Recently, I had the opportunity to see firsthand what a skilled interpretive guide like US Parks Department Ranger Lori T. Brosnan can do. I observed her at work as she led National Center on Accessibility staff person Ray Bloom and I through Alcatraz. Her attention to detail and the tactile-based learning opportunities she structured into the tour added a depth to the experience that I had not expected.
That experience gave the following news item a sense of personal connection:
Set up by Amar Latif, Traveleyes aims to provide blind people the experience of world travel by offering trips to both sighted and visually impaired individuals. The visually impaired and sighted travellers’ journey together in a mutual independence, with the sighted traveller acting as the ‘eyes’ for the blind traveller.The company was established in 2005 and offers holidays in Cuba, Canada, Italy, Spain, America, Africa and Asia. Activities can include sky diving, hiking and kayaking, cookery courses. Latif is also working on a ‘walking with lions’ safari in South Africa for 2008.
Traveleyes also exclusively offers its blind travellers the world’s first accessible electronic versions of the Lonely Planet travel guides
Amar has left a bit of a media trail. Here is a profile at work.Amar was also a member of the Beyond Boundaries tour.