travguy

Update, Monday 26 January 26 at noon in Rio. Friday I went out with a forum member’s non GP friend. Not much in the way of gay nightlife in Ipanema anymore. The security guy at Pink Flamingo was incompetent in checking my small bag and insisted I remove everything and, of course, there was no place to put anything. I gave up and went for drinks elsewhere at 2300 hours or so. Belmonte had a line to get in and we did not want to stand in the drizzle outside under an umbrella table. Went 1 block away. Then to La Cueva, as he likes older guys. I did not even know they had a small darkroom until I was about to leave at 0230 hours or so. No free drinks with the now 60 RS cover anymore. But drink prices seemed reasonable. The disco music and videos were fine. Overall, just not my cup of tea, despite maybe 4 hot younger guys. The light clouds came out Saturday and Sunday even had some am sun, despite predictions for rain, so I went to gay beach. Look for the purple umbrellas across from Boteca Belmonte, at the of rua Farme de Amoedo, about 2 blocks east of Posto 9. No gay rainbow flags unlike in the past few years. Ended up at Taurus Cruise / sex club rua da Lapa 8, from 0030 ish until about 0230 hours. Took the M to Gloria and walked in the light drizzle. Lots of nightlife. The 3 interactive guys started around 0100 and mostly favored heavy bears, but I had fun with 1 or 2 of them as well as did many others of all types. Good mixed crowd, but not as many folks as in late 2024. Perhaps I should have arrived at 2300 hours or so. Who knows….. Because I stayed so late, I skipped The Home. It was also raining when I left, so I just wanted to head back to the bnb. Strangely, prices were reasonable, maybe lots of folks did not go out or left earlier. Sunday was busy. Went to the Hippie Fair and the gay beach. Made a mistake at the beach in letting some older guys from Delaware watch my stuff. I was alone and usually ask a small of folks if its ok to leave my few things while I take a dip. Was not getting great vibes and heard these folks speaking English. Usually, I ask folks speaking PT or SP, as I can meet new folks and experience the other cultures while hanging out. Well, I think we know folks who are loud mouthed, verbally pushy, and of course, all conversations must be about them. One of guys even asked me if he was being more than a bit too much. I tried changing the conversation and speaking to one of the others. Did not go well. His partner was talking to someone from Sao Paulo and asked him if he was a kept boy (of about 35 yo). Two of the 4 were Ugly Americans, to say the least (the other 2 quiet folks were neighbors in the US. I felt so bad for them.). And yes, it happens with all nationalities, types, etc. Well, I should have left earlier. – Please, no hate replies, just reporting the facts as I understand them – Skipped Gloria as it was getting late for going to Bangu sauna, Boite Casa Nova. Drizzling just a bit in Ipanema. 4 UBER drivers canceled and I arrived 30 minutes after promised time in part due to this plus heavy traffic out of Ipa near Lagoa. LOL. FWIW, UBER has been of bad quality and reliability this entire trip. Always late on pick ups or drop offs, poorly maintained cars or simply clueless drivers have occurred on every trip. On the return trip, the UBER parked on the other side of the street from the sauna and would not pull over. The road was like a busy highway at the time, and I guess he wanted me to be run over. LOL You pass many many moderate sized fundamentalist churches with services going on Sunday night in Bangu and when on the 101 detour noted below. Coming back from Bangu the BR 101 was essentially closed with a huge backup heading west towards Bangu from Coelho Neto Metro. Reminded me of accidents on the German Autobahn. Even going east from Bangu there was at least a several km delay / back up. Had 4 GPs at Bangu. One did not deliver, LOL. 2 tried to change the deal in the room during sex and when a 3rd started, I quickly put an end to it in my poor PT and told him to keep to our agreement or I was leaving. Two of the 4 ending quite well, 3rd so so, and the 4th, well I should have not paid, though I did. LOL. Entry was 45 or 50, and included a locker this trip, sodas were 10- and boys were 100, although like I stated, some wanted up to 200 in the room during sex. I know the GPs talk but I never agreed to an up price in the room. So a mixed night in Bangu. Took almost 2 hours to get from check out at Bangu back to my Ipanema Bnb. I also felt very very tired returning, but did not see anyone dope my drink. The M to Coelho Neto is quite safe. You can uber or cab to bangu from there. On my way back, huge crowds entered after the football match at Maracana between Flumiense and Flamengo. Despite some drenching rain during the delayed matched, all seemed dry ! A couple of hook up app meet ups never happened over the weekend, Again, LOL. Did not have any further contact from forum folks. Its truly sunny and not too hot at noon on Monday, so off to the beach !!!

Friday afternoon in Rio and it has been raining all day, sometimes pouring, but mostly enough to just stay in so far today. Wednesday: went to Sexy Rose from 1500-1720 ish hours. It was busy enough. Couple of very hot guys that are well beyond our league, so at least the eye candy and grab some **** in the darkroom was nice. Then at 202, again I was tired post sexy rose. There were about 5 guys of interest as I entered at 1815 hours. Did a quick tour of the place and never saw 4 of them again! The 5th had a punter or 2. The TV jerk off room by the lockers is now closed. I think the 3rd or 4th floor bar and smoking areas are also closed now. The new smoking area is on the 2nd floor by the hot sauna and urinals. For non-smokers, the smoke is unbearable. Some play in steam room. Hot tub on the 2nd floor is gone now and is a hang out room. Stayed until 2030 hours ish and left before 9-930 pm show. It was busy, but I was simply too hungry for food vs boys. Entry is 80 R$. Did not inquire re room cost after 30 minutes or on non-free cabin nights. I will word the following carefully, as I do not know if any of these folks are forum members. A ? Texas guy spends ½ yr in Rio. Was quite nice to me and found a very hot GP for play. If he is a member, please say hello via PM. Tall blond punter I saw from Bangu over a year ago brought his “special fiend” with him. I trust he and his table guests all had a nice time out. I think he is a member. And then, oh dear, please, I am not trying to be evil. There were 3 guys together that are quite old. I think they came into being shortly after the Big Bang when our universe started. Might have mentored Noah in ship design. I was not certain if I had known one of them before. I think an actor from Florida who was spending maybe a week per month or 2 in Rio and he likely had some plastic surgery back then and looked appropriate for age. I think he had more surgery, perhaps a month or 2 ago, and if the same person, oh dear, not a great result. Another poor soul looked like had died 3 weeks ago, formaldehyde had been placed in his veins and yet he keeps walking. Not sure if he was pre or post a botched procedure. The 3rd guy was also older and facial features seemed quite reasonable, but the jet-black Beatles mop top hair was not working. Another punter, not with the 3 bad plastic surgery guys also had a bad jet-black toupee. Sometimes, I think it best to accept what you have or just mildly embellish things. Sorry forum members, but these 4 folks looked like they were from a Benny Hill / horror show skit gone awry. No super-hot guy came in at 2000 hours, unlike a year or 2 ago. I went food shopping as the supermarkets were getting ready to close. FWIW Mundial, which often has by far the best prices, is huge and perhaps 4 blocks down on S campos from 202. But the lines can be unbearable. I went to an Extra that is hidden inside a mall and large residential and office block across and down from 202 by a block or so. Had a huge very nice but late dinner at my bnb. Yours truly ate far too much (I was very hungry) and ate way too late before going directly to bed. Woke up in the middle of the night with the worst heartburn ever and generally felt simply awful. Things got worse and by 0900 I was on my way to Samaritan Hospital not far from Botofogo M. Private place and my insurance included them as a provider. In brief, I got worked up for a heart attack, which I did not have. After 5 hours or so of testing, they kindly pointed out that one should not eat a giant meal right before sleeping. Offered some anti reflux and similar meds. Some are not available in all countries such as lufta gastro and domperidone. I found their Receiving staff to be very professional, and I think I would be ok going there again if needed. Recommended to forum members. Having been poked and prodded, I did not feel like playing Thursday night and I cancelled a date too. LOL Friday through 4pm has been too rainy to do much of anything as noted above. So, hoping for a nice early smaller dinner nearby if the rain continues.

Gee....are we talking magic fairy dust? My experiences are the opposite of your friend looking for folks 20 yrs older. He should try La Cueva near M Cantagalo on a club night, after 0100 hours. I would expect that if he is in shape they might offer to pay him. Lol. Strange as it has always seemed to me, I have experienced multiple dates with much younger guys who were not asking for pay up front in Brazil. Not true elsewhere. That stated they almost always asked for some help from their older mentor at some point and I never objected as I think maybe I understand the dynamics here where poverty is crushing. I limited my support to our time together.

Maybe 6-7 years ago I found a young physical therapist not too far from the M Siq Campos in Copa in an office bldg. Handled my back like an osteopath or chiropractor sort of cracking it along the way. Have to admit he was very effective. It was about $40- per hour which seemed a bit expensive per local rates back then. Perhaps a pro P T person could help.

Tuesday was a local holiday here but the occasional rain or drizzle made a mess of things. Not a beach day. Was at sexy rose a bit late and it was not very busy, though I still had fun. Arrived at 117 in Gloria around 1815 hours. It was a nice walk from cinelandia. A few bands were out maybe for the holiday. Admission price at 117 is now 99 R$. First 30 minutes of cabin time is free on Tuesday. 77 R$ for each additional 30 minutes to follow. I saw someone pay 300 R$ for what seemed like an average looking GP - of course all pricing is highly variable, but I think 200 is a minimum for a hotter GP and maybe without gozar. (Not trying to be evil - so maybe the muscle gods were pricier unless you are a local and speak good PT ??) Others feel free to chime in. Many unfamiliar faces. Familiar GPs from over a year ago tended to be more muscular than before !! There was one group of folks hanging together and I could not figure out clients vs GPs in all cases as the possible GPs, though maybe 35 yo, were muscular and somewhat tanned. I was tired and hungry after sexy rose and left 117 by 2015 hours. Maybe the show was at 2030 or 2100 hours. I missed it. I only saw 1 table of customers buying lots of drinks and did not see any flowing champagne. Wide variety of GPs but only a few twinks. I did not go to Meio Mundo on Monday so I do not know how their twinks compare. Very long line for cabins at 117 and the queen in charge of the queue was stressed out. Lol. May have a few sprinkles at noon Wednesday and possibly partly cloudy to follow so I am hoping for some beach time today. One member PMd me and perhaps did not receive my reply. Please PM me again, etc. Thx.

Floridarob makes some good points. Unlike Kobenhavn where police patrolled the parks at night to keep them safe for gays and drug users eons ago, I know of no other place where this degree of safety might exist today. Mind you, I would guess that parks in Germany or the UK should still be safe at night but this would require confirmation from someone with current knowledge. Athens has a park just north of the famous national archeological museum which is safe during the day and the boys will know where to play. Others play at night elsewhere, but I have never done so, especially as I like to play before sunset. I would never ever play in a park in Istanbul - too many stories of robbery at knifepoint. My guess is that this happened to 2 folks 30 years ago and the stories never stopped, but still..... I know of no such places to play in South America. Via the hook up aps I have met folks in public late at night. Seemed safe for all concerned. In Brazil you can go to a love motel, like Alameda across from 117 to play. Again, as safe for all as is possible.

I wanted to add this as a separate post. Accommodations are much more expensive than pre COVID. In Rio, places are much harder to find than during December 2024, just over a year ago, even at a higher cost. Perhaps due to summer travel and the post COVID tourist boom. The mass of tourists was also true 3 months ago in October 2025 in Barcelona, Venice, Florence (and Rome). So. you will have to consider booking in advance if possible. I prefer to book at the last minute to have more travel freedom. When you see a mini split AC unit it will likely be fairly quiet, but some of the full in wall AC units can be painfully loud and they often rattle adjacent windows loudly. That is one reason why I left my first place as soon as the booking was over. Also, why I often book only 2-3 nights as a time. Second is true to pics, and yes, they lie: this place is painfully small. So please, check the apt pics carefully. Inflation: I think a Metro or bus ticket was 4.30 R$ in 2018 or so. M is 7.90 R$ now. Coconuts at street vendors have doubled from 6 to 12 R$ in the last 1-2 years. So yes, doubling of some prices. No idea how locals survive this. First host warned me regarding thefts: under 18 yo robbers are unlikely to be prosecuted and iphones are preferred object to steal. Also beware of motocycle folks grabbing your stuff. In brief, flash and show nothing and try to look like a local as much as possible. Even at Bangu, one of the GPs jokingly tried grabbing my non iphone from my pocket. I think it was to warn me to put it away unless translating to PT. Also, FYI, mosquitos and other bugs are out. Though not severely. That is all for now .....

Bit of an update. Sunday was busy. Hippie Fair / Market in G Osorio then to the gay beach near Posto 9. The market was busy around 1300 hours. I could not find the previously noted gay flag(s) by the gay beach. Did not seem super gay when I went by. Maybe I was there too early following Saturday night's debaucheries. LOL. Since Gloria is about 30 minutes away by Metro I went there next. Huge Sunday market by the M entrance. But no bands were playing around 1445-1515 hours. Since Bangu Sauna (Boite Casa Grande) is about 70 minutes away by UBER I decided to go there next. Then my TIM sim card simply stopped working. Full signal and 99% available data, but simply would not connect. Took M to Coelho Neto, could not find the Uber using M station wifi and finally took a taxi (77 R$). Arrived just after 1700 hours and stayed until about 1940 hours. The sauna was in poor physical shape with the downstairs front area closed and some flooding. Main floor had many damaged lockers and they had run out of lockers when I arrived. An American was helping to work the register and put my stuff in a tool shed type locker. It was safe enough. He was very nice to me. I heard no one else speaking anything other than PT. One German looking guy came in with his ? German looking younger boy? Very odd. Entry was 45 R$. I had 2 of the 3 GPs I desired. One was great the other was ok, nothing more. Both kissed nicely. Third GP found 2 punters who were buying beer, but no sex. So how was this guy going to earn food money? Oh well.... Cost: the GPs were asking 100-150 for more or less any service you wanted. None were very pushy. Uber, using club wifi, back to Rio was 80+ R$. Monday: went to the beach where it was cloudy, but I did not burn under the beach umbrella !! Then to Sexy Rose from 1700-1900 hours. Very busy and about the latest I have ever been there; though I did not have my full usual luck, I still had plenty of fun. Then back to my place. Started raining and rain ramped up by 2100 hours. Raining heavily overnight and this (Tuesday) am. Still raining on and off. May head out to Sexy Rose before free cabin night at 117.

I suppose young folks do some street cruising like from '50s and '60s Hollywood movies, but I have never seen any street scenes like in LA of SF here. Just the standing outside of a gay bar flirting, no car involved. My best guess is that it is not really something that would likely work if you are older or non-fluent in PT. Also, the scene in front of Corujina ended years ago. So, perhaps best to stick to cruising clubs in centro or lapa mostly or Sexy Rose in cinelandia. Good luck.

As I think have said before: Buttercawan rules !! We are unworthy I tried the Home Rio via Facebook, and the last posting was July 2025, so I thought it was over. I then tried the Insta link and signed in via Facebook login, maybe they are owned by the same company. Not sure why they keep new postings only on Insta and not FB as well. Perhaps there is also a Brazilian social media site I / we are not aware of. The Home has a party tonight starting at 2330 hours. !!! I will likely head out on the last Metro (just before MN I think) and walk the rest of the way. Not difficult. As I remember from the past, you need an ID like a passport for foreigners. It should be packed if it's like late 2024 !! There were folks from twinks to older bears last time I went in Dec 2024. Sure, tweekers too. One could be quite festive in the bathroom stalls which were like mini rooms, LOL. Don't laugh - when I went in 2024 I arrived around 0230 hours and there was no line to get in and left maybe before 0500. Likely saw the newish Florida Club near Aproador and the old Le Boy in the cab back to Ipanema back then. Got cleaned up, crashed for an hour or 2 and then went to the Gregorian Chant Sunday am church service at the monastery by centro and the Bay - it was great. Covered all my bases too Could not figure out The Hole too well, but sounded like no party tonight. Project Kevin had info from June 2025 Pride stuff, plus Carnaval event(s). FCK is next weekend 24 Jan and again at Carnaval 14 Feb. I missed the link for the address. Without his kind links, I / we would be lost. Many thanks oh Jedi Master !!

Well, as in the past, all of the information I can find is old / outdated with some sources still mentioning Le Boy and La Girl that closed years ago. Links for The Week or The Home do not work anymore. Not even sure if 117 has a descent show for a Saturday night anymore, LOL.

Hello Folks: After trying for weeks, finally arrived, LOL. Not sure if I will stay here for 2 weeks or head elsewhere like Sao Paulo, Tiradentes, etc. I went to Sexy Rose after arriving Friday, yesterday. I was there from around 1500-1815 hours. Very busy when I left happy. But lots of folks of most any non 20 yo twink type when I was there. Highly recommended as in the past. For those thinking of coming to Brazil: Don't be put off by weather reports which note rainy days, as it is mostly sunny, or cloudy with occasional rain, as is common in tropical summers. Again, mostly sunny/. Might go to the Hole or Home or whatever it is called now later Saturday night if I can find any info. If not, maybe Taurus in Lapa. Will likely do the Hippy Fair in Ipanema and ealy pm beach Sunday, followed by Gloria market and bandas-if any, followed by Bangu Sauna, maybe 1500-1800 hours. Feel free to reach out and say hi if anyone else is in town now.

Hello All: Very low airfares from several US cities into some Brazilian cities now, including Brasilia. Often with stops in SP or Rio for the connection. Thinking about 3-5 days in SP. I am familiar with Rio. Clueless for SP, save for the many comments about the GP sauna there. I think Pauleiro posted some SP comments a year or 2 ago. Trying to get an idea how folks spend their non sauna time in SP. In Rio a typical day for me would be some am work, a jog at the beach, maybe the gym or a late am hour or 2 at the beach, make lunch at the BnB and head out to do some shopping or Sexy Rose to follow. I assume there are places like Sexy Rose in SP and Brasilia. Early am sex clubs like Taurus, etc? 117 or 202 at 1800 hrs or so, with dinner before or after. Sometimes a nap and a late night early am event. A day here or there doing tourist stuff or a day trip. Sundays at the Ipanema Hippie Fair art market in the am and Gloria music events after lunch. Banju Sauna to follow. Depending on costs and my mood I will generally stay in Copa, Ipa near G Osorio or Paz, or Leblon near the M stop that is further out. Prices and general tranquility increase away from Copa. What are the equivalents for SP and Brasilia? Thanks in advance.

I was in Naples about 15 years ago. There was a bath house with some action when I was there. When driving away to another area in the central part of the city, there were some street hustlers I passed en route. I did not stop to find out more, LOL. On one of the older web sites, perhaps the now defunct cruisingforsex or maybe squirt, there were other postings about street trade. Floating around someplace years ago there was a YouTube or other video about young Romanians being pimped out by their dads someplace in the Naples area where the ? gypsies had an encampment. You made an agreement with the dad, went to a nearby mostly empty car park, did your deed and returned the boy (? older teen). Not sure who was paid what, when etc. The Palace at Caserta was gigantic and has a large gardens area. Near the Palace itself, there were some secluded spots in the garden for play :). When I was there, there seemed to be no issue in the middle of the day. Just be a bit discreet. I was in Italy recently but only noted limited activity on Grindr, Scruff, Romeo, Sniffies, etc. Never hooked up. I agree with the OP, some were way too aggressive. I thought in a few cases it was because they lived away from the city and had no means to quickly get into town. Perhaps that made them more desperate for sex if you could come to their place. One person flaked. Spain and Italy were completely packed with tourists in October - actually worse than pre-COVID typical height of summer season. Finding a place to stay was difficult. There was a 1 week wait for a regular ticket to Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. Some next day waits at the Uffizi and Accademia in Firenze and a 2 week wait for a regular, non $100 plus private tour ticket for the Vatican museum in Rome. I was told no photos were being allowed at the Sistine Chapel! At the Duomo in Florence and some other sites, they greatly restricted where tourists could wander - both side transepts, altar area and behind the altar were all roped off. Folks praying were allowed to one transept area. Santo Spirito in Florence also had one attendant telling folks not to take photos, most took them anyway. Most everyone used cell phones without flash. In Venice during the Biennale St Marks seemed fully open to explore, though some areas had price add-ons to visit. I agree with the OP that the major cities seemed too crowded vs past visits, sometimes chokingly so. I left Italy a bit early due to some rainy days approaching and I needed a break from my break. Award airfares back to North America were also about to get painfully expensive. AA had Premium Economy seats available from Milan at a low fare and UA had higher coach awards (but at their 40K base level) from many Italy cities. AC, AF, KL, and BA were not any better. BA also charges very high fees and taxes of over $300 USD via London. German fees and taxes are also a bit high now around $170 USD. I think they were around $65 USD in the past. All AA and UA award lower cost awards seemed to be evaporating as the rains were approaching. I also looked at some other cities. Athens was at 110K for an award ticket (yikes) and BCN, MAD, etc were also very costly. MUC and VIE were also above base levels as was PAR. These are all cites reachable by train in under 10 hours from Venice, Milan, Turin in the north.

When you get sick abroad: Where to go and what to expect Hi Folks: Posting this in the Europe Forum but also applies elsewhere. Moderator can feel free to suggest if this should be posted elsewhere or limit comments to Europe, SA, Asia, etc per the appropriate Forum. One thing that always seems to be missing in postings are specifics of what to do if health trouble arises. Afterall, many of us are a bit older. Was in Barcelona recently and got sick. LOL. While at Boyberry I saw a flyer for what seemed like a gay health service: Barcelona Checkpoint, Comte Borrell 164-166, 08015 BCN https://www.bcncheckpoint.com/ and not too far away, just north of Boyberry by a few blocks. When I got there around noon I was told to head elsewhere to a neighborhood / regional hospital clinic. Checkpoint also said they usually see people a few days after you call them or drop in. Centro Médico Manso Certificados Médicos en Barcelona https://www.centromedicomanso.com/ corner of Manso and Calabria, near Poble Sec Metro and about 4 blocks south of Rocafort Metro. C/ Calàbria, 17 Entlo. 5ª, BARCELONA Telfs. +34 678 310 109 / +34 93 424 03 37 | SIN CITA PREVIA Webpage notes they were closed from 4 to 24 August ? 2025. Webpage mentions medical certificates, but Manso was available for a variety of issues. Just be prepared to wait. You start on the ground floor where someone sorts you out. My Catala is non existent, Spanish is poor, so the nice lady and I spoke in French. I then went to another floor. Since I had never been a patient before, they had to do all the expected entry documentation. Only issue was that my Airbnb address was temporary as I expected to leave the next day. But they could not process paperwork without a local address. LOL. I was told that I might have to pay over 100 Euros. If you have a health card from another EU country, the service might be free or low cost. Not sure about UK. I was then told which waiting area to hang out in and was seen about an hour or so later. A curmudgeon like doctor saw me along with 2 nurses at different times. Once sorted out, I went back to the registration desk, pulled out my credit card and paid just under $200. I was at C M Manso from about 1230-1600 hours. The meds prescribed were under $10 each at the nearby pharmacy. I was ok to leave Barcelona the next day. They had my signed permission to use email for any further contact as needed, as I was told I would not be able to contact the doctor or nurses directly. I thought the service was good overall, but not sure I trust the test results. Oh well. The sheet I got from Checkpoint mentioned 5 other hospital / clinic places as well. They all seemed to be part of Consulta d'ITS. Antencio Primaria Barcelona Ciutat - Institut Catala de la Salut. All 6 centers names started with - Centre CAP, then Manso, Numancia, Casa Antic, Luis Saye (Raval Nord), El Clot, and the 6th was Centre CAP Passeig de Sant Joan. Apologies, as I do not speak Catala and there are many typos in the cut and pastes below, none of the accent marks carried over and some became typos. Fora de l'horaride les consultes d'lTS, tamb6 us poden atendre, els 365 dies de l'any, les 24 hores del dia, als Centre d'Urgdncies d'Atenci6 Primdria: CUAP Manso - Ci Manso, 19, planta baixa. 08015 Barcelona. CUAP Sant Marti- C/ Fluvid 211Planta Bbixa, 08020 Barcelona Centre CAP Manso Adrega: C/ Manso '19, planta 5a 08015 Barcelona Teldfon 93 554 28 89 Hoiari de la Consulta:' Dimecres idijous de 15 a 20 h Centre CAP Numdncia Adrega: C/ Numdncia 23, planta baixa 08029 Barcelona Teldfon 93 495 58 86 Horari de la Consulta: Dimarts 15 a 20 h Centre CAP Casc Antic Adreqa: C/ Rec Comtal 24, planta 1a 08003 Barcelona ' Teldfon 93 310 14 21 Horari de la Consulta: ' Dimecres 15 a 20 h Centre CAP Lluis Say6 (Raval Nord) Adrega: C/ Torres i Amat 8, planta 1a 08001 Barcelona Teldfon 93 301 27 05 Horari de la Consulta: Dimarts de 15 a 20h Centre'GAP ElClot Adrega: C/ Concili de Trento 25, Planta Baixa 08018 Barcelona Teldfon 93 303 73 01 Horari de la Consulta: Dilluns de 15 a 17.30h Centre GAP Passeig de Sant Joan Adrega: C/ Ali-Bei 18-20, Consuita 1, 08010 Barcelona Teldfon 93 265 01 17 Horari de la Consulta: Dilluns de 15 a 20h As for other places, in Brazil, there are many public clinics and hospitals. When in Parati / Paraty many years ago I needed stitches due to a deep glass cut on my foot while at the beach. I got through very quickly and they were very nice. No charge! There are both public and private places in all major cities in Brazil. You pay more but can get faster service for non-urgent matters privately, usually. Even at some private clinics the wait for a specialist might be weeks. At pharmacies many meds are over the counter, but many antibiotics require a prescription (I think in PT it is pronounced similar to receipt / recetta in English) from a local Brazilian doctor. Some meds can only be dispensed at public clinics and are not available at local pharmacies. Strangely, the local pharmacists seem absolutely clueless about any med not available at their pharmacy, even if it can be obtained at a public clinic. And yes, some require a public clinic doctor visit first. Waiting times could be days to weeks for the appointment and an hour or so waiting in the clinic for the doctor. If you are about to run out of your meds, make any needed appointment well in advance and it is sometimes best to go to the clinic area that covers your needs at the local public hospital or clinic and pursue matters there. For reasons unknown to me, they seem to prioritize some polite foreigners who know some PT. I have never been charged for seeing the doctor or even for the meds dispensed at a public clinic. When I had to see an ophthalmologist, eye doctor, I was seen quickly, proper testing was performed, and I was reassured that I did not have an acute retinal tear. Cost was about $160.00. Physical therapy in Brazil was of a high quality and seemed to be a mix chiropractic and PT by the person I went to in Copa years ago. I think the cost was $40 per session. Very satisfied with quality of care overall. Poland - again, years ago. I had kidney stones. Went to 3 places (starting with one mentioned in my guidebook - pre internet era), per referrals from one to another. After second place did not have a urologist available that day, I ended up at a large hospital. Service and care were excellent. Fastest labs I have ever experienced. Wait time for the doctor was under an hour. Doctor was trained in Germany and the ultrasound machine looked brand new. I do not think it was a clinic day. Never heard of the meds, but an excruciating day later I passed the bad boy stone. My only minimal cost was for the meds. Zero cost for the 2 prior clinic stops and no cost for the doctor, labs, and ultrasound at the large hospital. I thought the care in Poland was excellent. In the US and Canada you can wait days to weeks for non-acute care and longer waits for specialists. In general, more treatment options are available in the US, but at higher costs and co-pays. In Canada care starts with your primary care provider who can make a referral for a specialist. Care plans / costs vary widely in Canada based upon your Province and if you have a private insurance supplement. In the US you can go directly to a specialist without primary care doctor referral in some plans, but not others. For non-US residents or those without insurance that will be accepted in the US healthcare costs will be very high. In Canada, healthcare costs for non-residents will be less than the US but still high. Please feel free to add your experiences and suggestions.