Xclay

I have not visited Salvador in over 20 years, and your updates have rekindled my interest in returning. Back in the day my hottest encounters were with a young Brazilian married tourist staying at my hotel and with a handsome, horny, married, young taxi driver who was conveniently waiting outside the sauna. I did not have a good session at the sauna. Sorry if I missed it in one of your earlier posts and I know you have described your favorite guys in detail, but could you characterize the types of GPs at the Salvador saunas please? How would they compare to the typical mix in SP and Rio?

Exactly! If they get to set the price they will naturally tend to ask for more. And they will think the client must not even know the market rate.

Sounds like you asked them "how much" instead of making them an offer?

Yep. Brilliantly succinct yet so much valuable info! Really happy you had fun in Porto Alegre and Curitiba. I also like them a lot but they are not always popular here.

Superb update on Belo Horizonte! Thanks for sharing the good news. Based on your report I'll definitely return to BH now after a hiatus of six or seven years. You mentioned the rain. BH has some of the most intense monsoon weeks of any place I've visited in Brazil. November, December, January often have nonstop downpours. But May through August are the driest months. I'll return in June or July. Thanks again.

I am curious about the La Cueva bar in Copacabana. I searched here for "Cueva" and only found this one paragraph from one post from 2022: I'm sure this description will repel many of my pals here — but I want to check out La Cueva as a potential post-sauna stop on the way to my Copacabana hotel. Thanks in advance for any reviews or tips! IG site: https://www.instagram.com/lacuevabrasil/

Yes, for decades that was exactly my practice in Brazil until my last trips there last year. I finally started using my credit card at shops and cafes in Brazil because (1) many vendors I use only accept credit cards (e.g., The Coffee) or else (2) they are shocked to get cash and embark on a time-consuming hassle (not always successful) to find change! In contrast, the ten seconds to wave my touchless credit card makes it quick, easy, and (at proper establishments) seemingly safe. I do still pay in cash at the saunas!

Thanks. Always a good reminder to be careful and not use your credit card promiscuously abroad — especially to random vendors on the street and beach! However, what this Reddit guy does (moving money from his bank savings every time he makes a purchase!) is overkill and a hassle that can be avoided just by not using your card on the street and beach. Reddit guy himself only had this issue with randos at the beach. Never heard of this problem at regular shops that have a register and give receipts. Of course, many times the process is all automated. The amount on the register is the amount deducted from the card. No intervention from the cashier.

Good Copa summary, but... I've never been so lucky as to get lie-flat seating on Copa and, without it, the slight recline on a red-eye make the value of business class questionable. Yes, all of Copa's 737-MAX 9 (“Dreams” Business Class) planes do have lie-flat seats. However, Copa's 737-800 aircraft only have poor recliners in business class. Copa's 737-MAX 8 planes are better than the 737-800s, but its BC seats do not lie-flat either. According to ChatGPT, Copa is usually using MAX-9 on its flights to Rio (GIG); São Paulo (GRU); and Florianópolis (FLN). No evidence of MAX-9 deployment on Copa's flights to Belo Horizonte (CNF); Brasília (BSB); Manaus (MAO); and Porto Alegre (POA).

Grok identified these two with 25 meter long pools in Rio: Belmond Copacabana Palace - This iconic hotel features one of Rio's largest pools, described as half-Olympic sized at 25 meters (82 feet) long with an area of 300 square meters (3,229 square feet). Sheraton Grand Rio Hotel & Resort - The main outdoor pool is 25 meters long, suitable for lap swimming, and is part of an extensive leisure area with multiple pools. In Sao Paulo, the Rosewood has an impressive rooftop pool: Rosewood São Paulo - This luxury hotel features two outdoor pools, including a notable rooftop infinity pool that is 35 meters (114 feet) long with an area of 192 square meters (2,066 square feet), making it one of the longest in the city. No luck with less expensive hotels. ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

I would not be surprised if Uber drivers are reluctant to go to or from Bangu after dark. But on Sunday afternoons, which was and I think still is the best time to visit, I had no problems at all. Report from my first Bangu visit:

I was curious about Wednesday night at 117 after a GP told me that after 6pm GPs are banished and 117 turns into a "standard" gay sauna. Is that still correct? You mentioned the "older acompanhantes" (i.e. GPs, right?) so maybe post-6 is not a rent-free period after all. If it is GP-free, can you share what the scene and the crowd is like (in addition to Panda's good paws)? Average age drops a few decades? Lots of action or snobs to good to play? Thanks in advance if you can offer a recon report.

Just a quick endorsement of this recommendation based on my recent (not amicable) experience. My session at Lagoa went well until, as we departed, the GP named Cayo (not a regular there) demanded an extra 100 after I paid the agreed R$200. (This was not the smiling request for a drink that sometimes follows a good tryst.) He become angry when I declined. He seemed to think he could intimidate me and became increasingly loud and hysterical. I walked over to the reception desk and asked that he tell the GP to stop harassing me. Instead, they threw him out immediately! First time, after decades of many visits to Brazil, I've ever had such an incident. But the good guy at the reception desk put a quick end to the problem.

@Barra "usually 500"‼️ @B2BFK hitting 400❗ May trigger the perennial debate here regarding highly generous gringos wrecking GP expectations toward the rest of us. 😱 Perhaps those pro/con arguments should just be pinned for reference rather than repetition. 🤔

After posting about Python's shortcomings and writing "I won't be rushing back," I confess I returned a few days later. I was persuaded to meet up with a cute fav btm who dislikes Lagoa. As a kind of "love hotel," Python is not a bad bargain place to rendezvous, half to a third less expensive than Lagoa depending on the night. We arrived soon after it opened at 5:15 and by 5:30 it was clear that Friday night was, as reputed, going to have more action. Later, when we came back upstairs after the first romp (me exhausted), the GPs were more flirtatious than during the previous visit. The most handsome one was almost Lagoa-level seductive. He was irresistible so, after a good but slow chicken nugget dinner, we had a great three-way. I'm seeing him again tonight. Bottom line (so to speak): I'm suddenly less opposed to Python. (By the way, I was told that currently GPs can enter Python for free.)