Tomcal

there is no doubt that this was a crime of “opportunity”, the car came to a sudden halt when it saw 3 guys talking on their cellphones! one change i am making is not standing outside on the sidewalk staring at my Uber App! This was about 8:00 pm we were heading out to dinner. i’t is interesting to note that my one friend is 36 and the other is 47 and both are Cariocas and this is the first time it has ever happened to them! they both said after “now you understand why we voted for Bolsonario!”

there is a first time for everything i guess! after coming here for 17 years, we were robbed at gunpoint Thursday night! it all happened so fast you just react w/o thinking! Three of us(2 Brasilerios and me)were waiting for a uber to pick us up and it is a busy street a car came down the bled fast and then saw us and came to a Quick stop and the passenger jumped out, cute cleancut about 20, and had a revolver and said he wanted our phones and our wallets! My friends started to give them theirs, but i just blurted out NO! He then repeated it and I said no as i put my phone into my jeans pocket and stepped back 2 feet into the Apartment doorway and slammed the door shut! He told my one friend to go get me and he said “i don’t know him” and they left quickly! this all took less then 20 seconds! i know everyone says your life is not worth a cell phone or your wallet but again you don’t have time to formulate a response it was just my immediate response! i wasn’t going to give in to his demands! ... more later

17 yrs of experience in Brazil here and i 110% agree with Likeohmygod! And yes to both your questions!

all american politicians read from teleprompters, some do it so well you thing they are giving it extemporaneously like Reagan and Obama! and others are just a little(or lot) crazy and shoot their mouths off w/o thinking! which is why every advisor to politicians recommends not giving any answers longer then 1 or 2 sentences if they have to “off the cuff”!

i only stayed in hotels for the first 3 years of going to Brazil! the last 11 years i have only done apartments and would never go back to hotels...but that’s me! Also if you stay at the same apt.(once you find one you really like)you develop a relationship with the owner, the apt i stay at in Ipanema usually i have a set of keys for so i do not have to meet anyone or give a deposit or security deposit! I have stayed in that apt since 2009 usually 3-4 times a year. I am not staying in it this next week as i am staying with a Carioca friend in his apt as we are throwing a couple of parties!

There are states here where citizens can carry concealed weapons!

I have not talked to a single sauna guy or local customer that isn't supporting Bolsonaro, well over 20, all for the fear of the escalating crime!

I will be there next Friday for 12 days i will try and post if i find something interesting...

it depends on you! your personality/ salesmanship/ and it coinciding with the night they need cash! It has been my experience...that until they know you a little they won’t! once they have seen you around or you have been introduced to them then expect double the price you have been paying the sauna guys as a general rule. Usually i don’t think they are worth it as they think they just have to lay there, but i did see one regularly for almost 2 years who was a exception to the rule!(he is still dancing/stripping)

these were the strippers tonight at pointe along with Junior the owner!

Actually it is Posto 9 that is and has always(at least the last 15 years) the gay "Barbie" beach. the cross street is Farme de Amoedo. the beach in Copacabana that Rob is talking about used to be primarily a gay beach across from Maxim's restaurant(which hustlers used to hang out around)but that was until about 2006 or 2007 and then started becoming less gay but still has a small area that has the TG/TS community there in smaller numbers. The main Gay beach in Rio is Posto 9 and on weekends it is Packed!!

You did a lot of smart things but i tell everyone “Never Ever leave the guy to take a shower!!” Either have him shower with you or take your pants with you into the bathroom or better idea Wait until you get back to your place to shower! It is amazing how few seconds it takes them to get your wallet out of your pants get the cash out and get the wallet back in your pants!

Two things really affect attendance at the saunas! Weather and Holidays...and Brazil has a Lot of official Holidays! I was told that both affected attendance the past week.

no there is no problem bringing someone back! while i have not stayed there i have been there at least a 1/2 dozen times always with a Brazilian and or Mexican in tow and we are let in by the bartender or waiter as the door is always locked. While it is very secure the help is not visible most of the time but are very attentive. i have seen groups of 4 or 5 guys in the pool and older/younger couples as well each time i have been there.

usually leave the sauna around 9:00 or 9:30 and head to a restaurant to eat

Villa Verde is the Gay owned Boutique Hotel(5 spacious elegant guest rooms)in Merida, Mexico that is across the street from one gay bar and 1 block from 2 others! It is owned by a gay American couple, and usually you will only see a couple other guests there. They do a lot of weddings and anniversary parties on the grounds of the hotel! i highly recommend it if you want a private place to stay! the wait staff particularly the bartender and waiters who interchangeably do both jobs in the bar area are awesome! If you are not staying there the bar is a great place to go for cocktail hour before heading out to one of the over 100 restaurants in walking distance!

i am in Rio from Friday Nov. 2nd until Thurs. Nov. 8th. then to Porto Alegre for 2 days and then on Sat. 10th to SP for 3 days!

thanks for taking the time to upload the videos and photos! very similar to the bars in Merida!

They are both in the U.S.

you last night I was in a private group chat with 4 sauna or former sauna guys and one sauna owner and they all voted for Bolsonaro! all said “crime has gotten so terrible we have to see if he can do something about it!” They acknowledged his biases but do not believe Haddad and the PT party will make the changes necessary after being in power 14 years! they said if he can get crime down and the economy up he is deserving of being President and he is one of the few in national gov’t with no charges of corruption against him!

Hey careful who you are calling elderly and pasty white gay...! i resemble those remarks! :-)

actually less then a block away! across the street and a Right turn down about 1/4 of a block! the first sauna i ever went to in Brazil!

Paulo, he is the former BF of Diego a boy who works all the saunas! he can be found at 117 on Tuesdays!

what is interesting is that the sauna guys i know and am friends with on FB or Instagram, over a 100, Are voting for him!! For most of them it seems the main issue is crime which they experience so much more first hand, and while they work in saunas they are more religious then i thought! This guy plays up the religious angle and promises criminals will be taken care of...hmm sound familiar? :-(

i echo Badboy i have said before, when going to the beach wear your shorts shirt flip flops and 2-$20. R bills and a $10. that will get you everything you need for the afternoon! Drinks chair and umbrella! do not bring your phone! you can be without it for a couple of hours!