Sightseeing in Brazil

The African influence can be felt by all five senses. Learn traditional rhythms, dance, religion and cuisine of the black heart of Bahia, one of the worlds most interesting and vibrant destinations.

Program Day-by-Day

Day 1

Arrive Salvador Airport; Tour Rep will greet you at the gate. You will be transferred to Hotel Pestana. Bahia Briefing: An informal but informative talk/lecture on the different aspects of Bahian culture, history and present day realities, given at your hotel. City Orientation Tour with visit to African Brazilian Museum. We stroll through the narrow, bustling streets lined with buildings in pastel shades of an age gone by, soaking in the sights and sounds of this vibrant city. Visiting the old historical section of town, the Pelourinho area with the largest and best preserved complex of colonial architecture in the Americas. Highlights of tour are Afro Brazilian Museum and the church of Sao Francisco. This tour shows two distinct aspects of Salvador, the new and the old, concentrating on the early expansion of the city and is a very good orientation for those wishing to further explore the city.

Bahia By Night with show by Balé Folclorico da Bahia and dinner in Pelourinho. The performance by the internationally famous Balé Folclorico da Bahia in the Miguel Santana Theatre in the Pelourinho area is a showcase of the different African traditions still so much alive in Bahia. We will see the sacred dances of the Candomblé; puxada de rede, a song by fishermen in honor of Yemanja, the goddess of the sea; maculele, a stick and sword dance with its origins in the cane fields; capoeira, a martial art/dance of Angolan origin and the samba de roda, a spinning, swirling version of this exuberant national dance.

Day 2

Breakfast, we then visit a traditional Candomblé house of worship, established at the turn of the century a long way from the center of the city, maintaining traditional religious and social values of African daily life. Our visit will focus on the religious and social traditions of the temple. We visit the primary school whose curriculum includes Yoruba language studies, the study of the spiritual and medicinal properties of sacred plants, as well as the normal academic studies. This temple is one of the most respected in Brazil. Social tip: We recommend that a group donation be made, preferably in school materials. Afternoon visit to a Capoeira School (Capoeira de Angola. There are two forms of capoeira widely found in Bahia. Capoeira originated in Angola and was brought to Brazilian shores by slaves down through the centuries. Today two distinct forms of this mesmerizing martial art/ dance are widely seen in Bahia.

Day 3

Urban Development Tour This tour will take us to side of the city not always seen by the majority of visitors to Salvador. We will see the different realities of urban life for the fortunate and the less fortunate. Our tour ends in an inner city community, a favela deep in the heart of some of the most exclusive residential areas of Salvador. We will be met by the community leaders and given a detailed explanation of the work being done within thecommunity. We will visit the school, a childrens day-care center, medical center and small business project, all financed by the community itself. This is a warming example of a community bravely finding solutions for its problems. Afternoon visit to the "Lower City" including visit toBagunçao Group. This group is formed of children from the Alagados neighborhood, one of the poorest in the city. The kids make their own percussion instruments from waste materials, tin cans, plastic drums etc. We visit the group and look in on their activities of the day.

Day 4

Cachoeira: A Day in the Heartland. We leave the city behind to explore the farming hinterland on the western side of the All Saints bay. This is the land of sugar cane plantations, peaceful colonial towns and busy country markets, in a region steeped in African heritage, on a day of insights into the life in rural Brazil. After lunch we take a walking tour of the town, with an opportunity to browse in some local wood carvers stores. Like Salvador, Candomblé plays an integral part in the life of the town, epitomized by the Sisterhood of the Boa Morte, a sorority which traces its origins back to the time of slavery. We cross to the western bank of the slow moving river and visit the Danemann Cultural Center where we can also see world class cigars being expertly rolled. A journey back in time to the Brazil of yesteryear.

Day 5

AM Percussion Workshop: We focus on rhythms from the candomblé, samba and samba reggae. Students will learn from master percussionists the subtleties of Brazilian percussion. The workshop will cater for all, no previous musical training or experience is necessary. The drum is the most important instrument in Bahia culture and this experience is to be not missed. Afternoon Visit to several Artist Studios. Bahia has always been famous for its music, but there is a also a thriving visual arts scene, which like the music, borrows heavily from African influences. Our tour takes us to the ateliers of three artists, each working in distinctly different media. Visits can be arranges to suit individual group interests, for instance to a cooperative of self-taught painters working in the naive style; a wood sculptor; metal sculptor, textile or a ceramic artist. Each one of our visits is to a part of town not normally seen on any city tour, giving us an even broader view of this multi-faceted city, where artistic expression, whatever the medium, is such an important part of life.

Day 6

Mid-day Dance Workshop. Here we will focus on Samba and street dances, touching on some of the rhythms from yesterdays workshop. In the Afternoon we visit the Regional Capoeira school where we focus on the variations of the capoeira: There was a movement in the 1930s, under the notorious Brazilian dictator Getlio Vargas, to create a unique Brazilian sport. A Bahian capoeira master, Mestre Bimba, was given the task of adapting the Angolan capoeira to a new distinctly Brazilian form of capoeira. The other form, Capoeira Regional, was born. This form is faster, indeed flashier, than the original Capoeira Angola, where the blows are directed to the head in a spectacular display of strength, technique and control.

The musical form for the Capoeira Regional is similar to the Angolan form, a faster, stronger rhythm but using only the berimbau, tambourine and conga. Both forms have their intrinsic qualities, the Angolan form is certainly subtler then the more "gung-ho" Regional form.

Day 7

The next two days take us out of the city to Historic Rural Towns on the western side of the immense All Saints Bay, a area referred to as the Bahian Reconcavo(Bight of Bahia). Situated deep in the heart of the oldest farmlands in Brazil, on the western shores of the majestic All Saints Bay, the Recncavo Baiano was the source of the early wealth in Brazil and the booming Portuguese economy. The soil was ideally suited to the growing of both sugarcane and tobacco and supplied the demanding markets of Europe. The early settlers looked to Africa for the labor force to toil these lands. For centuries slaves, mainly from West Africa, worked the plantations that stoked the economy of Portugal. This African legacy is seen and felt in the Reconcavo to this day. The entire region is dotted with historic towns Santo Amaro, So Felix, Jaguaripe and especially Cachoeira all of them testament to the former glories of the sugarcane and tobacco booms.

Depart by air-conditioned motorcoach, stopping in Santo Amaro for a visit to the local market. Continue to an experimental cacoa farm that, until recently, was in private hands but was appropriated and handed over to the national popular movement for agrarian reform. Meet with the settlers to discuss one of Brazil's most pressing social problems. Continue to Cachoeira for a late lunch at the Pousada do Convento, a 17th-century monastery converted into a pousada (guest house). After lunch, visit the Sisterhood of the Boa Morte, a sorority of women dating back to slavery days. Stroll through the town, looking in on sculptors as they work. Cross the 300-meter railway bridge to Cachoeiras twin town, So Felix, on the opposite bank of the Paraguau River. Visit the Danneman Cultural Center in So Felix to see the craft of making hand-rolled cigars, and to learn about the importance of this craft, historically a cornerstone of economic activity in the region. Arrive in Jaguaripe, set on the eastern bank of the Jaguaripe River amongst mangroves, for check-in and a barbeque dinner at the pousada. (Be sure to bring your bathing suit as there is a swimming pool at the guesthouse.)

Day 8

After breakfast, depart by boat for a pleasant 45-minute cruise downstream to Maragogipinho, a riverside town and site of the largest ceramic cottage industry in Latin America. See artisans at work and even try your talents at the potters wheel. Continue to Nazaré das Farinhas, one of the busiest towns in the Reconcavo and site of the oldest working cinema in Brazil. From here it is a 1-hour drive, to Itaparica Island for lunch and a chance to swim. Finally, return to Salvador by local ferry, crossing the majestic Bahia de Todos os Santos, with tremendous views of Salvador.

Day 9

Breakfast at Hotel then we take a tour of The lower cityand the quiet waters of the Itapagipe Peninsula where the first holiday residences were built. Now a peaceful family district, life moves at a slower pace than the bustling upper city. Fishermen fish from dug out canoes, locals collect shellfish at low tide, and schooners are at anchor, all protected by the famous Bonfim church, one of the most important churches of pilgrimage in Brazil and deeply synchronized with the Candomblé. We continue to the Monserrat district with its panoramic view of the city and on to the Mercado Modelo, a thriving market for local artifacts. It's time to bargain!

In the evening we learn about "MPB" Brazilian Popular Music starting with an informal lecture at the hotel with the assistance of a group of three musicians tracing the development of the Bossa Nova and MPB, from the master Joao Gilberto to the modern day singer songwriters (Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, Chico Buarque & Carlinhos Brown), bringing the historical importance of each focused composer. Lecture duration is 2 hours. Then departure for a traditional Brazilian Barbeque style dinner in Salvadors top restaurant.

Day 10

Open day of leisure until hotel departure for Salvador airport.



Duration: 10 days.

Price From: ( Please call for quote,  Hotel Pestana ) you may quote another Hotel if you wish.

Departure Dates:

To be announced.

Includes: Hotel, 14 meals included. All transfers, visits and activities indicated. Guide/Valet assistance throughout the trip

Not included: Air transport and airport taxes; All drinks and personal expenses. Click at the contac us page to request a complete quote incl. Air.