davet

Boca Chica was already a dump 20 years ago. No beach town in the Caribbean is going to be a "real town," but I enjoyed the beaches in the north, which were geared more toward independent, activity tourists than to packaged tour tourists. That makes a difference. The beach butler I had there was a night-and-day difference from what Snwbdr describes. He was attentive, helpful, watched my stuff when I was swimming (an issue for solo travelers), and probably kept the other hawkers away.

There are lots of police in SDQ! It seems every other good-looking young guy is a cop or military cadet. I think it's a social welfare program. Or there's some Big Queen in the government tending to his harem. The "tourist police" seems like the most dubious cops (or promising, depending on your point of view on police discipline and morality). I wish I had as much knowledge - and courage - on my first trip to Sto. Domingo many eons ago when a gorgeous cop - complete with baton - sat next to me in the porno theater.

My sense is the guys move from agency to agency, with each agency having roughly the same set-up and price range. You get a nice room, unrushed time, and perhaps 24/7 scheduling (no waiting until 4 pm LOL). The guys can do whatever they do during the day, pop over to the house within an hour for an appointment, be done with their appointment in about an hour, go back to gym/girlfriend/go-go gig. The guys would fall in the top quartile of the former Lagoa service providers, and the website pictures are accurate. They are not as "participatory" as the sauna boys watching the competition, but I think extra participation can be negotiated. Yeah, pay more, get more, and still one of life's great little pleasures.

Stopped for a couple days in Zurich recently and here are the notes: 1. Paragonya's remodeling did not seem to get in the way. I don't remember what was closed off from my previous trip (more than a decade ago) but there seemed to be lots of cabins, showers, nooks. Every inch was Swiss-clean. The cabins had condoms, lube, paper towel, and alcohol sprays. The remodeling should be done in a few days so I'd love to hear from someone what that looks like. 2. There was a good crowd of clients and working boys. My estimate is at least 20 of each. 3. Days and Times: Definitely a weekend thing, in fact only open I believe Thu.-Sun. while remodeling is going on. Definitely an afternoon thing. By 2 pm, you will have seen everybody who will be available. (One guy who came around 4 was asked "why so late?") By 4:30-5 pm, the guys start leaving. 4. The talent: Lots of Brazilians, including one I saw in Barcelona just before. Lots of Romanians - smooth talkers, unreliable in the sack, very "business"; I used to enjoy this type but not so much anymore. Some Czechs, including a stunning muscle sweetheart. The rate is a firm 100CHF. I didn't sense an expectation of a tip. 5. The worst thing: I must have forgotten that Paragonya is a "private" club and therefore smoking is allowed inside. Although they must have some ventilation system at the bar to keep the place from turning into a BBQ pit, it was really getting to me. 6. Zurich in general. Still pretty expensive even with the favorable currency rates. Even the fast food and ethnic restaurants aren't a deal. The best concentration of passable eats and prices I found was, surprisingly, on the touristy pedestrian street right outside Paragonya. Otherwise, do what the Swiss do and get your sandwiches and coffee at the grocery store. I stayed at a pension in what turned out to be the edgy, ethnic, and slightly red-light neighborhood of Zurich. In addition to cafes and shawarma shops, think tattoo parlors, vape shops, strip clubs, and hard-working ladies still hanging out in fishnet stocking when the nippy morning came around. There were also plenty of guys in track suits hanging out in front of the clubs and ladies, including one hunky Russian-looking guy who gave me "a look," but I didn't have the opportunity to find out what he was selling. All in all, I'm already thinking about a return trip to Switzerland.

[moved to better topic]

There was a lot of rule-breaking in Istanbul. As long as the signs and posters were up with the rules, no one cared if anyone followed them. Closed or takeout-only restaurants would seat you at hidden tables in the back. First I heard of the no-touch test swab.

Thanks for the update. IIRC, Sunday at Mezzaninu was dead beyond dead, so you didn't miss anything by heading off to Rio. POA and Curitiba used to be almost great but now the best guys have gone to work in Rio and SP.

Turkish guys can be very hot and very sweet. Language is an issue outside the tourist areas. (And overbearing rug merchants are an issue IN the tourist areas.) Aquarius is okay if you aren't expecting a Brazil-level establishment and if you like Middle-Eastern, light skinned, somewhat hirsute guys. They readily accepted ~50-60EUR from me (this was last year, before the Turkish economy cratered even further). Many years ago, two probably underaged guys approached me on the street in a random, non-touristy area, making their purpose very obvious, and I moved away as fast as possible. Beware. But Istanbul is fantastic in so, so many other ways.

The Kosmopolit hotel appears to be mostly a working-class family hotel. Lots of East European and Middle Eastern groups with kids. And they happen to be, at least formerly, next door to a porno theater of the same name. Lots of hookers around the theater and lots of guys in track suits (you know that look) in front of the hotel who, frustratingly, aren't hookers.

This has happened to me numerous times and I'm as bewildered as anybody. Most recently this year in Rio, a god of a bodybuilder (easily the hottest guy on the low-attendance nights) completely ignored me, even brazenly walking away or pushing me away. And then one night I bagged him. I wanted to worship his bod and was expecting a disappointing interaction, but he turned out to be pretty good. He said he had 6 other dates that night. That made me feel real special, but I didn't ask why he was so aloof before. Another guy, also from this year's trip, seemed bound to another garoto and a client and would not reciprocate my obvious interest. Perhaps he was a newbie being trained by a veteran (a not uncommon scenario). I guess my answer is that it's nothing personal and just random logistical issues. However, the next time, I will ask whether he is in recovery mode. I actually like huge cocks that are flaccid, which rentboys find to be weird.

Any alternatives within the 100 km radius?

You mean he's a daddy now? yum! He said he has several brothers, all of them just as hung. One was briefly in the business.

That would not be Reinaldo because I don't think he ever goes to Rio. But now I'm very curious about Rey.

Whenever I start feeling nervous about gay sex tourism, I'm reminded that the straight version is 10-20 times as big.

I was at the two saunas in Medellin about 4 years ago. One definitely had rent guys (all 3 of them!) and about 3 customers. I think it was the already-fading Tobi. The other must have been 55 and had the hottest collection of men I've ever seen in a regular sauna. More movie-star quality than the old Hollywood Spa in downtown Hollywood, which was the very distant runner-up. It was a little confusing, but I think pay service was available at 55. Two cute guys started getting frisky with me in the steam room and said something about a massage. I later understood that they were house masseurs. Based on their interaction in the steam, I think a very deep and probing, full service massage was on the menu list, but I didn't do it for some reason.

LOL. Once one gets to a sufficiently large sample set, one can start making informed calls about the biggEST/fattEST. I have a very scientific mindset. I can use my wrapped hand to get pretty accurate measurements of a specimen. There might have been 1 or 2 who were longer than Reynaldo, but in combination of long and thick, I think he's no. 1. Not that anyone minds at all continuing a search for bigger/longer/fatter/harder.

That means he's ready and so am I. Cutie!

I've been to Ecuador. I've done research. Middle of the pack, far as I can tell.

I first met Reinaldo in 2009 when he was in his early 20s. So I'd say early to mid 30s now. He still looks fine and that dick doesn't get worn down. I would not doubt the wife part.

The boarding pass looks Canadian but the street scene doesn't. I assume you're in SP and will be reporting soon about Thermas Mikonos.

Whaaa? You see that scenario in porn all the time. How can it be sleazy? LOL

This is mostly true, but I think there's a difference in attitude between the classes. The higher up in social class, the more you might see the typical Western/Northern sexual hangups. I had a Brazilian language instructor who sniffed about the sex tourism in her country. She was referring to the straight sex industry, which is probably 20 times bigger than the gay one, but still. During an overnight, my garoto had a long phone call with a sister who was clearly not happy with the "work" he said he was in the middle of. It's all quite fascinating to me.

This is so very interesting. Had I known about it, I might have done the same. Street/bus station trade are not necessarily the prettiest, but I can imagine the frisson of danger. Sometimes I wish I had discovered the Brazilian saunas in my 20s. Would I have "gotten it out of my system" by my 30s or 40s? If any of us had discovered it during our peak hormonal late adolescence (which, for some, was apparently quite adventurous), would the universe have survived?! LOL

I have an issue telling anybody that I pay for sex. Which must mean I have issues paying for sex.

This is a most sobering realpolitik post yet. I've been to only 1-2 non-garoto saunas in Brazil. Other slight differences are that, in Brazil, you might find some "very few" really attractive men, whereas in the US, you won't find one at all (at least since the Hollywood Spa closed down, LOL). And the guys in Brazil are a little more friendly and less stand-offish because they are still Brazilians after all.