Our group journeys have paused during the COVID pandemic. Please contact us to express interest in future trips or to learn about our partners in Bahia if you're traveling on your own. 

Festa de Yemanjá, February 2
Have you ever wanted to travel to Bahia?
Have you been to Bahia and want to return?
Are you intrigued by the locations in our film, Yemanjá: Wisdom from the African Heart of Brazil?
Are you interested in meeting new people, being with diverse travelers, broadening your worldview?

Several years ago, producer/director Donna Roberts created a program called Connect to Care in the Heart of Brazil in partnership with Brazilian friends in the Recôncavo region of Bahia, known as the "mecca" of Candomblé, and home to the Sisterhood of the Good Death/Boa Morte and the beloved late matriarch Mãe Filhinha of Yemanjá-Ogunté, to whom our film is dedicated. 

After a hiatus to complete the film, the travel project is being revived.

The small group journeys typically last 6-10 days and feature cultural "exchange" with Candomblé leaders, sambistas and other artists, and service work with a women and girls collective, while also focusing on wellness and life purpose, with an invitation to ponder: what is our role in the larger web of life?

The trip is divided between the Recôncavo region and the coastal city of Salvador. In the Recôncavo countryside, we stay at the  Casa do Morro (House on the Hill) estate and its Spa D'Alma (soul spa) space with optional massage or yoga, overlooking the Paraguaçu River (photo below), and the coastal city of Salvador. This amazing cultural center was Brazil's first capital and is home to Casa Branca, the first official Candomblé terreiro, and spiritual home to two of the film's "stars" Ekedy Sinha and Denize Ribeiro, while esteemed leaders Mãe Stella de Oxóssi and Makota Valdina Pinto are also Salvador-based. 

Trips have typically coincided with religio-cultural festivals, such as the Festa da Boa Morte in August or Festa de Yemanjá in February.   Vamos lá!  Let's go!
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For more information:please contact Donna at roberts.donna@mac.com or call 239-771-9759
(Photos: offerings to Yemanjá in the Rio Paraguaçu; Cachoeira; Casa de Yemanjá, Salvador; a quiet spot and medication circle at Casa do Morro; delicious Bahian cuisine; view of Paraguaçu River/Cachoeira; Carybé art projected onto Fort, Barra beach.)

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Festa of Sisterhood of our Lady of the Good Death/Festa da Irmandade da nossa Senhora da Boa Morte, with celebrations every August 13-15.
Photograph taken by a member of the Calafate Women's Collective, during a youth service project.

View from Casa do Morro

Imagine relaxing on the varanda at Casa do Morro, our home in the Recôncavo Baiano. The lovely estate was previous home to a trade school; now it's a place for visitors to enjoy delicious Bahian cuisine, wellness, creative retreats and special events.
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