THE COAST, AT YOUR PACE
Ocean & shore
Early walks, long swims, a stretch of coast with no reason to rush it. The timing follows the tide, the weather and your appetite for a day outside.
A different way into Bahia.
Tailor-made journeys rooted on Bahia’s Cacao Coast – at the pace of the place and your own.
Years in music and on the road led Mike Polarny to Serra Grande – a place with a rhythm of its own.
Based in Serra GrandeTailor-made around youBuilt through real relationships
01 / ROOTED
Serra Grande changes the way you enter Bahia.
Serra Grande sits where the Atlantic Forest meets the ocean. Bahian traditions – samba, capoeira and percussion – move through a growing community of artists, therapists, farmers and chefs.
A day may lead to a wild beach, a waterfall, a shared table, a roda or a private concert. The place is growing quickly, yet its rhythm remains close, personal and alive.
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02 / POSSIBILITIES
Choose your rhythm.
Ocean, forest, music, cacao, food: choose what pulls you in. Mike shapes the experience around your pace, the season and the encounters unfolding here now.
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A DIFFERENT KIND OF STILLNESS
Forest &
fresh water
Cool water, shade and the texture of the forest. When conditions allow, there may be space for a walk, a swim, or an unhurried pause.
RHYTHM, MOVEMENT & LOCAL CULTURE
Music &
movement
Years of playing and producing events have made Mike part of Serra Grande’s cultural life. With him, you enter a world of capoeira rodas, concerts, gatherings and ceremonies through relationships built over time.
CACAO, FOOD & THE SHARED TABLE
Taste the
Cacao Coast
Cacao shapes this coast: its forests, farms, flavours and livelihoods. Meet the fruit at its source, follow the craft into local chocolate, then gather around the table. At AMATA – the bakery and café Mike co-founded – local ingredients, fermentation and hospitality turn food into a meeting place.
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Each possibility responds to season, conditions, availability and consent. Every element earns its place in the experience.
03 / PROCESS
A journey begins
with a conversation.
Timing, services, logistics and price are agreed only after the shape of the journey is understood.
Start the conversation- 01
Tell me what draws you here
- 02
We shape the direction together
- 03
I confirm what is genuinely possible
- 04
You receive a tailored proposal
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04 / YOUR HOST
A life on the road.
A life made here.
Mike Polarny has spent 25 years connecting travel, music and cultural projects across continents. He has visited around 60 countries and once called New York, Panama and Cuba home. In 2020, he put down roots in Serra Grande, Bahia.
Through his local work as an artist, curator and bakery co-owner, Mike brings rare access, instinct and trusted relationships. He knows when to lead, translate, improvise and shape each experience around the people travelling with him.
05 / THE CUBA YEARS
Before Bahia,
there was Cuba.
Between 2016 and 2020, Mike hosted around 25 cultural journeys across Cuba for roughly 150 travellers. Music, food, neighbourhood life and trusted local relationships shaped every edition – and still inform how he hosts today.
NOTES FROM PREVIOUS JOURNEYS
“Full and exhaustive without ever being exhausting.”
Jon Amiel, filmmaker, California
“Mike’s expert knowledge and inside access made the experience seamless.”
Evelyn Bishop, Arizona
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BAHIA, IN YOUR OWN WAY
What would bring
you to Bahia?
Share your approximate dates, who you’re travelling with and what you’re drawn to. I’ll come back with a first sense of what could be shaped around you.