I have been visiting Brazil for fifteen years and I come here quite often. Much of my Brazil time is spent in Sao Paulo but I also visit other Brazilian cities every now and again.
In all my prior trips to Brazil, I had wonderful times and experiences which is why I continue to visit here.
I have been in Sao Paulo one week during my current trip.
With the exception of restaurants, each "fun" place I visited during the past week gets a grade of D minus, in my opinion. In my prior visits, these same places were superb and were A + or better.
My two visits to Lagoa this trip were a disappointment because of so few clients and garotos.
The Cine/internet shop on Rua Aurora (I wrote about this place a few months ago) that is generally filled with thirty to forty handsome garotos had only about five garotos, none of which interested me. One garoto was obviously on some drug which made him constantly talk to himself in a loud voice. That was a turn off and could be why the place was not as busy as it was in prior visits
I decided to try out the new sauna "Rainbow" - well - that was another loser place. There were a few clients just sitting around ignoring the few skinny and unattractive garoto twinks available. I did not stay there long at the new sauna. I think the new sauna might revert back to it being a gay hotel as it formerly was prior to it being converted into a combination hotel/sauna with garotos.
Tonight I decided to visit Fragata, a sauna I used to like a lot until it declined terribly a few years ago. To my surprise (shock), a few of the garotos I knew from the early days of my visits to Fragata were still there hustling. Good grief. One of the long-term garotos has a big gut, so big that towels will not stay on him. I felt bad for him but thought he surely must realize his looks are gone from the passage of time. Yet, he still hustles! On the positive side, there were a few good looking garotos at Fragata but none that I found worthwhile to pursue.
I was formerly a frequent client at Fragata until a few years ago when that sauna went down hill - big time.
The weather has been colder during the past week and it rained sporadically including today and tonight. The lousy weather might have contributed to the low turn out of clients and garotos at the places I visited.
Despite the less than fun week, I will go out tomorrow with optimism. Places I enjoyed in prior visits will return to their wonderful state that was present for so many years. I have no doubt about that.
Bottom line, how else can the inordinate decline of previously wonderful places be explained? Quite simply - it is probably the weather and the luck of the draw.