Mustang359

Wow! I thought this tread was about Lion's Rio.
Back on topic: I have a couple questions (as I've never been, but planning on going)
Are these places actually sauna/bathhouses in the more North Americans/European sense (steam rooms, dark rooms, mazes, whatever)? It seems they are mostly bars with a show and small cabins for rent.
Also, I'm a massage addict - how are the massages in the saunas? I like 80% a good massage and 20% extra, but if was 100% amazing massage I'm good with that too.  One of the best (non-sexual) massages I ever got was a very built ex-ballarino (male ballet dancer). It was a very relaxing massage and he whispered sweet nothings in my ear. It was such a mind-fuck I tipped him 120%.

I want to get the better vaccine: Pfizer or Merdena.

I'll be traveling between from refrigerator to the couch and back to the refrigerator hoping something new magically appeared until I'm fully vaccinated. After that all bets are off! I got a year of no sex to catch up on. 

#ExtremelyRude
LMAO!!!+

How rude. 

The B Word: Sao Luis Edition – Something is Better than Nothing
Everyone knows that there is more to Brazil than just Sao Paulo or Rio de Janeiro.  I do not have anything against these two amazing cities - and if I don’t visit any other Brazilian cities in my life other than these two, I’d be more than content.  But all the “bests” I’ve had ever in my short 3-year Brazil touring experience has been out of RJ and SP: best sauna night (TBV in Recife), best road trip (Gramado in Rio Grande do Sul), best AirBNB experience (a party house in Florianopolis), best churrasco (a restaurant in Joinville, Santa Catarina), best Acai dish (an ambulante near the Amazonas Theatre in Manaus) etc etc.
That’s not to say that all Brazilian cities are a must to go to. I’ve always wanted to EVENTUALLY visit all the states in Brazil. So far I’ve been to 15 out of 26, which seems remarkable since I’ve only started going in 2018. So when Paulo asked me if I wanted to go with him to Sao Luis, Maranhao, because he had some family matters to attend to, I jumped on the chance to go, since I have never been to Maranhao state. And when he said there was one boy sauna he knew of that was in Sao Luis, and we could check it out, it made the trip more enticing to me.
But other than knowing that Maranhao state has the famous Lencois Maranhenses National Park, I didn’t know much about Sao Luis, and upon reading about it online, learned that it is a city of a million people that is staddled between the Northeastern cities of Brazil in the east, and the Amazonian parts of Brazil in the west. Sounds like the middle of nowhere to me, but it did have a beach, and a sauna, and with Paulo by my side, I won’t have any qualms exploring the city.
We got to Sao Luis around midnight, after a frantic dash to the airport to make our flight (never have sex before a flight – time flies when you’re having fun). Without dinner or anything, we decided on getting Uber Eats/iFood at the AirBNB. One of the few blessings in this pandemic is that food delivery in Brazil has thrived by leaps and bounds, more than pre-pandemic times, and we would never be hungry. But not in Sao Luis, it seems. We try to put in an order at around 1 AM, and Uber did not have any drivers available.  I guess the town shuts down pretty early, in this weekday night. A far cry from SP or RJ, where you can seemingly get anything at any time.
So a bit about Sao Luis – in the map, its in the middle of the Northeastern region, where Salvador and Recife are, and is defined by beaches, warm waters, and 24 hour sunlight, and the Northern region, where Manaus and the Amazon is, and is defined by tropical rainforests, mosquitoes, and hot hot temps. And indeed, it seems to inherit some parts of both regions, and it doesn’t do any of it well.  It has beaches, but uninspired ones. It has hot weather, but it seems to be Amazon hot (with mosquitoes!) rather than Northeast hot (with a relaxing wind that takes away the sting of the sun). And the infrastructure seems to be crumbling, like what I found in Manaus, than what you see in Recife, for example. I wouldn’t classify this city as a must-go.

But we were here because the BF needed to take care of some family business. We spent most of the waking daylight hours (which is usually after 1 PM for us – it takes us forever to get out of bed) in government agencies and banks, including this branch of Bradesco with a particular inviting ad with world-reknowned hottie surfer Gabriel Medina.  It does make me want to open an account here.

Some other oddities:
We had sushi at a restaurant called Taipan in a shopping mall, and there was an oddly high ratio of gay men among the clientele in the restaurant.  Paulo felt uneasy, because he was (again) easily head and shoulders the hottest guy there, and everyone was checking him out like in the sauna. For Paulo, it was one thing to get checked out in the sauna, but in public, he does want to be left alone. But we got confirmation that, on this Friday night, this restaurant was a bit of an informal hot spot for the gays. Whatever. It was weird. And it was the first time I’ve ever found these training wheels for chop sticks:

The food and beaches were kind of meh for us, but we tried out best to enjoy what was in front of us. The saving grace however, were the bars by the beach at night. Live music, including some of the best Reggae live music we’ve ever heard.


This was not an accident. Sao Luis is known as the “Brazilian Jamaica” after all, for some reason.  We didn’t know this at the time of the trip, but was surprised that this was actually a thing here in Sao Luis.  We had a blast anyway.
There was one sauna in Sao Luis, Sauna Go 63.  It follows the proud tradition of naming your sauna after the street number your establishment is in. In Rio, you have Clube 117 (Rua Candido Mendes) and Ponte 202 (Rua Siquiera Campos). Also, SP has Fragata 555 (Rua Traipu) and Salvador has Clube 11 (Rua Jose Duarte). It was across the bridge from the Beach of Sao Marcos where we were. It in the “Centro Historico” part of town, and it felt as such, as it was a bumpy ride getting there, with all the potholes and crumbling infrastucture around us.
This was a Friday night, and upon entering the premises, we were immediately questioned by a guy sitting behind a table right at the entrance way.  Turns out, he was a health advocate, and he was there to promote safe sex practices, which was I guess pretty appropriate, given the venue. After a brief chat, and some nosiness about the BF’s and my relationship, we were free to check in the sauna.  He was also giving out free condoms, as well as free at-home HIV tests:

Upon check-in, we noticed some boys, one half-naked, another naked and cupping his dick, approach the counter to get some condoms. This certainly was a welcome preview of what is to come.

As we head on over to the locker room, Paulo was recognized by a tall and big fellow. He was a boy who who recognized Paulo from one of the saunas in Fortaleza. He had dark skin, nice face, but not as in shape as I would like. I’m sure he was cute to someone. We both change in towels. Paulo asked his friend about the lay of the land here.

Paulo then requests that he go into the premises alone at first, to suss out the territory himself. “Are you going to find a client?” I asked. He said he wasn’t sure yet, judging from his conversation with his friend (cheap clients), but willing to see the lay of the land first before deciding on whether to work or not.
Knowing what to do, and acting accordingly, is important to Paulo when going to a sauna with me. Paulo says that clients are always jealous of other clients, and if he decided to work tonight, we would have to tamp down on the PDA, and maybe even not talk to each other for a bit, until he was sure he was able to get clients. If he decides not to work, he is free to touch, kiss, and be boyfriends with me. He is big on the PDA, and seems like he wants to do it with me, especially in a sauna since it was a more-or-less private space where he is free to be “gay” and not hetero like out in the world, so he has to make these choices.
As Paulo makes his way into the premises to assess the client situation, I make my own way into the sauna slowly, and made sure I was able to assess the boy situation. Yes, I was still forbidden in getting any of these boys, but I was free to look, and sometimes I can get away with inviting a boy with me for a drink. It is still worth it for me to be “single” while I am with Paulo, since the benefits (amazing sex, great conversation, hot hot hot boy, seeing Brazil through his eyes), outweighs the pitfalls (no sex with other guys, penis too large and thick). And it’s not like I am a saint when I am not with him, and I am able to roam the saunas, trawl the sites, and hit Grindr, like before.
After one or two rotations around the sauna, I am sad to say that I found a total of ONE guy that I would even think of hiring. That ONE guy was obviously super busy and was getting hired by one client after another, since he was the hottest one there.  He was handsome, dark skin, and muscular with abs, so he would be a fit in any other sauna in Brazil land.  And any boy of equal or better quality surely should take advantage of this in this sauna. There was not a shortage of clients here for sure. The rest of the boys were boy next door types. Good for hanging out and a laugh or two, but noone I cannot live without.
After a while, I see Paulo, emerging from the lockers, grinning like a Cheshire cat. He meets me halfway and plants me a big kiss. “I just got one, and I don’t want anyone anymore,” he says. He takes my hand and gets me to the bar, where he orders us two caiprinhas:

“What happened?” I asked him. “They kind of suck here in Sao Luis,” he says in a whisper, and then laughs. I asked why. “Clients were offering me 50 reais, and then 70 reais. It was horrible. You know I don’t do it for less than 100.” But you did one client? “Yeah, remember that guy handing out HIV tests? I guess he liked me enough to offer me 120 reais. But he ended up paying me 150. It was fast too. I only had my penis head in him and he came. Easiest 150 I’ve made. And now I am paying for these drinks,” pointing to the two caiprinhas. I guess he was feeling generous with his earnings, and also since tonight was 2 for 1 caipis:

Paulo has a theory that the boys here are happy with 50 reais programas, as long as they can get 4 or 5 clients, that works out to 250 reais a night. They run a volume business. Paulo suspects that the hot guy I saw worked the same way. He said he'd be surprised if that guy couldn't be had for 70. Volume is the key, since there were a lot of clients. The clients simply don't pay like they do in SP or RJ.
The sauna itself was actually pretty nice. The drinks were suuuuper cheap, and we got some snacks too that were 15 reais:
 
The premises were nice too, and there was a pool that was outdoors, but still in the courtyard of the sauna, so with the hot weather, it was a nice addition, and Paulo took advantage of it by diving in naked, which caused a commotion with some guests:


Overall, this was a chill sauna to spend a Friday night in. The space was pretty spacious:

And there was a separate dance room that one could dance with one’s partner to the day’s popular hits. As the sauna was closing, the owner approached us and asked for Paulo’s number. He said he knew some “politicos” that would be interested in getting Paulo’s services, and they pay way more than the average sauna goer. Paulo gladly gave him the number. We got stinking drunk too. And our bill was less than 100 reais. Worth it.
In closing, I guess I wouldn’t go out of my way to go back to Sao Luis, except if I was on my way to Lencois Maranhenses. But Paulo certainly has a way of livening any location we are in, so it was better than nothing.
Up next, Belo Horizonte, during COVID.

The vaccine is rolling out, Rio is mostly shut down. It's smart to wait. Why take the risk over the difference of a couple months. 

I'll be traveling between from refrigerator to the couch and back to the refrigerator hoping something new magically appeared until I'm fully vaccinated. After that all bets are off! I got a year of no sex to catch up on. 

I can't imagine what it takes to successfully manage a place like this. It's literally managing herds of drunk horny cats every night! He has my respect (and some envy). 

At least SOME of them were wearing masks...

At least SOME of them were wearing masks...

Nice choice - Beautiful hotel!
I was looking at Berlin Pride, but I went a few years ago and it was a bit of a yawn, so maybe Hustaball is a better choice. But it's SO far away.  I've also been to the Snaxx party over Easter - that was an event. If you've never been it's worth a trip. Oh, the stories...

I can't imagine what it takes to successfully manage a place like this. It's literally managing herds of drunk horny cats every night! He has my respect (and some envy). 

I've done the one in NYC a few times... it was scandalous for me too.  I've never seen so much fisting.  I was a little afraid but 2 friends came with me. Saw an extremely hot rentboy/porn star... but he had a bit of an attitude. He worked for Lucas Studios i think. 
I"ve only been to the Axel in Buenos Aires and Barcelona.  But my friends want to stay at the  Waldorf Astoria across the Tiergarten., so that's where I booked.   It's not a party hotel though.  I may invite a "friend" from Warsaw to join me and my friends...lol. Only 10 months away

I can't imagine what it takes to successfully manage a place like this. It's literally managing herds of drunk horny cats every night! He has my respect (and some envy). 

Lol : one year is long enough 

Please don't start using this word, lol

The vaccine is rolling out, Rio is mostly shut down. It's smart to wait. Why take the risk over the difference of a couple months. 

The vaccine is rolling out, Rio is mostly shut down. It's smart to wait. Why take the risk over the difference of a couple months. 

[Sorry, I tried snipping the quote down but the CC’s at the bottom will not delete using backspace]
Re: amount of COVID risk ... this can be quantified for the state of Rio de Janeiro based on current reported new infection incidence data, for any arbitrary number of persons. For example, the current  probability of minimally one person with contagious novel coronavirus on board, among a total of about 50 people, is 35%.
I imagine it is higher than 35% for the municipality of Rio de Janeiro because the urban per capita rate of infection tends to be greater. Apart from the difference between city and state, the figures are adjusted for a standard undercount; if the bias correction is too low relative to the unknown ratio of reported cases to actual cases the risk percentage also increases.
It is an estimate of infection within your interactions, not literal likelihood of transmission. 
It may help to settle on your own degree of risk tolerance. If you can live with the possibility of a 75% chance at least one person in your interactions throughout your visit has transmissible infection the corresponding number of people is approximately 160.

Here's to a year of Butts Out! 

I know you have decided against going to Brazil @MiamiEthan until possibly March, but I thought I'd get my 2 cents in, while it is about 4 PM here in Fortaleza where I am now, and the BF is sleeping at the moment, and soon we shall be hitting the saunas here.
Yeah, these months are the sweet spots for cheap biz class flights.  In August to October time, the pandemic meant having a whole economy row to yourself to recline and sleep the flight away, but I've found in my flight back in November, and again in December, with the flights getting fuller, I decided that those still cheap biz flights were the way to go, and actually helped my clinch Executive Platinum in American for the first time ever.
As for non-sauna activities, plenty to do in rio of course, but be reminded that in pandemic times, a lot of the acitvities are still either closed or scaled back. And sadly, when it rains in Rio, its actually kind of depressing, because of the beaches and such. I've found that winter in Rio (June to August/September) is the perfect time to go, as it is not oppresssively hot, and precipitation is the lowest in the year.  I've had my best, and funnest, times in Rio in these months. So maybe its probably best that pospone your trip anyways. I was in Rio last week and there was appreicable sun to enjoy in 3 out of the 9 days I was there. It was glorious when the sun was out, but two-thirds of the time, I was indoors.  Have a warm boy to cuddle with at these times, which, quite frankly, is not hard to do there.

The best teacher is experience, and all the preparation in the world won't prepare you for what you will encounter in the saunas. i'd say just dive in and enjoy!
But to answer your question: 
Are the folks naked - no.  the majority of the people in the sauna have towels wrapped around their waists. The more bold garotos will be jacking off their erect penises to entice punters, and some will give you a flash of the goods, in the guise of adjusting their towels.  Some saunas have naked nights, where the boys can get in for free, if they are naked all night, but I've never encountered this in Rio (or SP) saunas.
Are the clients naked? Thankfully, no. Again, most are in towels, and some are even in street clothes, except if the sauna require everyone to be in towels (I'm looking at you, Sauna Olimpo in Belo Horizonte). 
Some boys have a strategy and wear either skimpy undies or gym shorts with no underwear, to help distinguish them from other towel-wearing boys. It works sometimes, if the boy has a big juicy butt that gets obscured by a towel, so undies will accentuate this, or has a big penis even when soft, so thin gym shorts will show the pendulum swinging.
TL;DR - most people are in a towel. Safe bet for you, if you want to blend in.
No you don't rent a room when you get in, you only do when you are ready to do the dirty with your prince charming.  Or in my case, if I needed to join a work conference call while in a sauna. I recommend doing this while a boy gives you a blowjob. Best conference call ever.
Room rates depend on the sauna and day and type of room, but generally can go from 20 reais to 60 reais, for 40 minutes to an hour each time.
Most of them don't speak English, but nothing beyond what is required in a sauna can't be solved by google translate. The majority of the boys know the basic phrases to ask to get what they need, and it is actually comical when a boy resorts to sign language. 
Still, this trip, I found a surprising number of GPs I had the pleasure of knowing, actually knowing more than basic english. Which was bad for me because I always want to practice my Portuguese with the locals. I didn't sweat and toil all these years to learn this language, to only speak english while in Brazil. 
Since you are months away from your trip, I suggest at least knowing some phrases. Sample here: https://www.travelandleisure.com/travel-tips/basic-portuguese-words-phrases-for-travel .  I'd also listen to spoken PT on YouTube if you have the time. So at least you know how it sounds like.
I do not have experience with Fasano, but its a mixed bag sometimes when it comes to Rio lux hotels. Some hotels don't care about the occasional guest (JW Marriot, Pestana), but some either require the guest to leave their ID at reception, or even insist they be registered with you in the room (Hilton). If you are gonna have parties/orgies at your room with a handful of GPs (and why not right), best be at an AirBNB. There are Rio AirBNBs with english language listings and english speaking hosts. that are in apartment buildings that won't have a problem with guests. Just be vigilant that a listing does not mention "NO GUESTS ALLOWED" in the rules of the house.
You don't have to haggle. Say no if you think the price is too high. No boy is irreplaceable. Trust me.  9 times out of 10, they'll haggle down for you. Just (a) agree on the price before the programa and (b) agree on what you expect him to do when in the room, to avoid confusion. 
I always ask for the price. I am always curious what they think of me, based on the price. But if you have a price per programa in mind (or can afford), don't be afraid to quote it. The worse that can happen is they say no and walk away. Move on.
I do hate the favorable exchange rate the dollar has with the real, because I made it rain last week in Rio. And it was not with water.
I'd nail down any specific freaky thing you want to be done to you beforehand. I always prefer having the boy to myself when discussing this. Sometimes a boy is embrassed to say he is a bottom, or sucks dick, or pees on command, or whatever else you want out of him, in front of others. And yeah I do like the getting a kissing sample out of them before a programa. I get a sense on how close a boy wants to be with me in that kiss. 
If you are at all concerned about COVID transmission, then simply delay your trip till after a vaccine at least. I think all the signage and mask wearing of the employees in the saunas is simply theater. There is lots of mitigation while in the general areas of Rio, but in the saunas, noone wears a mask expect the employees, and how would you ever mitigate COVID when you are getting your freak on with a boy? Hazmat suit sex is not appealing.
MEEEEEE, but you have postponed your trip to possibly March, so maybe see you then!

I’ve decided that based on current spikes, new strain and the dozens of pics on insta of my friends partying in Rio without masks, that the likelyhood of me not getting Covid during a January visit is slim to none. I’ll just wait until March or so when I can get a vaccine and am confident that (a) I am much more protected from geting Covid and (b) [and this is my real fear] I can be relatively confident I wouldnt contract it and then give it to someone and make them very ill or worse.  
Thanks for all the pointers! I’m sure they’ll still be valid in March/April when I visit after I receive the vaccine.  And, I’ll post about my trip at that point.
 
Happy New Year everyone! 

I mean I kinda see what they are attempting to do, but that looks awful. Not just from they failure to prevent spread, but just being boxed in behind metal barricades. 
That being said I miss people and can't wait to pry myself through crowds to get an over priced weak drink from disinterested shirtless bartender! 

We in the US will be saying this on January 20, 2021 along with "Butt out forever you despicable, corruptible beast!"