0:00:00 > 0:00:00Danny Savage, BBC News, Teesside.
0:00:00 > 0:00:03Now on BBC News, The Travel Show.
0:00:09 > 0:00:14This week, we meet some people taking on their own special travel
0:00:14 > 0:00:19challenges. You are Hench, man! You've been working out! I'm in the
0:00:19 > 0:00:23USA to catch up with competitors taking part taking part in a unique
0:00:23 > 0:00:28international Championship. We find out how this woman plans to take her
0:00:28 > 0:00:35wheelchair into the skies. And we join the blind backpacker on a
0:00:35 > 0:00:40mission to visit every country in the world.I travel alone because
0:00:40 > 0:00:43it's the biggest challenge I can get.
0:00:51 > 0:01:01We start in Washington, DC. This place claims to be one of the most
0:01:01 > 0:01:05accessible cities in the world, which makes it a great place to
0:01:05 > 0:01:10start our special programme marking international disability Day. How
0:01:10 > 0:01:16are you doing, brother? It's an annual drive to raise awareness
0:01:16 > 0:01:22about the issues faced by disabled people across the globe. I have
0:01:22 > 0:01:26never let using a wheelchair hold me back in my sporting career or my TV
0:01:26 > 0:01:30career but there's no doubt travelling can be daunting, even the
0:01:30 > 0:01:34great Lincoln memorial has its issues, the lift's been vandalised.
0:01:34 > 0:01:39You can go on a virtual tour. Not quite sure what the great Abraham
0:01:39 > 0:01:43Lincoln would have made a bit, though. This week we'll meet
0:01:43 > 0:01:46travellers who refuse to be restricted by their physical
0:01:46 > 0:01:51disabilities. First time heading half an hour north to the university
0:01:51 > 0:01:55of Maryland where a yearly sports event has drawn disabled competitors
0:01:55 > 0:02:01and spectators from all over the world.
0:02:06 > 0:02:11The Cure in Wounded Games has adapted athletes compete across a
0:02:11 > 0:02:20range of bodybuilding and weightlifting challenges. Wesley
0:02:20 > 0:02:24Hamilton has been working out for just over two years. This is his
0:02:24 > 0:02:30first time competing at the Games.I travel pretty far, I stay in Kansas
0:02:30 > 0:02:34City, Missouri, further west, about a three-hour flight.Wesley ended up
0:02:34 > 0:02:40in a wheelchair after a life changing incident.January, 2012I
0:02:40 > 0:02:44was shot multiple times, which caused me to have a spinal-cord
0:02:44 > 0:02:48injury. It was traumatic because it was actually a stranger who shot me,
0:02:48 > 0:02:56I was walking back to my car, it put me in a place of depression and at
0:02:56 > 0:03:00that time I was 230 lb so I went through a lot.Tell me how you found
0:03:00 > 0:03:06out about this.Social media, man. I was going on you Tube one day and I
0:03:06 > 0:03:10saw the Walking Wounded Games video form 2015 and I was emotional
0:03:10 > 0:03:14because being in a wheelchair and working out, I thought I was the
0:03:14 > 0:03:18only one and it gave me a community. Best of luck. Are you ready?I'm
0:03:18 > 0:03:29ready.You look henge, man, you been working out!Eye of the tiger, man!
0:03:29 > 0:03:37Most Parra sports categorised by ability, but the Walking Wounded
0:03:37 > 0:03:41Games are different. By modifying the rules for each individual
0:03:41 > 0:03:45athlete, they encourage people with a range of capabilities to compete
0:03:45 > 0:03:52together. It's called the Working Wounded Games, so who is allowed to
0:03:52 > 0:03:57compete in these dams?Anybody that has some kind of prominent adaptive
0:03:57 > 0:04:01need that affects them physically. So you're really inclusive and open
0:04:01 > 0:04:07to everybody?We really get excited when we have first athletes,
0:04:07 > 0:04:13first-time competitors.This is the calm before the storm. Everyone is
0:04:13 > 0:04:20all chilled out and then the madness begins when they start competing.
0:04:30 > 0:04:38Come on! Come on, you're a beast, come on! Up, up, up, up!
0:04:42 > 0:04:47He did some extra rates there. I did do some extra rates. Are you just
0:04:47 > 0:04:53trying to show off?I'm trying to show off.Are you saying it's too
0:04:53 > 0:04:56easy now? Since sport people of all abilities take part, Wesley
0:04:56 > 0:05:02challenges me to a light workout. I've got to use that skiing machine
0:05:02 > 0:05:07to burn some calories and then I got to tow this sled and then I got a
0:05:07 > 0:05:11kettle bell I've got to lift up and down and I got to keep doing that
0:05:11 > 0:05:15for 12 minutes. It's going to be sheer hell. Wesley, you know what
0:05:15 > 0:05:24time it is, brother, I'm going to give you a Travel Show whooping.
0:05:38 > 0:05:45That's hard, really hard!I see that sled, broke, that's what you need!
0:05:45 > 0:05:57Bowl down!Have a unstructured me? Right, it's your turn, do some work.
0:05:57 > 0:06:01This is the first year the Games have introduced a separate bracket
0:06:01 > 0:06:07for their elite Spartan athletes, and 118-year-old competitor is
0:06:07 > 0:06:13gathering a lot of attention. So tell me what you were trying to do?
0:06:13 > 0:06:17We were trying to work out a way of doing pullups because I'm not very
0:06:17 > 0:06:22good at doing it yet.Mainly because of your right hand?There was no
0:06:22 > 0:06:27strength in it. When I was born all my nerves got torn off.Nora has
0:06:27 > 0:06:33travelled here from Norway. It's her first time in the United States and
0:06:33 > 0:06:38just getting here has proved a challenge.It was really hard to
0:06:38 > 0:06:43stem my fingerprints when coming to the US.You don't think about that.
0:06:43 > 0:06:48They're pretty stringent and strict, aren't they? Forefingers, two funds,
0:06:48 > 0:06:53so what did you do?I had to turn around and I stood up for 15 minutes
0:06:53 > 0:06:58because they couldn't scan it.Nora has never been able to complete a
0:06:58 > 0:07:04pull up. Unless she can now figure out a way she will finish last in
0:07:04 > 0:07:08this round. This is going to be a real challenge for her physically
0:07:08 > 0:07:15and mentally. So there's another lady next to Nora. She's got an arm
0:07:15 > 0:07:20impairment and she can do the one arm pullups and she has been
0:07:20 > 0:07:23mentoring Nora and giving her advice. That's what I love about
0:07:23 > 0:07:28this place, it's a real community atmosphere. Go, go, go, go, go!
0:07:28 > 0:07:43Yeah! Two in a row! How many has she done? So ten. For the first time in
0:07:43 > 0:07:51her life, she manages not just one pull up but 22. There's no letup,
0:07:51 > 0:07:59though, it's then onto the rest of the workout.
0:08:01 > 0:08:17Relentless, relentless. Go, Nora, go, Nora, yeah!
0:08:21 > 0:08:28You're crying, you had tears, your coach was hugging you, tell us about
0:08:28 > 0:08:31the emotion, why were you so emotional?
0:08:34 > 0:08:37I don't know.It's OK, take your time.
0:08:55 > 0:09:01Was that the first time you've been able to do pullups?Yeah, I haven't
0:09:01 > 0:09:10even been close.Its Norwegian power.Definitely.Cheered on by a
0:09:10 > 0:09:14crowd of international spectators, the competitors push the limits of
0:09:14 > 0:09:18their capabilities.
0:09:21 > 0:09:23It weighs a ton!
0:09:29 > 0:09:44Our first-place winner is Russ. -- wears.Yeah!CHEERING
0:09:47 > 0:09:52In second place, all the way from Norway, it's Nora!
0:09:52 > 0:09:54CHEERING
0:10:00 > 0:10:07Worth coming all the way from Norway? Yeah.Well done,
0:10:07 > 0:10:12congratulations.Thanks very much. 21 pullups, I expect 22 next time.
0:10:17 > 0:10:22This event is about more than just physical exercise and pumping iron,
0:10:22 > 0:10:25it's in power in people with impairments and it's also showing
0:10:25 > 0:10:30that you don't have to be an elite paralympian to compete and do great
0:10:30 > 0:10:34things in sport, these people now have a community, a sense of
0:10:34 > 0:10:39belonging and for some of them, it's become a life changing event.
0:10:49 > 0:10:53Next up, you are of this beautiful piece of performance art
0:10:53 > 0:10:57commissioned as part of London's cultural Olympiad back in 2012. Now
0:10:57 > 0:11:03the artist is setting her sights on what could be another world first.
0:11:03 > 0:11:08We travelled to her home in Devon in the UK to meet her.The artwork is
0:11:08 > 0:11:14all about communicating the fact that a wheelchair is my freedom.
0:11:14 > 0:11:19Access is at the heart, that is the reason for making the artwork, so
0:11:19 > 0:11:24following on from the underwater wheelchair, a natural extension was
0:11:24 > 0:11:29to think how I could create even more unexpected imagery. Still a
0:11:29 > 0:11:33little bit under wraps in terms of the actual physicality of it, I am
0:11:33 > 0:11:38actually going on a journey to find out if I can fly. The flight
0:11:38 > 0:11:43training in France was the hardest thing I have ever chosen to do. My
0:11:43 > 0:11:48instructor from day three was thinking that I would not be able to
0:11:48 > 0:11:53manage. I knew I had motor co-ordination issues, but I haven't
0:11:53 > 0:11:58realised that there is neurological issues that affect my hands and my
0:11:58 > 0:12:02perception as well. I think my hands are straight but they are actually
0:12:02 > 0:12:06like this, and that is really critical. There is ways around it,
0:12:06 > 0:12:12you just learn and train your brain, now I can't imagine how I didn't
0:12:12 > 0:12:17know that. We find barriers, whether they are physical ones within me or
0:12:17 > 0:12:24attitudes about the right way to fly, and then we find ways to
0:12:24 > 0:12:29negotiate around them, and I really think that is hopefully a parallel
0:12:29 > 0:12:35with travel and accessibility as well will stop that is that
0:12:35 > 0:12:39organisations need to think outside the box and they can open up their
0:12:39 > 0:12:42venues and their environments. I really hope that I will be flying a
0:12:42 > 0:12:51wheelchair by next summer if not four. -- if not before.
0:12:51 > 0:12:56The Travel Show, your essential guide to wherever you're headed.
0:12:56 > 0:13:00Always good to have a buddy!
0:13:04 > 0:13:09Finally, this week, we had to Israel to meet a man who has clocked up
0:13:09 > 0:13:13more than 120 countries on his travels. But what is even more
0:13:13 > 0:13:17remarkable is that he has done all of this without being able to see.
0:13:17 > 0:13:23To find out how he experiences the world, we caught up with him in a
0:13:23 > 0:13:29city known for being both holy and hectic, Jerusalem.
0:13:35 > 0:13:42I see a place with my senses, I see a place by the sounds, smells,
0:13:42 > 0:13:48textures. The hustle and bustle, people shouting come up I this, by
0:13:48 > 0:14:00this, come look at this. I feel the atmosphere in the energy, the buzz.
0:14:00 > 0:14:05My name is Tony Giles, I am from England, I am totally blind and
0:14:05 > 0:14:08severely deaf in both ears and I am travelling around the world, trying
0:14:08 > 0:14:16to visit every country. I am in the old city! Israel is country 124. I
0:14:16 > 0:14:20was born with my eye condition, I don't have any vision apart from
0:14:20 > 0:14:25some light sensitivity. And I have gradually gone deaf as I have got
0:14:25 > 0:14:30older, I am now 80% severely deaf in both ears, but I use digital hearing
0:14:30 > 0:14:42aids. Sorry. I travel alone because it is the biggest challenge I can
0:14:42 > 0:14:46get. And travelling by myself... Excuse me. I get to interact with
0:14:46 > 0:14:51people. If I travel with someone, particularly someone cited, they
0:14:51 > 0:14:55would be doing all the work, they would be doing the guiding and I
0:14:55 > 0:14:59wouldn't get to touch as many things and find as many things I do by
0:14:59 > 0:15:07myself. Today I'm going to catch a bus into the old city, and go to the
0:15:07 > 0:15:17Western Wall.Western Wall? OK, I will help you.Let me hold your arm
0:15:17 > 0:15:25like that.Where are you from? England. I was lucky that the bus
0:15:25 > 0:15:31travel was nearby waiting, it was very easy to get on the bus. I got
0:15:31 > 0:15:39it. Let go. New Orleans was the first place to buy myself. A foreign
0:15:39 > 0:15:49city by myself. Didn't know where I was going, I just froze, an event of
0:15:49 > 0:15:53a couple of deep rats and said to myself, Tony, this is what you want.
0:15:53 > 0:16:01-- deep breaths. If you wanted, go home. I took some more deep breaths,
0:16:01 > 0:16:12turned down the street and the rest is history.This is your stop. You
0:16:12 > 0:16:23can take...All right, thank you. I'm good.
0:16:23 > 0:16:30Just rang to get my bearings, work out which way the traffic is going,
0:16:30 > 0:16:36and I can't censor any sunlight, any sun at all. You have to be patient,
0:16:36 > 0:16:40you get lots of time. It is very difficult if you're looking for
0:16:40 > 0:16:43something specific when you can't see, busy obviously can't pinpoint
0:16:43 > 0:16:47it. Excuse me.
0:16:47 > 0:16:53You might get ten people walk past, and somebody will stop and ask if
0:16:53 > 0:16:58you are lost or you need help, then you interact with them. Excuse me,
0:16:58 > 0:17:11which way? Straight in front of me? No?You want help?Yeah.
0:17:23 > 0:17:31I like this. I like the atmosphere and the smell, and it's all close an
0:17:31 > 0:17:40impact, and it feels authentic. -- close and packed.
0:17:45 > 0:17:53I am going to the Western Wall, and on the way I'm going to hopefully
0:17:53 > 0:17:57explore some of the other stuff, the stages of the cross that Jesus
0:17:57 > 0:18:10walked.Good morning.How are you? You want to see my shop, souvenir?I
0:18:10 > 0:18:24will have a quick look. What do you sell? PLAYS FLUTE.You are very
0:18:24 > 0:18:35good. This is for copy. Ten shekels. Five, is that another five?Thank
0:18:35 > 0:18:48you.Once a week, I have a blog, I document my journey and my travels,
0:18:48 > 0:18:51I want to share it with the world and trained inspire people to
0:18:51 > 0:18:55believe in ourselves, they can overcome whatever their challenges
0:18:55 > 0:19:07are. And I add pictures that I take. Originally I did it because I
0:19:07 > 0:19:13thought it would be funny, someone seeing a blind person take photos.
0:19:13 > 0:19:18But it is an extra way of sharing, I can show my family and friends, I
0:19:18 > 0:19:27want to share it with everyone. Thank you.
0:19:34 > 0:19:43Over here. Over here.Thank you. A motorbike coming through, not very
0:19:43 > 0:19:53clever. Hello. Looking for the station of the cross.This way, this
0:19:53 > 0:20:02way.This is the station of the croc? Cross.
0:20:02 > 0:20:09This is where Christ...Here is where he put his hand. Up to the
0:20:09 > 0:20:20right.Oh, OK, thank you. Apparently I am at one of the stages of the
0:20:20 > 0:20:27cross, where Jesus put his hand on the wall and lent against the wall.
0:20:27 > 0:20:33Sort of a defined handprints. Very smooth. Also quite rigid, quite
0:20:33 > 0:20:57bumpy. It is a lovely texture. Some barrier here... Is this the way in?
0:21:01 > 0:21:09It is for woman's... It is not men.
0:21:14 > 0:21:18They have separated male and female, trying to take me into the male
0:21:18 > 0:21:29section. Taking me up to the wall. There are notes in it. Massive
0:21:29 > 0:21:38blocks. Very smooth. The texture, the shapes of the wall, the bricks,
0:21:38 > 0:21:45it is the historical and spiritual point of view of visiting. Tony at
0:21:45 > 0:21:52the Western Wall.
0:22:02 > 0:22:06Next week, we will continue following Tony on his travels as he
0:22:06 > 0:22:09crosses into the Palestinian territories to explore the holy town
0:22:09 > 0:22:15of Bethlehem. So join us for that if you can. And don't forget, you can
0:22:15 > 0:22:19keep up-to-date by following us on social media, all the details should
0:22:19 > 0:22:23be rolling across your screen is right now. But until next time, from
0:22:23 > 0:22:28me and all the Travel Show team here in Maryland, it is goodbye.