The Joys and Challenges of Traveling While Blind

Penny Zibula, a native of Montreal, Canada, grew up blind but developed a deep desire to explore the world through books.

In an article for Travel Awaits, Peggy recounted the first destination she had an interest in visiting – Cornwall – a desire inspired by Susan Howatch’s 1971 novel, Penmarric.

After finishing college, her uncle sent her on a trip to Israel and, though she was legally blind, she remembers it fondly. “I can still feel the ancient stones of the Western Wall of the destroyed Second Temple of Jerusalem beneath my fingertips,” she writes. Her senses on that trip were alive, as she recalls “The sounds of haggling in Arabic and Hebrew, along with the smells of cooking food, garbage, and sweat intermingled to create an atmosphere that was both disturbing and enticing.”

To read more about Peggy’s experiences as a blind traveler, read her story in Travel Awaits.