Smoking giants After several hours of flight, many stopovers, plane and time zone changes and stodgy meals on board our weary eyes met an unusual and exotic sight: volcano peaks, some snow-capped, some smoking, rose above the clouds. We jumped to the small windows with our cameras to take some good shots. Not before that moment between the clouds and the Andes had we fully realized it was not a dream: we were on our way to Ecuador and South America. Overcome with emotions, exhausted from the heat and an enthusiastic welcome at the airport we watched Quito awakening to a new morning from the buses that hurried through the streets blowing horns on their way to Hilton Colon. After a short though victorious battle with cosmetics exploding due to changing air pressure we freshened up and hit the streets. In the neighbouring El Ejido Park we watched a variety of Indian handicrafts: beads, pendants, hats, ponchos and sweaters sold to the rhythm of ethnic music. At first we passed by the stalls with a certain indifference but all of a sudden we found ourselves buying souvenirs for our families, friends and acquaintances and haggling over the prices. While we were visiting the market place and Quito’s historic monuments (and Pinezka had great success at amusing families strolling in the park on Sunday morning), somewhere else in the city the contestants for Miss World 2004 moved along the streets in a grand parade. In the evening we were invited for a drink to the house of Tomek Morawski, the honorary consul in Ecuador, where we took salsa lessons from an Ecuadorian guy named Rommel (who had studied in… Olsztyn). Some of us, livened up by dancing and rum, went on a Quito by night sightseeing tour to marvel at the floodlit San Francisco Church (built upon an ancient Indian shrine), the ornamented gate to the Church of La Campania de Jesus, and to dance under the huge statue of the Virgin of Quito atop El Panecillo Hill at the very end of an exciting day.

Acclimatizing on the run It was raining cats and dogs the next day when we set out for Same Beach to get some rest before performances in the consul’s and his brother’s houses. We arrived exhausted from air pressure changes (Quito lies 2850 meters above sea level), dizzy from quick-moving images of green hills and precipices outside the windows and upset by a serious bump of one of the buses. Too upset to enjoy the swarms of small crabs scattering from under out feet on the beach and small iguanas running across our rooms. But the next morning when we walked along the beach soothed by the hum of waves, watching fishermen, albatrosses, pelicans and coconut palms, we felt we could stay there for ever. We spent the next days taking swims in the Pacific, racing on waves, discovering new fruit tastes, rehearsing for the performances, fighting mosquitoes, playing ball, experimenting with seafood and fish dishes, gathering shells and getting suntanned even on overcast days. On Mother’s Day we paid a quick visit to Atakames to call our families and tell them we were safe, sound and delighted.

Rivers full of surprises To keep us entertained, the consul took us to Mompiche Beach with bungalows scattered among palms, colourful crotons, large hibiscuses and Benjamin figs the size of our oak-trees. The ride was memorable because the place could only be reached … along the coastline when the tide went out. There were other attractions: in two groups of eight people we took a boat trip on the dancing sea to the estuary to try our hand at surfing. And there were unexpected events as well: we ran out of petrol and had to go down the river to a town to get some and paid a quick visit to a small village. On our way back home we had to make a stopover in the town once again to fix fouled spark plugs. The day was exciting but it had one flaw: the sight of shockingly poor huts in the village. I could however not resist the feeling that the people living there were much happier than any average inhabitant of a large city rushing around in the clouds of exhaust fumes. The spaghetti of mountain roads The days went past and the time of work, dancing and performing approached. The dancers tried to activate their muscles on the almost deserted beach. We returned to Same Beach for last strolls, swims and photographing sessions with palms, crabs and befriended dogs. The next day we went back to Quito making a short stop in Esmeraldas to see a market place with an abundance of multicoloured fruits. And thanks to the unusual kindness of our drivers we also made an unplanned stop at an observation deck on the rim of a volcano, which was unfortunately veiled in a cushion of mist, and in Ciudad Mitad El Mundo – the Middle of the World when we strolled along the equator treading briskly both hemispheres at the same time.

Feverish preparations The next day all but three of us flew to Mexico (the report is due soon) and returned four days later in the evening only to start hasty preparations for the recording of a TV commercial spot the next morning (during our stay in Guadalajara there was a press conference and a beautiful spot with dancing Ania was recorded and shown every hour in one of the biggest local TV channels). Multiple takeoffs and landings and the prolonged rehearsals before the performances took a heavy toll on the dancers and many of them complained about having breathing problems. There were some nicer moments as well such as Quechua singing Indians whom we gave a lift. In the evening the untiring consul took us to a charming salsatheque Bodegita de Cuba featuring live music.

Performances with great verve On 4 June with the help of technicians from Teatro Sucre, oxygen cylinders in the backstage and some coca tea to raise blood pressure, the Polish Dance Theatre gave a performance of “Tango with Lady M”. Among the audience were the Mayor of the City of Quito (in the interval he executed some tango steps with our director Ewa Wycichowska) and members of local Polish community who gave the dancers a rapturous ovation. There were, however, dramatic moments behind the scenes when one of the dancers suddenly collapsed. The doctors diagnosed oxygen deficiency due to physical strain and high altitude. Dancing profession is not only demanding but also dangerous. The dancers were therefore on complete rest in the evening and the next day, which was not easy because necessary training of stand-ins and amendments in the set design had to be carried out (the original set design was not brought from Poznań but made on spot, instead of special quartz sand local volcano sand was used). Everything went well and the performance of “…And I’m Dancing” won the dancers a long standing ovation from the inhabitants of Quito.

Waterfall or historic monuments? The success gave us strength to go on. After the performance we danced salsa and when the salsatheque closed we continued dancing in a disco till dawn. Two options were available for our last day in Ecuador. Some of us spent it in Quito with its gigantic volcano Guagua Pichincha (4794 m above sea level) towering over the city which was in 1978 declared a Cultural Heritage of Humanity site by UNESCO. Others went to the Cotocachi volcano crater in a nature reserve, took a short boat trip on Lake Cuicocha in the crater, and were treated to a breathtaking view of a waterfall thrusting into the air tiny water drops and forming a miniature rainbow in the sun. The group also visited Otavalo to see the largest crafts fair in the country. The El Centenario market place features ceramics, silverwares, folk instruments and regional clothes made from alpaca wool. When the setting sun was chasing the bus that hurried up and down the winding roads around the Imbabura mountain peak, the Quito group atop El Panecillo Hill admired the lights of the enormous capital of Ecuador that made the city look like a sea of stars at dusk.

Remember! We spent the last hours in Ecuador packing, eating delicious fruits and signing a commemorative poster for the consul. We took off from the Mariscal Sucre Airport early in the morning, made a stopover in Bonaire in the Netherlands Antilles before the plane headed for France (the report is due soon) and Poland. I do hope our memories never fade away and we never forget the breakfast in Mompiche (we had to take turns eating because the “restaurant” was not prepared for such a “large group” and owned only… eight plates), the equally memorable breakfast in the hotel restaurant in the centre of Quito when we watched a small hummingbird drinking nectar off some exotic red flowers right behind the window and other emotional moments. Anna Paluszkiewicz

Photos by Karolina Dolata, Anna Paluszkiewicz