Meet the Grannies on Safari: Over Fifty, Fabulous, and Fly (Literally)!

I’m a firm believer in “Remember the Sabbath and keep it Holy…” some of you know it as Lazy Sunday? After church, I usually eat a huge breakfast then park it right on the couch for TV or a good book – whatever it takes to relax. This past Sunday, watching TV actually paid off. I stumbled upon an awesome gem that I’m now sharing with all of you: Grannies on Safari.

Grannies on Safari in South Africa (photo credit: Grannies on Safari Facebook page)

The premise is simple: two 60-something best friends (Granny Pat and Granny Regina) traveling the world and sharing their adventures with us. The significance is deep: positive images of two AARP-aged African-American jet-setters traveling to places such as Machu Picchu in Peru, the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa, and the Amber Palace in India. I saw the description of the show before I actually saw the Grannies, and I must admit I wasn’t expecting them to look like me. But really, they could be my Grannies! And the way they tell their stories – boy! I was hooked at the first “Mercy me.”

Why this isn’t on the Travel Channel is beyond me. But you can find it on your local PBS-station. Here in D.C. it’s on WHUT. If you can’t find it, contact your local PBS station and request it! Support these ladies, they deserve it. You can also visit their website GranniesOnSafari.Com, “Like” them on Facebook, Follow them on Twitter (you know they’re fabulous if they’re on Twitter!), listen to them on BlogTalkRadio, and look them up on YouTube. Here’s a very short clip of Granny Pat and Granny Regina in India. On their homepage is an amazing assortment of videos from the upcoming season, which is sponsored exclusively by AARP ($$! ).

Have any of you seen or heard of Grannies on Safari before? What do you think?

“Black People Do Travel!!” -from KiratianaTravels.com

So everyone knows that I wasn’t a big Tweeter until I got this blog. But every day I learn something else or “meet” someone new on Twitter that is extremely beneficial or inspirational. It’s simply amazing how interconnected we all are because of these social networks. That said, the latest person I’ve “met” on Twitter after doing a #travel search was the beautiful Kiratiana. Her travel website Kiratiana Travels awesomely boasts “Let a Black Girl Show You the World.” (And yes, I wish I had thought of that tagline!) She’s also written a book, Kiratiana’s Travel Guide to Black Paris, the first in a series of new black travel guides. All of this, including time living in Paris, Brazil, Senegal, and other parts of West Africa stemmed from an unbelievable $20,000 grant she received while at Harvard. I could talk about her and her blog for hours, but I encourage you to check it out yourself! It’s definitely worth the visit.

The day that I found her site, the latest post immediately caught (and kept) my attention: “BLACK PEOPLE DO TRAVEL: A Directory of Black Travel Blogs and Black Expat Blogs on the Web.” That’s exactly what I’ve been trying to tell people – we do travel!! Now, I must admit, I have sat in many an airport trying to figure out how black people get from point A to point Z because they’re never on my planes (unless I’m flying to or through Atlanta).  But since I’ve started this blog and when I’m actually traveling, I’ve come across so many of us - ”us” being black travelers. 

Visit KiratianaTravels.Com to check the extensive list of blogs she has compiled. This is an awesome resource and as I visit more of these blogs, you will notice the list of links over to the right growing.  Here are a few of the (many, many) blogs she’s listed:

• Worldwide Nate: A Guide to Living a Global Lifestyle
• Travelista: Culture. Lifestyle. Entertainment
• The Black Travel Guide: Free Your Mind, See The World
• No Debt World Travel: One Guy’s Attempt to Travel As Far Around the World As Cheaply As He Can

And the list just keeps going! I haven’t even had time to go through them all. Make sure you get to KiratianaTravels.com soon! Are there any sites you think should be added to the list?