![]() ![]() It was ridiculously expensive to go around the world quickly, but given sufficient money the big obstacle was unrest in the areas one traveled rather than the speed of one's mode of travel (again, reflected relatively accurately-albeit sensationally-in the novel). Recent global infrastructure improvements also meant the world was ripe for speedy circumnavigation: In 1870 George Train made the journey in 80 days (minus two months spent in France his 80-day record is just counting the travel time). ![]() ![]() Thomas Cook ran a leisurely circumnavigation group tour in 1872, a few months before Around the World was published.Īround the World opens with a discussion of just how trivial circumnavigation had become for a man with sufficient resources, and Verne isn't exaggerating (see above). Circumnavigations became both more common and faster in the 1800s. People had been circumnavigating the globe for centuries-the first known successful attempt was in the early 1500s and the feat was repeated several times in the following three hundred years. Verne's claim is probably not precisely true, but whether it's an error of his memory or of the newspaper item we can't know-see verbose's answer for speculation on what article he might have read. Verne himself claims to have been inspired by an early 1860s newspaper item which said that a man could in fact go around the world in 80 days and someone had done so already. It's a story celebrating what the British Empire had already accomplished, not postulating what might be possible in the future. Speedy circumnavigation was new, but not unheard of, and Around the World wasn't positing anything outlandish or even vaguely sci-fi. For six days, they explored the streets of Bali, and for two, they braced themselves as they weathered a rocky ship ride across the notoriously rough Drake Passage.Circumnavigation was nothing new. The two grandmothers also rode a sleigh pulled by huskies in Finland, flew high in a hot air balloon in Egypt and spent time searching for wallabies in Australia. They may be just small little places, but those are the best buys and the most fun.” Hamby and Hazelip on camels. In other countries, the best hotels are local places. “You do not have to stay in the big chain hotels. We’re wanting an adventure,” Hamby explained during the Zoom of the friends' decision to spend less money on the comforts that might come with luxury hotels and more on mileage. The average cost of their hotels per night? $29 a person. Hamby and Hazelip said that a lean and well-thought-out budget pushed them to keep up with the spirit of a true excursion. The friends, who met in Zambia 23 years ago while on a medical mission, recently sat down with for a Zoom interview. Around the World at 80 / Facebookįrom there, and in just 80 days, the two women packed in a tour de force of the world, which included taking in the northern lights of Lapland at the North Pole, the deserts of Africa and the great ancient structures of Rome. Ellie Hamby and Sandy Hazelip at the Northern Lights. On January 11, 2023, at the age of 81 years old, the pair started their journey, disembarking from their homes in Dallas, Texas. ![]() Though the COVID-19 pandemic required the two friends to put off their plans for after they turned 80, the two eventually made their grand voyage. ![]()
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