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There are very few countries for which it's safe to drink from the tap: US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, most of the EU (not all), UK, Israel, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore would be the only places I can think of off-hand. We were even advised not to drink the tap water in Qatar, and that's a pretty wealthy country. Anywhere else you use bottled water, even to brush your teeth. Water pressure won't be a problem at any hotel with at least 3* (usually). The Mexico City subway is very efficient and cheap. The gay life is centered in the Zona Rosa. When I went to MC, I stayed at the Hilton Mexico City Reforma, which was one of the best hotels I've ever enjoyed, but it might be a bit pricey for your budget (and you'd have to take the metro to the ZR, or a rather long walk). If you want to be closer to the action, the Galeria Plaza Reforma is in the Zona Rosa, and you can get a nice room for $140 a night (4* hotel). I'm assuming, that as an infrequent traveler, you don't have status with any hotel chains.  When we travel to places where I don't know the language or need help with logistics, my fiance and I have had great experiences with Tours by Locals. They charge per guide, though, not per person, so are rather pricey if traveling alone (best if 2 to 4 on the trip). If you don't like being in a big bus tour, though, it's certainly more personable and flexible. In terms of what to see, Chapultepec park is a must. Assuming you get a reasonably early start, you could visit its castle, anthropological museum, and modern art museum in one day. The anthropology museum is one of the best in the world, so I'd plan on 3 hours there. Do the national palace, cathedral, Templo Mayor, and Frida Kahlo museum on another day. Do not miss taking a day tour to Teotihuacan (usually done as a group tour), which is a world wonder.  In terms of gay guides, you might find one on: https://www.travelgay.com/mexico-city-gay-tours Once you have your dates firmed up, you might want to contact an escort on your favorite website such as rentmen.eu to ask if they'd be up to being hired as a tour guide, I suppose.  https://www.galeriaplazahotels.com.mx/en/reforma/

Rio continues delivering amazing experiences.  https://ilikepinga.com/2024/04/18/bajo-las-estrellas/ Querido @floridarob, I am happy to report that this time the terrace is less open to others' curiosity, we turned off the lights, and did it under the light of the stars.  We went earlier on to 117 on Tuesday, and as usual I was disappointed. Not only the crowd was underwhelming, but besides water started to leak almost at the center of the indoors bar, and it was a lot of water, right when the show was about to start. We ran away.

And that's a bad thing?

A member wrote to me and asked about my experiences finding tops who bareback, whether they take offense and whether they upcharge. I thought about just answering him back in a message, but I figure that others have similar questions. And I also thought about just covering the topic in my trip report. Instead, acknowledging that there are strong feelings on both sides of the topic, I thought it best to segregate the information with a trigger warning included. I am reminded of a song, I don’t know the artist, wherein he sings if you don’t like gay marriage, then don’t get gay married. Similarly, if you don’t like condomless sex, don’t do it. And please, close this thread now and read about things that you do like. But— and I think this is pretty good life advice generally— don’t yuck someone else’s yum. I will endeavor to make the post dispassionate and not salacious. So a bit of background on my perspective that informs the experiences I had. I’m definitely not a strict never-condomer. It’s just one factor that I have found is positively correlated with hot experiences. It’s one of a few things I’ve found to be thus correlated, such as big dick, good attitude and attraction (tall, hairy, square-jawed masculine face). So if a lot of these other things are present, I may try to get the guy to forgo the condoms, but it’s not a deal breaker if he won’t. Have I had amazing mind blowing sex with condoms? Yes absolutely. Have I  had numbingly boring sex without them? Yes absolutely. So, in the sauna, it’s really most important on the margin, when I like the guy somewhat, but he’s not totally my type--there are quite a few guys falling into that category-- it’s gonna make a difference. As for the guys on the Internet, there are so many of them, at least in Rio and São Paulo, it’s hard to narrow it down, and that’s one way to do so. Still, that being said, There have been a couple of guys from the Internet that I found spectacular, at least in pictures, that I was interested to hire, even though I knew they intended to use condoms. So why does it matter to me? I can think of three main reasons offhand. First., I really love both slow sex and positions in which it can be harder for the top to maintain his erection (I pretty much hate pounding doggy style). With the kind of sex I like condoms typically compound the problem by reducing the friction further. Second, I really love the feel of the head going in and out, and tight condoms especially kind of smush the ridge ring of the head into the shaft (least of the three reasons). Finally, the psychological: I don’t want a barrier between me and the guy I find so hot; I love cum and I confess that I find the moment when the guy shoots inside of me to be, well, among my favorite things in life. Now for some estimations, keeping in mind that my data collection and compilation may be contaminated by all sorts of biases. I would say that condomless sex is at its most prevalent, a bit over half, in free Grindr hookups in the gayberhoods of Rio (copa/ipanema) and SP (consolacao). I have been to a non-GP sauna Only once, but I would speculate that it would be just as high or even higher there. Of the garotocomlocal ads, I would say a little over a third in Rio and SP (at one time I had considered going to BH,at one time I had considered going to BH, where it seemed willingness was much less) I do prescreen for guys who kiss and who like sexo devagarzinho (slow) and I would guess that these guys, who are more likely to be gay and integrated in the gay community, are more likely to be on PrEP and more likely to be ok with condomless. Some do upcharge, but this is pretty rare (less than a quarter of those who are ok with condomless expect a supplement). In the saunas I would say it falls a bit further, with maybe a quarter OK with condomless. There may be some social stigma among the other garotos in doing so. I was very disappointed that 202 was lowering the time limit on rooms to 30 minutes on all nights, previously the limit only on free nights (it was 40 otherwise) it’s not such a big deal to pay the 50 reais overage, but it sets the standard among the GPs how long a session should be, and I fear that the saunas are devolving into fora for low quality, almost furtive sex, with less than stellar boys, short sessions (who can have amazing sex in 29 minutes?) and yes, condom use. I guess you could say I''m the kind of guy who wants it all, and some quick low-quality sex with a guy, no matter how hot, just isn't enough. Among guys in the sauna who are selling their big cocks and not much else going for them, I would think that a higher percentage of these would be straight, less likely to picture themselves as someone who should take PrEP and hence least likely all to bareback. I’m not sure that’s my experience, though. and If anything, it may be the ones with both huge dicks and great bodies who are the ones least likely to agree in the sauna, perhaps because if they did agree, they could earn more on the Internet. There are few, by the way, who noticeably take offense at the suggestion, although I can’t really say what is in their mind. Maybe 1 in 40 will make a snarky comment. So these are my lines: Bem, deixe eu te contar o que eu gosto de saber se nossos estilos são compatíveis? Sou passivo, gosto de penetração devagarzinho, pelo menos no início. Para mim beijar é uma das coisas mais importantes e gosto de beijos profundos e apaixonados. Resumindo, tipo de sexo com namorado romântico…. If they come back cool with that (a few say it’s not their style), then I send: Bem, acho que a última coisa que gosto como namorado é que eu faço PreP, vc também?… bareback é legal o faz so com camesinha? Already previous to this, I had asked their price in the first message, so that may be tamping down on upcharging. Similarly, in the sauna, although after going over this, I do not ask their price, (grave mistake in my view) but rather just as we start toward reception, as if I had almost forgotten, I say, oh, 200 reais, sim? I think it would take nerves of Steel for the garoto to risk killing the deal at that point, And I would say well less than 5% balk (arguing for 250). I’m not really into the guy, like if he short or it’s a slow or if it’s early or late, 150 will suffice. One guy, who I have written of elsewhere, who was 6'4" and so far out of the league of his competition I really didn't know what to say, I did say 250 (although in fact he was a country boy, as it turned out, and probably wouldve been fine, too, at 200). There are 2 very white guys around in 117/202 who refuse R200, but that is super rare. FYI, a garoto at Lagoa told me that at least 90% of the guys there are fine with 150. On the Internet, my favorite guy, now away in London, was charging only 350 in SP. I feel like I don’t quite have enough data points for this, but I feel that even in the last six months, the price for Internet guys continue to rise with a few exceeding 500. It was with one of these, in fact, charging 600, pretty much as high as it goes, that i had a very interesting experience involving PReP. He uses those cursed disappearing messages on WhatsApp, so I can’t recount the conversation with precision, but my recollection, when I asked him my typical question (above) about PrEP He expressed interest in it, that he had thought about taking it, but had not yet, and that he had never had sex with a guy without a condom but he would like to someday. This guy was smoking hot in the pictures, (although as it turned out, he had put on a bit of weight) And I was keen to turn someday into today. I explained to him about PrEP on demand (2-1-1) regimen) and sent him a brief article and explanation in Portuguese from the New York City department of health. I offered to give him the PrEP, Which I have in individually wrapped and labeled doses, so that he would know he was taking Descovy. He also asked if, when he arrived, I could share with him my most recent HIV and STI results, which I have online. I offered to bring it to him in person, would’ve had the advantage of being able screen him in advance to ensure I was attracted to him, but he suggested I send it over via the Uber package service, which I had never used before. I read the requirements for that service, and medicines were excluded, so I put them in with a small pack of cookies although I doubt the driver would’ve cared in the end.. It took a little handholding, but not much, and later that afternoon he came over. At first, I was a little disappointed that he was not quite as good as his pictures, but he was undoubtedly still attractive. He was also not hugely hung, but he was an ardent kisser, fucked a generous hour in my preferred positions and was very smiley with a great attitude. Very enthusiastic afterward as well, said it was amazing and when we do it again.? Of course, there was no way to separate his general eagerness for his presumed eagerness for another 600 reais. I might’ve called him again for 300, but you know how it is, so many men, so little time. Another interesting set of experiences happened last year when I had a medical condition that I couldn’t—or at least wasn’t supposed to--get fucked. In the worst of it, I canceled a trip there, but then I decided making out could still be fun, so then what I would say I was looking for was passionate kissing and not penetration itself, but for the guy to rub his dick against my ass as if he was going to penetrate me. I don’t know what you want to call it, but I had an extraordinarily high percentage of condomless “peek-ins” Very few guys put on a condom for this, and similarly, very few did it while steering well clear of the hole. I wonder if some took it as a challenge. Fairly few progressed to full on fucking, but some did, and exactly the kind of slow fucking I love, with me, fairly genuinely but conflicted, saying things like não, but also só lento (only slow). Now that the condition is healed, I kinda wonder if I should have the guts to keep the schtick going, saying I don’t want penetration when I’m all about it😂 Lastly, looking forward to my next visit, a mention of 2 guys I met in my last trip, that I described in my trip report posted under another thread. The first (Sun/Mon/Tues) guy has a nice big and thick dick in a standard way, and as such, the pleasure of taking it raw is the normally (pretty high) benefit, and, in fact the last time we saw each other he did give it to me about a minute raw before covering it up for a much longer period. The raw part was on a couch, before we moved to the bed, and at one point he took off the condom, after maybe an hour and 5 different positions, and I suggested we move back to the couch with a kind of a wink, wink, (that we should not only continue on the couch, but in the previous manner we had been on the couch....)but alas he put on another condom and continued that way. He is heading to Paris to work and it will be interesting to find out what effect that has on him (prevalence of PrEP in France is quite high and Parisian clients may be quite demanding) The second guy Tues/Wed has a remarkably thick dick and was older (maybe mid or even late 30s) and he could stay hard in doggy style, kind of hard in missionary but not other positions that, unlike doggy, I like. So to get him bareback and/or viagra could be an abnormally high benefit. Even though he kissed beautifully for hours, I do want him to be able to stay hard in positions that I like that give the top less control and less friction (which problem, of course the condom compounds). I haven't asked him about PrEP beyond if he takes it, which he said no. The first guy going to Paris is a full time escort, whereas this one has a regular job in a gym (he sent me a video the other day of him teaching an aerobics class) so I don't know if either are getting pressure from other clients to take PreP. I may, in fact, see the first one in Paris, but it will probably be a couple of months before I am back to Brazil...