TRIP ITINERARY

DATES: March 27 - April 5
LOCATIONS: Port of Spain, Prince's Town, Maracas Bay
​COST: $999 [Lodging, Ground Transportation, 2 Meals Daily. Airfare NOT included]*
*Until Dec 18, 2019
NO PART OF PAYMENT IS REFUNDABLE FOR ANY REASON
​
Relax, renew, and rejuvenate at the 6th annual Orisa Lifestyle Retreat in beautiful TRINIDAD & TOBAGO. Our headquarters for the duration of the tour will be Fondes Amandes Community Reforestation Project (FACRP).  It's a magnificent eco-lodge, nestled into the green hills of Port of Spain. Owned and operated by the Jaramogi family, FACRP is a global leader of Community Forestry. 
​
March 27:  

• AM:  Breakfast, Check into your room at the Fondes Amandes Community Reforestation Project.
• PM: Lunch, Participate in relaxing purification ceremonies in the forest. Evening community circle to review itinerary and meet participants. 

March 28:

• AM: Breakfast, nature hike, followed by ecology workshop and tree planting.
• PM: Lunch, learn medicinal herbs of Trinidad and prepare a remedy. Evening visit to St. Philomena Orisa Healing School, which is a Spiritual Baptist shrine. In 1812, a group of African Americans won their freedom and were granted land in South Trinidad. They became known as the Merikins. The Merikins formed “Company Villages”, where they practiced their particular brand of Baptist religion, which was heavily influenced by Conjure, Hoodoo, Geechee and Gullah traditions. Over time, these practices intermingled with the local traditions, and evolved into what is know known as Spiritual Baptist.

March 29: 

• AM: Breakfast, river walk, followed by ecology workshop and medicinal herb planting.
• PM: Lunch, learn spiritual herbs of Trinidad and prepare a spiritual healing bath. Evening visit to an Orisa shrine. In the 19th century, thousands of Yorubas were brought to Trinidad and Tobago as indentured servants. They brought with a fresh and thriving Orisa tradition with them, including the bembe drums, herbal medicine and oral tradition.  

March 30: 

• AM: Breakfast, participate in the festivities of Spiritual Baptist Liberation. Celebrated on 30 March, Spiritual Baptist Liberation Day commemorates the abolition of the colonial-era British-instituted Shouters Prohibition Ordinance.In 1917, the Ordinance was enacted and for 34 years this syncretic religion (a mix of Christian and Orisa elements) was banned for its the perceived threat to colonial law and order. The law was repealed in 1951 and the public holiday was recognized in 1996.​

​March 31: 

• ALL DAY: Visit the Merikin Heritage Villages and enjoy the history, food, music, drumming, dancing, stick fighting.  The Merikins have always been known for their strong sense of industry, autonomy and cultural retention. Today, the most well-known and celebrated Merikin descendent is Samuel Ebenezer Elliott, affectionately known as Pa Neezer. He was the direct descendent of George Elliott and George Blackwell, both of whom were original Merikin settlers.  Pa Neezer was steeped in the Baptist tradition: His father was the deacon of the 5th Company Baptist Church. He was also a land owner and successful farmer. Most significantly, perhaps, as a result of his talents as a healer and helper. Pa Neezer was known as the Orisa King of Trinidad. Today, the Merikins continue to uphold their ancestral rites, including extensive use of herbal medicine. 

April 1:

• AM: Visit beautiful, secluded beaches and coves. Maracas Bay has been the site of many ceremonies honoring the ancestors as well as the Orisa. Here, Orisa devotees and spiritualists alike have come to venerate the wisdom of Olodumare and seek divine intervention. It is a place of remarkable beauty and enjoyment. No wonder that it is the most famous Beach in all of Trinidad.
• PM: All night Orisa ceremony.  

April 2: 

• AM: Open schedule.  
• PM: All night Orisa ceremony.  

April 3: 

• AM: Open schedule.  
• PM: All night Orisa ceremony.  

April 4: 

• Breakfast, closing gratitude circle 

BOOk it by december 18 and save $600

---