This year we decided to see if our workshops would translate to different countries and be such a success even though we could hardly speak the languages and had no idea where we were going. Very exciting to be back on the road. We had a great response from the head office of SOS Ecuador and thanks to Alejandro Ponce who connected us with each village, we were invited to stay so we could hang out all day with the kids – not just during our shows.

First stop, Quito.  Whilst getting used to the altitude, we had a lovely workshop as no one had visited them before. They had just seen the Cirque de Soleil show the night before so were very inspired to learn. They thanked us with homemade empanadas and bunches of flowers.

Next, up to the little town of Ibarra, nestled between the Andes and Lake Yahuarcocha, where some of the children were still wearing traditional mountain clothes.

Over to the coast, and the seaside town of Esmeraldas, where we had to be escorted to dinner in a tuk tuk, as it was too dangerous to go out alone. It was just as well we found it, as our taxi driver drove us the wrong direction into a street rally for 40 minutes.

Next day, long bus ride to Puerto Viejo, in the middle of nowhere.  It’s a dusty town and sadly, the children’s village had no trees or plants, unlike the other SOS villages. We were looked after by the lovely Rosa, who has been inspired to become a fashion designer even though she is only 17 years old.  She showed us a ballgown that she designed and made herself – so if anyone is interested in getting in touch to help her, please let me know.

Onto Guayaquil with SOS teenagers and a local project they support called Bastion Community Project, where they traded shows, our circus for their breakdancing!

Last stop, back into the mountains of Cuenca – gorgeous, quaint town with llamas, even a pet one in the children’s village. Fewer kids stay there as they try to keep families together, so although we managed to do balloons in the daycare center, there was only about 10 kids enjoying the circus fun.