip a spot to remain two or three days every week, she’d take Hamby out for dinner. Hamby, a photographer whose husband not too long ago handed away unexpectedly, took her up on the provide.
“Tthat was 18 years in the past, and that’s how our friendship began,” Hamby says. Nonetheless upholding their conventional weekly meals, Hazelip claims that Hamby may order accurately for her if she’s operating late. “I may even purchase garments for her now,” she jokes.
Hazelip remembers telling her grandson after assembly Hamby that she’s “the one lady I’ve ever met who can work circles round me. I feel we might be good associates.” Hamby felt equally: “More often than not we simply outran our associates, we had been at all times desirous to do greater than anyone…unexpectedly we [found] one another. And wow, we wrestle to maintain up with one another.”
Within the years since, they’ve since taken many a mission journey and 5 private journeys collectively, rapidly discovering they had been appropriate on the street. The 2 are recreation for nearly something, which made Hazelip really feel Hamby was the proper journey companion for a world journey.
”We’re each strong-willed girls however we respect one another’s stance on issues,” she says, explaining that she acknowledges her companion’s have to rise early for pictures. In Hamby’s case, that may appear like making an attempt extra dangerous issues that her pal is into, like driving camels or letting a snake slither round her torso.
‘Second class vacationers’
The duo coated each inch and cranny of the globe, bopping in every single place from Easter Island to the Nice Barrier Reef, and spending time in every nook, together with Antarctica and Australia. They forewent luxurious stays and lounging by the seaside, choosing journey over trip—as they put it, in case your palms are well-manicured you may not wish to journey with them. Most of their $20,000 price range went in the direction of worldwide flights, they are saying. “We did concerning the least expensive you would do,” Hamby provides.
The common value of their resort was $29 an individual, though Hamby says they use the phrase “resort” very loosely. Certainly one of her favourite locations to remain was a $13.50 per evening resort in Cairo, Egypt, which had a modest breakfast and no foyer or elevator. Nevertheless it got here with a “million greenback view,” she says—for those who went to the rooftop, you would look proper out on the pyramids and watch the sunshine present everybody else was paying for.
Calling themselves “second class vacationers,” Hamby says their inexpensive journey model is extra enjoyable and makes it simpler to fulfill new folks. It’s all about priorities, Hazelip provides: “Some folks spend their cash on boats, and being members of the nation membership and a brand new automobile yearly. These individuals who purchased a brand new automobile, they spent extra money than I spent on my 80-day journey.”
“It is a price range automobile, too,” Hamby quips.
They discovered that exploring cities was additionally typically extra inexpensive and satisfying after they get native suggestions from the place they had been staying. Whereas they already deliberate some excursions, like driving sizzling air balloons, they’d additionally ask the concierge if the resort had a driver that might take them round to native websites.
That’s how the 2 ended up exploring Bali’s fields of orchids and rolling mountains. As they journeyed up the mountains, they noticed an indication for a “joyful swing” and requested their driver to drag over. With no vacationers in sight, they boarded a swing on the sting of the cliff above a paddy area. Such spontaneity makes “journey enjoyable, as a result of you are able to do these surprising issues,” Hamby says.
Whereas they initially posted their adventures on TikTok for his or her circle of associates, their journey touched a bigger wire. It’s their friendship that pulls the youthful viewers seeking to expertise comparable bonds and travels, Hamby says. “We actually want one another. Sandy has enriched my life. I’m higher due to that friendship,” she provides.
Transferring into 2024, they wish to maintain the journey ball rolling and actually discover one continent at a time. With a 30-day South America journey on the horizon—Machu Picchu is first up—they’ll be heading into the brand new 12 months with a brand new slogan, “We’re 82. And journey, we’re not by way of.”
