According to friends who have already been there, the offer is good, the boys are of a different standard from the Lagoa, but you can find some who are also in the lagoa there .... The structure of the Fragata is much higher than that of the lagoa today.
The B Word: Sao Luis Edition – Something is Better than Nothing
Everyone knows that there is more to Brazil than just Sao Paulo or Rio de Janeiro. I do not have anything against these two amazing cities - and if I don’t visit any other Brazilian cities in my life other than these two, I’d be more than content. But all the “bests” I’ve had ever in my short 3-year Brazil touring experience has been out of RJ and SP: best sauna night (TBV in Recife), best road trip (Gramado in Rio Grande do Sul), best AirBNB experience (a party house in Florianopolis), best churrasco (a restaurant in Joinville, Santa Catarina), best Acai dish (an ambulante near the Amazonas Theatre in Manaus) etc etc.
That’s not to say that all Brazilian cities are a must to go to. I’ve always wanted to EVENTUALLY visit all the states in Brazil. So far I’ve been to 15 out of 26, which seems remarkable since I’ve only started going in 2018. So when Paulo asked me if I wanted to go with him to Sao Luis, Maranhao, because he had some family matters to attend to, I jumped on the chance to go, since I have never been to Maranhao state. And when he said there was one boy sauna he knew of that was in Sao Luis, and we could check it out, it made the trip more enticing to me.
But other than knowing that Maranhao state has the famous Lencois Maranhenses National Park, I didn’t know much about Sao Luis, and upon reading about it online, learned that it is a city of a million people that is staddled between the Northeastern cities of Brazil in the east, and the Amazonian parts of Brazil in the west. Sounds like the middle of nowhere to me, but it did have a beach, and a sauna, and with Paulo by my side, I won’t have any qualms exploring the city.
We got to Sao Luis around midnight, after a frantic dash to the airport to make our flight (never have sex before a flight – time flies when you’re having fun). Without dinner or anything, we decided on getting Uber Eats/iFood at the AirBNB. One of the few blessings in this pandemic is that food delivery in Brazil has thrived by leaps and bounds, more than pre-pandemic times, and we would never be hungry. But not in Sao Luis, it seems. We try to put in an order at around 1 AM, and Uber did not have any drivers available. I guess the town shuts down pretty early, in this weekday night. A far cry from SP or RJ, where you can seemingly get anything at any time.
So a bit about Sao Luis – in the map, its in the middle of the Northeastern region, where Salvador and Recife are, and is defined by beaches, warm waters, and 24 hour sunlight, and the Northern region, where Manaus and the Amazon is, and is defined by tropical rainforests, mosquitoes, and hot hot temps. And indeed, it seems to inherit some parts of both regions, and it doesn’t do any of it well. It has beaches, but uninspired ones. It has hot weather, but it seems to be Amazon hot (with mosquitoes!) rather than Northeast hot (with a relaxing wind that takes away the sting of the sun). And the infrastructure seems to be crumbling, like what I found in Manaus, than what you see in Recife, for example. I wouldn’t classify this city as a must-go.
But we were here because the BF needed to take care of some family business. We spent most of the waking daylight hours (which is usually after 1 PM for us – it takes us forever to get out of bed) in government agencies and banks, including this branch of Bradesco with a particular inviting ad with world-reknowned hottie surfer Gabriel Medina. It does make me want to open an account here.
Some other oddities:
We had sushi at a restaurant called Taipan in a shopping mall, and there was an oddly high ratio of gay men among the clientele in the restaurant. Paulo felt uneasy, because he was (again) easily head and shoulders the hottest guy there, and everyone was checking him out like in the sauna. For Paulo, it was one thing to get checked out in the sauna, but in public, he does want to be left alone. But we got confirmation that, on this Friday night, this restaurant was a bit of an informal hot spot for the gays. Whatever. It was weird. And it was the first time I’ve ever found these training wheels for chop sticks:
The food and beaches were kind of meh for us, but we tried out best to enjoy what was in front of us. The saving grace however, were the bars by the beach at night. Live music, including some of the best Reggae live music we’ve ever heard.
This was not an accident. Sao Luis is known as the “Brazilian Jamaica” after all, for some reason. We didn’t know this at the time of the trip, but was surprised that this was actually a thing here in Sao Luis. We had a blast anyway.
There was one sauna in Sao Luis, Sauna Go 63. It follows the proud tradition of naming your sauna after the street number your establishment is in. In Rio, you have Clube 117 (Rua Candido Mendes) and Ponte 202 (Rua Siquiera Campos). Also, SP has Fragata 555 (Rua Traipu) and Salvador has Clube 11 (Rua Jose Duarte). It was across the bridge from the Beach of Sao Marcos where we were. It in the “Centro Historico” part of town, and it felt as such, as it was a bumpy ride getting there, with all the potholes and crumbling infrastucture around us.
This was a Friday night, and upon entering the premises, we were immediately questioned by a guy sitting behind a table right at the entrance way. Turns out, he was a health advocate, and he was there to promote safe sex practices, which was I guess pretty appropriate, given the venue. After a brief chat, and some nosiness about the BF’s and my relationship, we were free to check in the sauna. He was also giving out free condoms, as well as free at-home HIV tests:
Upon check-in, we noticed some boys, one half-naked, another naked and cupping his dick, approach the counter to get some condoms. This certainly was a welcome preview of what is to come.
As we head on over to the locker room, Paulo was recognized by a tall and big fellow. He was a boy who who recognized Paulo from one of the saunas in Fortaleza. He had dark skin, nice face, but not as in shape as I would like. I’m sure he was cute to someone. We both change in towels. Paulo asked his friend about the lay of the land here.
Paulo then requests that he go into the premises alone at first, to suss out the territory himself. “Are you going to find a client?” I asked. He said he wasn’t sure yet, judging from his conversation with his friend (cheap clients), but willing to see the lay of the land first before deciding on whether to work or not.
Knowing what to do, and acting accordingly, is important to Paulo when going to a sauna with me. Paulo says that clients are always jealous of other clients, and if he decided to work tonight, we would have to tamp down on the PDA, and maybe even not talk to each other for a bit, until he was sure he was able to get clients. If he decides not to work, he is free to touch, kiss, and be boyfriends with me. He is big on the PDA, and seems like he wants to do it with me, especially in a sauna since it was a more-or-less private space where he is free to be “gay” and not hetero like out in the world, so he has to make these choices.
As Paulo makes his way into the premises to assess the client situation, I make my own way into the sauna slowly, and made sure I was able to assess the boy situation. Yes, I was still forbidden in getting any of these boys, but I was free to look, and sometimes I can get away with inviting a boy with me for a drink. It is still worth it for me to be “single” while I am with Paulo, since the benefits (amazing sex, great conversation, hot hot hot boy, seeing Brazil through his eyes), outweighs the pitfalls (no sex with other guys, penis too large and thick). And it’s not like I am a saint when I am not with him, and I am able to roam the saunas, trawl the sites, and hit Grindr, like before.
After one or two rotations around the sauna, I am sad to say that I found a total of ONE guy that I would even think of hiring. That ONE guy was obviously super busy and was getting hired by one client after another, since he was the hottest one there. He was handsome, dark skin, and muscular with abs, so he would be a fit in any other sauna in Brazil land. And any boy of equal or better quality surely should take advantage of this in this sauna. There was not a shortage of clients here for sure. The rest of the boys were boy next door types. Good for hanging out and a laugh or two, but noone I cannot live without.
After a while, I see Paulo, emerging from the lockers, grinning like a Cheshire cat. He meets me halfway and plants me a big kiss. “I just got one, and I don’t want anyone anymore,” he says. He takes my hand and gets me to the bar, where he orders us two caiprinhas:
“What happened?” I asked him. “They kind of suck here in Sao Luis,” he says in a whisper, and then laughs. I asked why. “Clients were offering me 50 reais, and then 70 reais. It was horrible. You know I don’t do it for less than 100.” But you did one client? “Yeah, remember that guy handing out HIV tests? I guess he liked me enough to offer me 120 reais. But he ended up paying me 150. It was fast too. I only had my penis head in him and he came. Easiest 150 I’ve made. And now I am paying for these drinks,” pointing to the two caiprinhas. I guess he was feeling generous with his earnings, and also since tonight was 2 for 1 caipis:
Paulo has a theory that the boys here are happy with 50 reais programas, as long as they can get 4 or 5 clients, that works out to 250 reais a night. They run a volume business. Paulo suspects that the hot guy I saw worked the same way. He said he'd be surprised if that guy couldn't be had for 70. Volume is the key, since there were a lot of clients. The clients simply don't pay like they do in SP or RJ.
The sauna itself was actually pretty nice. The drinks were suuuuper cheap, and we got some snacks too that were 15 reais:
The premises were nice too, and there was a pool that was outdoors, but still in the courtyard of the sauna, so with the hot weather, it was a nice addition, and Paulo took advantage of it by diving in naked, which caused a commotion with some guests:
Overall, this was a chill sauna to spend a Friday night in. The space was pretty spacious:
And there was a separate dance room that one could dance with one’s partner to the day’s popular hits. As the sauna was closing, the owner approached us and asked for Paulo’s number. He said he knew some “politicos” that would be interested in getting Paulo’s services, and they pay way more than the average sauna goer. Paulo gladly gave him the number. We got stinking drunk too. And our bill was less than 100 reais. Worth it.
In closing, I guess I wouldn’t go out of my way to go back to Sao Luis, except if I was on my way to Lencois Maranhenses. But Paulo certainly has a way of livening any location we are in, so it was better than nothing.
Up next, Belo Horizonte, during COVID.
I think it is more nuanced.
If Fervecão simply linked the ad, a product that young JH paid for and should be able to control, with eventual ad termination his prerogative, with watermarked images included in his purchase contract and that are legally prohibited from reproduction according to copyright protection, then the linked ad and its contained images would disappear when the ad contract ends. Similarly, any consumer reviews embedded in his ad would disappear, basically erasing the tracks of his commercial sex work. Accordingly, the fellow has agency over his business model.
However, when the online tabloid misappropriates the protected images and essentially re-writes his ad, they undermine his personal choice. If the tabloid follows copyright rules it can simply report that it is apparent that photos of him are evidently contained in an escort ad. They do not get to untie their own hands while putting the guy in a bind in order to enhance their cheap content.
The X-rated material, his personality, or stigma around sex trade are beside the point.
@Badboy81we are prob just going to miss each other, I leave on the 20th.
@babybear2ill give a full update when I’m done with my trip. Covid combined with cheap tickets and low rent has allows me to spend extensive time in Salvador these past few months.
It’s going to really hurt for the citizens, due to the inflation (even though salaries are going to be increased). It may not affect tourists as much, depending on what the exchange rate is set for the USD / CAD / EUR. On my last trips, it was a steady 25 pesos per 1 USD. If I’m still getting around that, but things like restaurant meals almost double, then yes, that’s a sucky deal in comparison. I suspect the Cuban government and the underground market will make it something that doesn’t drive the [non-US] tourist market away.
Also, for the purposes of this particular forum, costs for jineteros would be affected if universal Cuban salaries / pensions and inflation rise. As it becomes more costly to put food on the table, and Cubs pays its citizens more, and products cost more, expect hustler prices to go up, not down. Whether quality rises as well is the big question.
the only mean spirited person here and ignorant is you. I am a physician, you moron. your persistence is what doesn't allow you to recognize that you have no manners and enjoy talking about things which you know nothing about.
The preceding poster cited the usual rates that have been in existence for about six years or longer. Sometimes the quoted fee/rate is miniscule, under $30. I write based on what I experienced as well as what I've read in previous posts. ...usually no more than $40 for playing and laying!
If you have not read the previous posts, I'd suggest that you do; it would help tremendously.
The main attraction starts on Avenida 23 up by the Malecon. Local boys like to hang out and drink on the Malecon wall and socialize on weekends. If you are looking for a "date" the local talent can still be found outside at the Bim Bop ice cream bar. Depending on the night, there are some incredible options working the street. There is always hustler action as well in the Parque Central, across from the Hotel Parque Central. You may get lucky and meet one of the boxers that work out at the boxing gym down the street.
The "gay" bars are further west on La Infanta -- just look for the young boys hanging out around the doors of the clubs like Las Vegas. They are looking for foreigners to pay their way in. For the more adventurousl, the best scene is the private parties, usually held in the old resort hotels in Miramar (like Melia, Copacabana, etc.) but you need to know when and where. Like most Latin countries, the party starts late and usually goes until sunrise so be ready for lots of dancing, salsa, and flirting. Local guides can be found online and can help direct you for $30-40 USD per day plus tip.
Hope that helps you enjoy Havana!
Hello, today my tip goes to those who are in São Paulo and want another option besides the saunas. The queen bar, is a bar aimed at the gay public, but some days women also go, on Friday there is the famous black-out night, where there are interactive boys who play with customers.
These boys usually do it on the outside, the gogo also a large portion go out with customers, even if most deny it, the gogoboys usually charge more expensive than the interactive ones, something between 400 to 500 reais.
PS: the bar does not allow sex on its premises, the owner André is beautiful and polite and the drag Mariana is great, so make your contacts there and then enjoy.
Hello, today my tip goes to those who are in São Paulo and want another option besides the saunas. The queen bar, is a bar aimed at the gay public, but some days women also go, on Friday there is the famous black-out night, where there are interactive boys who play with customers.
These boys usually do it on the outside, the gogo also a large portion go out with customers, even if most deny it, the gogoboys usually charge more expensive than the interactive ones, something between 400 to 500 reais.
PS: the bar does not allow sex on its premises, the owner André is beautiful and polite and the drag Mariana is great, so make your contacts there and then enjoy.
Hello, today my tip goes to those who are in São Paulo and want another option besides the saunas. The queen bar, is a bar aimed at the gay public, but some days women also go, on Friday there is the famous black-out night, where there are interactive boys who play with customers.
These boys usually do it on the outside, the gogo also a large portion go out with customers, even if most deny it, the gogoboys usually charge more expensive than the interactive ones, something between 400 to 500 reais.
PS: the bar does not allow sex on its premises, the owner André is beautiful and polite and the drag Mariana is great, so make your contacts there and then enjoy.
Yago got a reaction from SigNYC in Fragata in Sao Paulo
Yago got a reaction from Kevie770 in Badboys Rio Recap-December/Jan 2020
Yago got a reaction from Tomcal in junior the owner of Pointe202
Yago got a reaction from brockmiller in Bar Queen in São Paulo
Yago got a reaction from Pete1111 in Bar Queen in São Paulo