Xclay

Bottom line: Definitely go Thursday through Sunday. Monday through Wednesday depend on how selective you are.

Davet, one other tip about that Cal scene: The top-tier guys are *not* regulars. Don't assume hottest guys you see on Thursday or Sunday will be back anytime soon. Discovered that one of my fav GPs buses in from hinterlamds only once every couple of weeks. Other stars were once a week, but they may return sooner if you promise a scheduled rendezvous. Let us know how it goes!

Two weeks ago Thursday was packed and Sunday was the next most active day at California. Surprisingly, Saturday was not much better than Wednesday had been. Monday and Tuesday there were a half dozen GPs and not any stars. I was sadly celibate on Monday but did tolerably well on Tuesday. Your mileage may vary.

Yes, if all these bottoms are now getting the pills and faithfully taking them daily, that would account for the transformation. But — contrary to your assumption as something that should be obvious — free PrEP has not come close to widespread use among men who have sex with men in Brazil! "Why is PrEP so underused in Brazil?" "Unwillingness to prescribe PrEP... in Northeastern Brazil" "PrEP use in Brazil remains low despite free national access" "Why Is Preexposure Prophylaxis So Underused in Brazil?" Good if you are right and the "sex professionals" are among the estimated only 15% who take PrEP!

Several recent posts have commented at being shocked to see Brazilians going raw at orgies. Is this a trend? Are all these guys really taking PrEP? At saunas around Brazil, I was surprised in 2023 on my two trip (16 weeks) to have so many hot bottom boys casually offering me unprotected sex, and seeming eager to take a load. I don't remember that from past decades. Well, actually I do remember from about 2005 a cute little blond in PA who really wanted it raw because that was such an exception back then. I always think of a straight comedian who says that he's never more eager to put on a condom than when a woman says "oh you don't need to wear a condom." The few times I've tried to ask I was told, if Google Translate got it all right, that they are indeed taking PrEP. ??? In contrast, I've not noticed any change in ativos conscientious unprompted use of protection.

Congrats on that great opportunity! My suggestion is that you consider varying your location, rather than confining yourself to only one place. Of course, I have serious commitment problems! You might, for example, spend a month or two in the far south, a month or two in the northeast, and divide the rest between SP and Rio. To optimize the weather, compare the examples on factors down the page at this link: https://weatherspark.com/compare/y/29679~30563~31123~30268/Comparison-of-the-Average-Weather-in-Porto-Alegre-Rio-de-Janeiro-Fortaleza-and-São-Paulo

OMG, I should have remembered your July post! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Merry Christmas

In my experience, visa companies always strongly recommended obscuring your exact account number on the bank statement. This does not misrepresent your financial status which is the purpose of the document. Alas, we'll miss you in Brazil. Sounds like this requirement may be a deal breaker for you.

Not expensive. GPs each got their usual session fee plus maybe R$50 extra. The only GPs chosen were those really eager and excited about it. (If they hesitated, nevermind.) Length? Regular session (40 min). Who did what? Twice it was mostly watching them go wild with each other, and eager btms getting sequentially kissed and pounded by tops in rotation. Trash talk by clients, most still in street clothes. The third time clients got more involved with kissing and hands but still were shy and did not strip down (happily, IMHO). These were circa 2005-7 at old Lagoa.

Nice fantasy but fraught with potentials for disaster. Scott cited a couple. And you'd outsource the critical selection of GPs 😱! Consider a scaled-down version. At the old Lagoa I vividly remember three fantastic orgies organized by four clients/voyeurs and about six GPs (who we'd picked). One effective carrot was to offer a bonus tip to the most enthusiastic GP. Finding a slightly larger room would be tough, but it does not hurt if it is cozy.

We in the Anglosphere are not used to this requirement, although of course it is not uncommon for people from less affluent countries to have to show minimum financial means before getting visas to other countries. I'll bet Brazilians must do something like this to get visas from Canada, US, and Oz. In visa applications over the years to many countries off the beaten path, I've had to include a bank statement. As I recall, it was needed a few years ago for the Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola, for example. Also, it was required for Russia. In the past, I always blacked out part of my bank account number. It was not a big deal. In a couple of cases, they wanted an "attested" statement from the bank that I had sufficient funds and am a reliable customer in good standing. Banks have these form letters ready to go. I will be seriously annoyed if Brazil rejects bank statements with part of the account number redacted. Since editing PDFs is easy now, an alternative to blacking out numbers might be to switch several digits around in the account number.

Everybody online here is trim and fit of course. But in case you have a friend who (like my friend) could stand to drop 20 pounds (or kilos!), here is a quick update. Yesterday I walked into the reputable Drogaria Pacheco in Copacabana and inquired if the pharmacy sold Rybelsus (the daily pill version of Ozempic). The young lady asked which dosage – 3mg or 7mg. Important to start with the low dose, so 3mg. No prescription! Just paid R$465 (US$94). That's less than a night at 117. In the US, without insurance, this 30-day supply might cost over $1,000, over ten times as much as in Brazil. Was this a fake Novo Nordisk product in a brilliantly authoritative-looking box at this Rio pharmacy? As you know many drugs are sold at astronomical prices in the US to take advantage of our health insurance rebates and reap profits to offset research and testing costs before generics swoop in. And at the same time, the identical drug is often sold at reasonable prices overseas. So I do not think the bargain price was proof of a counterfeit. This is not Bangkok. Sure seems legit. We'll see... After this morning's first dose, my friend only wanted a very light breakfast, had a Danone YoPro (25g protein) for lunch, and still feels extremely satiated. Disclaimer for the record: I am not a medical professional. The information provided is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult with your doctor before taking any supplements or trying any new treatment. This is not a sponsored post. I am not claiming that this supplement will cure or prevent any disease. Individual results may vary. This supplement or treatment may interact with other medications you are taking. And, if you are or are not pregnant or nursing, consult with your doctor before taking this supplement!!!

😱 that sounds really really scary to vanilla me. Glad you are progressing. A Brazilian who got carried away?

Good luck and take care with the cop you want to choke you! That does not always turn out well. I'll stick to the cops, soldiers, and airmen who stop by the saunas, but I admire your nerve approaching them out and about! Looking forward to updates on your upcoming adventures.

Trying unsuccessfully to delete this. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Ha! And the vampire analogy works for us on a couple of levels. I was at the party too with my earplugs working overtime to continue to keep my good hearing intact.

Thanks for sharing this AFP wire story. It makes quite a few references to increased police patrols in the Copacabana area. And I can vouch for that. This Saturday afternoon I took a long walk along Avenida Atlântica on the hotel side and on the beach side. Police were at nearly every intersection, in the middle of long blocks, and parked on the esplanade. I'm used to seeing police here, but this was an all-time record. They were patrolling up and down the parallel avenues too. For the record, most wore tight brown uniforms. You might not have picked all of them at 117, but generally not too bad. Many of the muscular military policemen wore tight white t-shirts stating Policia Militar along with shorts seriously stretched by their quads. Sorry. I got distracted from the serious subject of police deterring crime in Copacabana. To recap: Yes, many are indeed here.

Good question. Perhaps more of the fair "German" GPs now migrate to SP/Rio where sauna prospects are more lucrative and sugar daddies more plentiful. Also one speculation is that many descendants of German and other northern European immigrants have become more prosperous over the past couple of decades. And to really speculate, some intermarriage over the past generation might darken the dirty blond hair!

Floridarob, above you wrote "neither did I" so it sure sounded like you were or had recently been in PA. The record has now been duly corrected. But, yes, tons of fun in Rio and far more good candidates. I'm in Rio now too and enjoying it except for the rain.

My two weeks in Porto Alegre (out of ten weeks in Brazil) overlapped with Pauleiro. Looks like our experiences diverged. I am eclectic in my preferences and I did usually have really good romps at Lux — even during the week — with enthusiastic prior favs plus surprisingly fun newbies. Only two were subpar. Unlike FloridaRob and Pauleiro, I did venture over to old Mezzaninu a few times. It was never as totally empty as when Scott456 visited recently, but it was close. When I went, Mezz only had two-to-four GPs. Yet, one day I met a cute, very short, 19yo, excited GP btm on his second day on the job. Another day I ran into a tall, handsome old favorite. Of course, Lux was still the better venue. However, for most visitors, especially those with particular niche tastes, Buttercawan is absolutely right that PA is a roll of the dice. P.S. I see mentions that you'll encounter guys from a blond Northern European gene pool. That was my experience in PA in the days of Plataforma twenty years ago when there were GPs with light brown hair, including the novelty of an almost blond young German-Jewish taekwondo btm from Gramado. These days such fair GPs seem far less common. The many white GPs are mostly Mediterranean white.

Since late March 2020 (when the Brazilian government lowered interest rates and added lots of pandemic measures), we've been lucky to get good exchange rates. Currently, the rate is not at its recent peak of nearly 6 reals for one dollar, but nearly 5:1 is still quite good (for visitors). Years ago, I tested exchange rates at ATMs vs. credit cards and found that both were very good and they were comparable. I had also been warned to be careful in using my credit card in Brazil because hacking was not uncommon. For many years, my practice has been to use my credit card to pay my hotels and any large purchases — but pay cash (drawn from ATMs) for coffee, most meals, saunas, and GP tips. A few days ago, I quickly used a Bradesco ATM to grab some reals on the way to a sauna. I was shocked to see it defaulted to a terrible exchange rate with an 11% "mark-up." So I decided it was time to run a comparison test again. I was ready to denounce Bradesco until I discovered that you can reject the Bradesco default (designed to rip off other dumb tourists!?) and get an excellent exchange rate. Down in its screen's lower left corner is the crucial option "Decline Conversion"! Clicking that option does not deny baptism, but it yields an outstanding result. My test results: *For the "official" rate, I used XE.com's widely used "mid-market" rate on the day I made the transaction. Not included above is the R$20 transaction fee (US$4) that Santander adds. My Schwab card reimburses all local bank transaction fees, but otherwise that extra $4 each time starts to add up! Bottom line: ✔ Bradesco ATMs are great IF you "decline conversion." ✔ Santander ATMs are good if your bank reimburses Santander's transaction fees. ✔ The basic Visa card exchange rate is great (as long as you keep the charge in reals and decline the conversion to USD or EUR). Miscellaneous: ● I know that for some posters here getting 4.4 instead of 4.9 is pocket change. Good for you. But for those of us who stay longer and keep an eye on our budget, it matters. ● I did not check Itaú or Banco do Brasil. Getting into a Banco do Brasil here in Porto Alegre is worse than TSA airport security. Plus, I've never forgiven Banco do Brasil for its ATM giving me zero cash after accepting my transaction 20 years ago in Recife. Nightmare getting reimbursed. ● Just noticed that Gap1972 briefly noted the Bradesco trick in passing back in September, and others complained about the Bradesco "robbery" back in January. This site is amazing.

The Moinhos de Vento area with the big park and upscale restaurants has always seemed safe in the two dozen years I've been coming here. I've never heard of anybody having any problems. I always regularly walk at night from Lux (revamped Plataforma) up the hill to Moinhos de Vento. No hassles ever. From more distant Mezzaninu, you'd want to take an Uber.

Of course you can occasionally come across a random GP hunting at any Brazilian sauna. But, as far as I know, no GPs regularly go to any PA saunas except Lux and Mezzaninu. Compared to much larger cities, it's impressive that PA has two!

I praised Porto Alegre here last January (see link below) even before the significant progress noted in the two threads started in June-August (linked in the post above). I just arrived in Porto Alegre today, so I'll provide an update in a week or so.

FYI...