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I thought I’d put this placeholder thread for now until my current trip is finished, which is going to be soon. The good news: after a rough few months after Brazil opened up to the world last July, where the Rio saunas were ghost towns with few boys, and even fewer clients, I’d like to report that Rio is back. Probably not as “back” as it was pre-pandemic, with the wall-to-wall muscle in 117, and crazy parties in 202, but “good enough” to spend time in. As it is, the picking are slim in the pandemic, and I am thankful that there are options in Rio at all. This is because as Brazil opened up to foreign visitors at the end of July 2020, I found that Sao Paulo was the place to be, with even boys from Rio flocking to Lagoa because the tourists numbers was still low in Rio. As 2020 drew a close however, Rio gathered strength, and now, with the city of Sao Paulo’s numerous openings and closings and Fragata, the once-promising alternative to Lagoa opening to some fan-fare, and then slowly slid into a whimper to its (temporary?) closure in December, I was also able to visit other Brazilian cities with the new boyfriend, as chronicled in the previous thread I started last year, and still need to complete. In this thread, I’ll report about my experiences in Rio over the holidays, and in the 3 months after. And since I spent the New Year in Fortaleza, I’ll report about that too. Putting aside the obvious horrible stuff that has happened during the pandemic (so far), I’d say that I was able to take advantage of the low tourist numbers, discounted hotel and AirBNB prices, and the bargain basement airfare to Sao Paulo and Rio from the USA. This is a unique point of our history, and oddly enough due to the “work from home” mode that the majority of us have adopted to mitigate the spread of the COVID, I was able to spend the majority of my (post-July 2020) time, in Brazil. And I won’t expand on the mountain of risks I have been taking (and continue to take) with venturing out to this country, I have been lucky enough to have kept my health, and my sanity, in check. I hope it keeps up that way. So here I am, in the last leg of the trips I’ve taken that will be chronicled in this trip report. This trip was made possible because last Janaury, I was able to book three speculative flights into the future, all at $1200 business roundtrip, not knowing if I can make all the flights in the dates I’ve booked them at, but since the prices are so low, and with the elimination of change fees at least this year, I’d say the risk of losing my money from these bookings are low. But it now March 2021, and the second wave (third? fourth?) is upon Brazil, which is extra concerning because even with all the lessons and trials we all have learned and endured in this pandemic, Brazil meanwhile, seems to have regressed somewhat, back to a scary time in the pandemic. Regardless, I am still soldiering on and flying into to the belly of the beast, so the question was just what Brazilian city will I go to next. I see city after city announce their lockdown plans, and mine and BF’s plans to spend a week in Sao Paulo, has been wrecked by Sao Paulo’s super duper serious pandemic phase: And Lagoa of course has to comply, and is closed at least to the 30th of March: But Rio de Janeiro, being Rio de Janeiro, even with some sort of lockdown, is still semi-open. There is just something about Rio that really can’t get shut down. With notices from Lion’s and 202 on their Instagram, and the notice at the door at 117: Which means diverting my flight, and AirBNB rentals, to a stay in Rio. Armed with my RT-PCR test, I took the United Sao Paulo flight from Houston, which was half-empty, and then the flight from Sao Paulo to Santos Dumont in Rio was filled to the gills. And the ultimate sign of the times was a dedicated COVID testing area at the mezannine floor at International terminal at Terminal 3 in Guarulhos. And the place looked busy: Another sign of the times: greeting me in Rio was a cute masked Azul mascot: though the mask does look ill-fitting. Speaking of masks, everyone in the airport was wearing masks, and the Uber ride had me and the driver wear masks the whole ride, but there was a lot of mask-less people milling around the streets of Copacabana where my AIrBNB was. So please be patient, I will continue this thread when this current trip is over (and it’ll be soon). Next, a December to remember.

I can't find the thread I started on boytoy showing pix of hot men in masks. I thought this guy deserved a place here:

Once again Thai government rules and regulations require mountains of paperwork. And as those retired in Thailand are only too well aware, government decisions are made without anyone thinking through the many potential problems that these decisions end up creating. This documentary brings home the enormous wealth gap in the country. But I found it interesting that the main reason for suicide even today is problems with personal and family relationships. That this should account for between 50% to 60% of all suicides is surely extraordinary. Then even with covid19 financial problems are only fourth on the list. Even worse, though, is the lack of an infrastructure that can take care of increasing mental health problems. Makes you reconsider "the land of smiles"!

And Sebastian Stan is so fucking hot I can barely breathe!

Stan is so hot I can't take it. And he's even hotter with the shorter hair. You can see more of his beautiful face.

i prefer Firefly Lane, both characters are so opposed and complementary tI would loved to know a strong friendship like this one

Ok, will add that one to my queue. Was thinking about it, and you're right, Stan is hot.

I tried but couldn't get it (boohoo) so back to economy for me. Cheapest non-stop $376 on Delta JFK to GRU

there's no additional aquaman

A big thanks for the late boytoy forum which allowed me to get lots of cool info.

Any attempt by a political party to address the huge wealth-gap between the small minority of very rich and the rest of the population inevitably leads to a coup and a military government serving the needs of royalty and the ruling elite. Today, elections aren't needed; the junta just bans any party which seeks meaningful change. I strongly recommend the documentary, though it fails to deal adequately with the political aspects of the crisis. Some of the personal testimonies are heart-breaking.

It happened less than youd think. And mostly when it does, based on reports of those who were there, its mostly to arrest illegal immigrants or those who abuse their social pass to work. And this raids happened in both gay and straight places. The customers rarely gets charged. Now there are also raids with religious officers, but they can only charge muslims, and the sharia law here are only regarding those not covered by the civil law, and punishment were limited too. Yes it happens but not a hindrance for most of us here and its no where near brutal. The reality here, eventhough the soceity and gov dont want to face reality, if u go to any shopping malls, u can clearly see gays, trans, working in the many shops selling cosmetics and womens shoes/handbag. Go to the gym in the city, u can see gays working out, go to certain toilets in bus station or malls, u can see gays cruising. Ive been lucky enough to never face any raids myself, even though i used to regularly goes to the massage centers. But gay sauna and massage centers here are not so easy to find. It is often in shoplots upper stairs and no signs outside, locked door with cctv to see if u are customer or not. Lol

Porto Alegre is one of my favorite cities on earth. I love the city, the vibe, the sauna, the guys, and the food. I could very easily live there.

PART THREE: SEX: I found guys for sex in the daylight hours only outside the Café Atlas and at the Theatre. At night, I found sex in all the other places already noted. 99% of the guys are active and will only get sucked or fuck. Strangely, many of these same active guys (about 75%) were willing to also do great kissing. The exception was near the Pizza Hut where I found passive guys that would do it all. GRINDR: I had been warned that both police and crooks used Grindr in Marrakesh to steal from gay foreign men. I had plenty of messages and required each guy to video chat with me. When a guy would not, I simply blocked him. Most of the guys were dark skinned Africans who were only active and offering their services. In virtually every conversation it just didn’t feel right. I finally met up with one white skinned guy at McDonald’s one evening. I took him to a nearby park and had fun for about an hour. ALL the gays I met in Marrakesh warned me about Grindr scams, so I finally realized I had plenty of other guys I can find in much safer venues. MONEY: Grindr guys asked for 500-750 dirhams ($55-$83). Street, Jemaa, and Theatre guys asked for 150-200 dirhams ($16-$22) LANGUAGE: Most speak Arabic or French. You can get by with google translate but be warned that some street guys may try to steal your phone. For the most part, you can use gestures and number signs to flash what you want or will pay. LOCATION: I used the parks, side alleys, and theatres. WARNING: For the most part, I felt very safe in Marrakesh. I had only two scary moments in Marrakesh. The first was at the Art Garden where a man was walking home with a friend. A scooter suddenly pulled up, a guy grabbed the man’s briefcase, and then started to drive off. The man fought them off and the scooter sped away. The man was hit pretty badly and required an ambulance. I served as a witness because the police were nearby and caught the scooter by ramming it. Exciting action! The second really scary moment came near the Pizza Hut. I had finished with my evening and was walking back to my hotel along AMV. I stopped for only 30 seconds to give a young man a cigarette when he asked. Suddenly, a “tourist cop” pulled up and separated us. He talked with the young man and then placed him in the police car. He then came to me and asked for ID. I showed him a photocopy of my passport and told him in English that I was on my way back to my hotel. I asked him why he was detaining the young man. He asked if I knew him and I said no. He then said he was going to arrest the young man because he was talking to a foreigner which was not allowed. He said that for 1000 dirhams he would free the guy if I wanted to pay. I refused and the cop drove away with the young man. I saw the young man the next day on my daily walk and he said he had to pay the cop 300 dirhams and give him a blow job to not be arrested. I would find out from local gays that this kind of scam happens regularly with foreigners. PLACES TO NOT GO: Locals gays noted regular police raids on: Cyber Park (A’rasat Mulay Abdeslam) and the Hammam Es Salam. SUMMATION: I find Arab guys incredibly sexy and have had great times in Morocco. It is true that most want to get the most from you as possible, but we all already know that. Except for the Airbnb experience in Rabat, I felt safe most all the other times. Once the lockdown finishes, I plan to take another tour of the Middle Eastern and African men!!!