davet

Thanks for the thorough report. I could see revisiting Brasilia, where I found the 1-2 gems and that was all I needed, and swinging through Goiana and the colonial towns (which I'm a sucker for) and maybe on to Manaus.

Still, I'd have to bring $2000-$5000 cash if I'm going for a couple weeks or if with someone else. Just taking that much money through airports (still below declaration amount at least), on planes, in taxis to my hotel or apartment. And then if I'm moving around to other cities. Criminals must know there are a lot of people carrying or holding USD cash. That's what's most worrisome for me, but paying double the price for everything to pay by credit card is not appealing either.

Are you there now? Can you give current reports?

I sneaked away to SP in March. Was meaning to check in with a report but had no time. I would agree that Lagoa was the best I'd seen it post-Covid. Still not as good as the old location - and one of the reception staffers who recognized me also agreed - but the selection was quite a lot beefier.

There's a scrumptious guy on IG that I swear in a different era would be traipsing the hallways of Lagoa or 117. He has not responded to my mild direct messages. How do you get these guys' attention? Or are they aiming for legit modeling careers now?

How do you feel about bringing and carrying all that American cash to take advantage of the blue rate?

I don't think I'm hijacking a thread, just moving it to an evergreen topic around here, at least for me: How do you find a trainer who will give you different physiology lessons after the gym floor session? In either Brazil or Colombia.

There are periodic variations depending on day, season, locale, and luck, but I don't think either Sao Paulo or Rio has more diversity than the other. 202 does have a strong presence of twinkish blacks, and 117 has its bevy of white bros, but there are blacks and bros in each. Sao Paulo now has basically one sauna, so everyone goes there (who still goes). SP's online massage houses seem to be 90% white or lighter latino.

Where did you find the Venezuelan guys in Colombia? Where in the coffee region would you recommend?

Venezuela, where beauty pageants are (were?) a national industry. They had them for men too.

I would consider that especially for the rocking-horse-like sex chair some are equipped with. Why do you think they might not be safe? I did a cheap h/motel in SP for my one overnight. They checked and I think even kept our IDs at reception.

For getting clear across town, if both your end points are near a station, the underground metro is much faster than a taxi or uber. I've gone from Sao Conrado to downtown on the Rio metro. The surface trip, though beautiful, would have sat in traffic.

This is kind of new. I thought when they got tired of it, they got a regular job and found a girl who would take them. But it seems that many have moved online and offsite. This guy had a beefcake picture for his Whatsapp profile (so did another garoto who still does go the sauna). I think Whatsapp is now their "Shopify" online store.

One thing I had not thought about at all. Yikes. Gonorrhea is also rampant in the saunas but it's sometimes symptomless so people aren't aware. But it can still be spread to the next person who might not be symptomless.

Sometimes the taxis are cheaper and more readily available than the Ubers. But I've never felt threatened in either one in Brazil.

On my last trip, I contacted a garoto to meet up at the sauna. He said he no longer goes there and wants to meet at my apt. I wasn't keen on that, and he insisted that he would not go to the sauna again. Do you think he was a problem guy and has been banned? This guy used to join the gogos and drag queens on stage at 117 so the establishment must have known him pretty well. Did I pass up a good thing or were my spidey sense on to something?

That is totally a steal especially for that time period. Buying early usually lets you pay less, not more. I think your risk is cancellations and schedule changes, this far out.

What spectacular snobbery. They hardly travel like peasants so perhaps you should find out what it's really like.

That is their Christmas, New Year, AND summer vacation all in one. Yes, all over S. America, travel-related expenses can double in December and January.

Lagoa is in Consolacao, THE gayborhood of SP and one of its main entertainment districts, gay or straight. It's very lively, lots of restaurants, barbers, juice shops, etc. It edges up to Avenida Paulista, SP's Park Avenue, on the other side of which is Jardims, an upper-class neighborhood holding the city's best restaurants and shopping. Two major subway lines cross this area. The sauna is a 10-minute walk from your choice of 3 metro stations. Lagoa might not be right anymore (for those of us who remember the old version) but it's in the right place.

I have found that "quero provar outros garotos" (or something like that in portunhol) is readily accepted by everyone, with no further hassle.

This is good update information about 117, but pls post it in a separate thread so that others can find it. (I was wondering about the Wed. night promo myself.)

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This is what I have and it's good till 2025. I hope it still works. I actually hadn't noticed that the airlines didn't check for my visa in the last couple trips so I didn't even know about the brief visa waiver.

You are talking about a whole overnight or just a shorter date outside the sauna? You are super lucky to find someone who would do an overnight for barely more than the 30-min. quickie rate. I have only done 1 overnight and asked about one other, but my impression is that it's roughly double the in-sauna rate. And the one guy ordered pizzas and drinks with abandon in our room but he delivered 3 loads, which he proudly counted out.