Travelling the world with best friends is a dream almost everyone shares, and its very thought brings comfort and excitement.?However, only a few are fortunate enough to make it a reality, and the story of two Texas women who did just that has captivated the Internet.
The duo, consisting of a physician and lecturer (Hazelip) and a documentary photographer (Hamby), embarked on their journey on January 11 and have been using their blog, "Around the World at 80," to document their travels.
Sandy and Ellie's first stop was Antarctica, which required a difficult crossing of the notoriously rough Drake Passage by ship between the southernmost tip of South America and the South Shetland Islands of Antarctica.
From their initial location, the Texas-based friends reflected in a blog entry how their remarkable journey was ignited by a "passing remark from Sandy to Ellie five years ago".
"We were sitting around the table working late one night, and Sandy said, entirely out of the blue: 'Ellie, why don't we take a trip around the world in 80 days when we are 80" recalling the moment they committed to the adventure, the duo travelled to Easter Island, a Chilean territory known for its archaeological sites, followed by a visit to Argentina after their time in Antarctica.
"Because of political violence in Peru and especially in the Machu Picchu area, we had to cancel this portion of our trip. We have the travel philosophy of 'just go with the flow and enjoy the journey - even if it is not the journey we planned.' That is what we did, and what a fun journey we had in Argentina, our 'substitute destination,'" penned the duo, adding how they were thrilled to enjoy activities such as dancing and horseback riding during their time.?
Following a trip to London, Hazelip and Hamby ventured to Zanzibar, Zambia, and Egypt, where they indulged in Camel rides and gazed upon the Majestic Pyramids.
On March 21, the close friends landed in Bali, but their travels continued as they arrived in Australia by April.
Throughout their journey, which lasted more than three months, Hazelip and Hamby chronicled their experiences on their blog, Instagram, and TikTok, where they've amassed an impressive following of over 52K.
Hamby told CNN that the people they met on their journey were the highlight of their experience.
"We love all the sights that we saw, but the things that we remember the most are the people we met," she said.?"We met some of the most wonderful, kindest, friendliest people in the world. We just have friends now all over the world that we love dearly."
"We always say when we started this, we did not plan a vacation," she explained. "We planned an adventure. And every single day was an adventure."
According to what the friends told CNN, their smiles were the one thing that enabled them to communicate effectively in every country as they reflected on their experiences. "You know, people ask us often about the language, how we manage it," said Hamby.?"We say with Sandy and Ellie, there's one language, and that's a smile. And we found that worked wonders because we often knew English was not spoken. But a smile covers all languages."
Sany and Ellie shared with the outlet that even though they have already returned to Texas, they are already making plans for their next adventure.
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