Original version

BBC World Service West and Central Africa Schedule

BBC World Service West and Central Africa

Migrated podcast image for: Outlook

Outlook

Factual: Life Stories

True stories of ordinary people and the extraordinary events that have shaped their lives.

BBC World Service Australasia

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa Schedule

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa

BBC World Service Online

BBC World Service schedule for American satellite radio and the Caribbean

BBC World Service Americas and the Caribbean

BBC World Service

BBC World Service South Asia

BBC World Service News Internet

BBC World Service Europe and the Middle East

BBC World Service East Asia

Outlook: We left as kayakers and came back as dissidents

Magazines & Reviews

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)

Accessibility links

Programme Index

Outlook

We left as kayakers and came back as dissidents

Genres

Formats

Brand

BBC World Service West and Central Africa

About BBC World Service