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Outlook: We left as kayakers and came back as dissidents

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6 men standing by a river hold their oars and arms in the air smiling, with their boats next to them

22/02/2023 GMT

We left as kayakers and came back as dissidents

BBC World Service - Outlook, We left as kayakers and came back as dissidents

Andrzej and Jacek escaped Communist Poland on an adventure. Life would never be the same

Fed up with living in Communist Poland, Andrzej Pietowski, Jacek Bogucki and their friends set off to paddle one of the toughest rivers in the world. Their lives changed forever.

In the late 1970s, a bunch of fun-loving young Polish guys fed up with living under communism built themselves some kayaks and set off on an adventure. Despite their initial lack of experience, equipment or money, Andrzej Pietowski, Jacek Bogucki and their friends became the first to paddle one of the world's deepest river canyons - the Colca in southern Peru. They were about to return to Poland as heroes when the military imposed a crackdown on the burgeoning Solidarity movement, leaving the kayakers in a risky position. Andrzej and Jacek tell Jo Fidgen their extraordinary story, which was made in to a documentary called Godspeed, Los Polacos! This interview was first broadcast in August 2021.

Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com

Presenter: Jo Fidgen


(Image: The Polish kayaking group. Credit: Canoandes Inc)

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