Episode 1 is the first part of an epic 3500 mile, 8 country cycle  trip from Vancouver  to Panama City in Central America. Following behind a friend due to my deteriorating sight, this episode starts out in Vancouver and finishes at the end of Washington state cycling over the 4 mile Astoria -Megler Bridge.

All about Peter Osborne blind traveller,
Originally from the North East of England.
Hated school but played schoolboy football for South Shields against many top flight  academy's Newcastle, Leeds, Middlesbrough, Man Utd to name a few but never quite made the professional ranks.
Left school and joined the Royal Air Force,  serving for 7 years with tours in the UK, Belize Central America and Ascension Island in the South Atlantic. It was whilst serving in Belize my love of travel began.

I started losing my sight around 20 years ago due to a genetic version of Macular Dystrophy  however, being genetic it could well explain my poor sight since childhood...

After leaving the military my travel continued and despite losing around 97% of my sight, it still continues today....

My trips include
 
A 3500 mile cycle trip from Vancouver Canada to Panama City  in Panama covering 8 countries along the way (Cycling Blind podcast), the USA, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Tibet,  South Africa, Sri  Lanka, Australia, Indonesia and most of Europe.

I stopped playing football and also stopped playing National league Volleyball and Beach Volleyball due to not being able to see a moving ball.... 
A friend suggested trying golf "as the ball does not move and waits for you to hit it" 

10 years later I play off a 12 handicap having been as low as 9 and I am one of the top blind golfers in the world having won 2 US Opens, a South African Open, a Czech Disabled Open, 2 Blind British Masters and many more (http://www.blindgolfer.co.uk/acievements) , I also  Captained England to win the Auld Enemies Cup, a Ryder Cup type event against Scotland. Playing golf has allowed me to continue travelling  and as well as the above places I finished 3rd in the Blind World Championships in Japan, played for the Rest of the World against North America in Canada and travel across Europe in competitions.

Visit my websites  www.blindgolfer.co.uk and www.blindtraveller.co.uk for more info.

Come along and enjoy the journeys for free and hopefully inspire others....

A trip to the Khyber Pass in Pakistan's notorious North West Frontier was always a dream and just before 9/11 I managed to go. I flew into Lahore with the intention of exploring the city before heading off to watch England's test match in Faisalabad and then heading north to Peshawar and the Khyber Pass (separate podcast). 

Lahore, what an amazing place.....

When talking to a pleasant man from Pakistan who was sitting next to me on my flight from Dubai to Lahore, he turned round to some friends behind us and they all laughed when he told them my plans for the trip. He advised me to be really careful when travelling around Peshawar and certainly to the North West Frontier, and  especially since I was travelling alone.  I wondered what he would of said if I told him I was blind....

He was right...

What a place, I won the South African Blind Open  at Glendower Golf Club in Johannesburg just before Covid struck. From there it was off in an Uber to Sun City and the wonderful Pillanesberg National Park for a week, a month would still not have been enough. I will be back…..

San Salvador, the capital of El Salvador is one of the most violent cities on the planet, the Foreign Office advises against all non essential travel, I managed to get stuck there for 2 days.  I was travelling on the famous Tica bus from Guatemala to Nicaragua via Honduras and El Salvador with the intention of passing through Honduras and El Salvador. All the best laid plans, I ended up realising why the Foreign Office advised against all but essential travel.

A family holiday in London where I lived for 15 years before moving to the North West.  Returning with teenage boys during the time when UK residents could travel within the UK but foreign tourists were still banned from entering the UK. 
Al the attractions were pretty much walk in, hotels were cheap, no reservation required for restaurants , the perfect time for a visit....

A week in Vilamoura  competing in the Algarve Disabled Golf Open was a welcome break from the miserable November weather in the UK.

One of my favourite cities in the world. I have been here many times and it’s almost my "go to place", certainly in Europe. The sights and history make this place a must...

The key is in the name, what a place. I have done Disney with the kids and some pretty special places, but for a family holiday, this place is simply amazing...