SolaceSoul

With that being said, some of the safer favelas near tourist areas in Rio and São Paulo are going through gentrification. Some attempts are being made by ruthless, risky pioneer investors to navigate the complicated processes of favela home purchase, and they are grabbing some of the best views of the city. I recently looked at a place for sale in Vidigal, the favela just west of upscale Leblon, the community right next to Ipanema. David Beckham and supposedly Madonna already bought properties at the top of the favela hill in Vidigal, and trendy restaurants and bars have also opened. Of course, there's also the minor problem of sewage and water piping for you to resolve as a buyer --- and then there's possible resentment from longterm favela residents who feel they may be ignored or even worse, pushed out. There are other favelas in or near Rio's Zona Sul, like Rocinha further west of Vidagal, Cantagalo near Lagoa and Copa, and Santa Marta near Botafogo, that have mostly gotten rid of the drug trafficking and are ripe for home purchase or rental. There are even several favela apartments for vacation rent on AirBnB.

The second guy's latest pic looks like he would win a "Most Changed" award at any 10-year high school reunion in the Midwest USA. The other two seemed to have aged very well.

Remember that after reading every fortune, you must add "in bed"!

It has been said countless times here (by me, and others) that one doesn't have to be fluent in the language. One only needs to try, and do it with kindness and humility. To not do so makes one a "colonialist dickhead" (which, by the way, is far less preferable to me than being a snarky asshole on a message board to someone who is -- but your mileage may vary). I've mentioned here before that I had a fellow American travel buddy (R.I.P.) who knew no other language but English. He had the most magnetic personality of almost anyone I'd ever met -- not to mention he had male supermodel looks and build. He would make feeble attempts at communicating in a foreign language, but mostly he would flash his pearly whites and everyone, male and female, would melt and be impresssed with his lame attempts at communication. HE could get away with it. Mere mortals without these demidog-like looks and charm should probably not try this method. Make an attempt at communicating with the locals in their language -- even if it's just a few key words and phrases. Otherwise, get a guide or a translator.

A once-in-a-lifetime bucket list trip? A trip done before you die? Then, by all means, book that trip to Brazil now.

Thanks you, Bobb. The irony of this dickweed troll calling me a professional victim, while contorting himself into a pretzel about how his "mind works" only to allow him to learn English and an intermediate level of another language, is just delicious. There are tribal West Africans who know six or seven languages. I've interviewed Chinese immigrants who knew Cantonese and Mandarin, and learned English and Spanish within a few years of emigrating to North America. I meet Brazilians who speak Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, French and Spanish. I have a tenant whose principal language is French and his second language is German. He moved to the USA and now speaks English at more than an intermediate level. He can pat yourself on the back for his mediocrity, yet use the "victim" label for others. Trumpian, indeed.

Says the guy who admits that he isn't capable of keeping more than one language in his head at a time.

.... and THIS is why you really are a dickhead.

Considering that I am American myself, and biracial with a family tree that resulted forcibly from colonial dickheads, I think I've more than earned the right to call out colonial dickheadism when I see it. If you don't want to be called a dickhead, then the simple solution is just don't do dickheadish things. If the term does not apply to you, then it would not matter. But a hit dog will holler.

Tom: I know the second guy in the photos fairly well. I last saw him in June 2015.

Kevin's attempt at snark not only missed the mark, but also wasn't factual. Most of the men and women that I know who partake in sex tourism are also well-versed in politics, world affairs, the arts and culture. The two things are not mutually exclusive.

Some people can actually do both. Some know how to walk and chew gum at the same time.

To each his own, because I'm much more into bodies and will take an awesome god -like body with a face only a mother can love over just a "cute face" any day of the week.

In those rare instances, they would be killed or left for dead and their organs stolen. There wouldn't be any waking up in a bathtub in a block of ice or in a hospital wth your kidney stolen. Again, what article did you read?

Did you bother to read the article in the link you posted? The article clearly states that what you described was more of an urban legend, but organ harvesting occurs at the hospital and medical level, with volunteers willing to sell their organs, or organs taken from dead bodies in morgues, mortuaries, crime scenes and war fields.

I like both sides of Pedro. I don't think he has a bad side.

There's been spotty wifi for about a year now. You'll see all the people acting like zombies in the wifi spots in public squares.

I had success all over -- at the clubs, the restaurants, the bars next to the clubs, the boys outside the club that couldn't afford to get in, the Malecon boardwalk, the parks, cruising down the market street, the beach, then boys introduced me to their friends. Prices were negotiable. No one I met turned down 20. The average Cuban income is $5 a week.

I would most definitely bang.

Your Rentmen ad is not old or expired. It is still running, with updated travel dates even. Your A4A ad has been running off and on for years now. All with the same photos from years ago. Who do you think you're fooling here? (The "Age: 32" was a nice touch, too.) https://rent.men/Dreamakerr

If ifs and buts were candy and nuts, every day would be a Merry Christmas.

A simple search to fact-checking site Snopes tells you that this urban legend is FALSE. http://www.snopes.com/horrors/robbery/kidney.asp http://www.snopes.com/horrors/robbery/kidney2.asp

I point out hypocrisy, whether you like it or not. So, by your own admission, you're (at bare minimum) in your MID-30s, not "early" (a birth year of 1981 would now make you between 35-36) and an escort (whether full-time or part-time, that's irrelevant). Yet, you criticize others who are in their 30s for escorting, or as you put it, "hoeing".

I think if we are all honest with ourselves, we've each had at least one experience where we were hustled or taken advantage of, usually in a momentary lapse of judgment. Instead of just warning about specific individuals, it's probably better to use the experience to see what we each could do differently to prevent these kinds of situations. And be grateful that nothing worse happened -- THIS time. It happens to the best of us. I've been doing this for 20+ years and the few times whenever I "get got", it's something I could've easily prevented with some better precautions. My most standout Brazil experience was a hot cop I messed with several times before who stole 1300 reais out of my wallet when I was in the shower. Key phrases: "when I was in the shower" and "wallet". I should've had my wallet in the room safe, but I did not use my better judgment and used my little head instead. So, my bad! Charge it to the game of life lessons and move on. Precautionarily use other people's tales of woe not as "how stupid you were!" finger wags, but "how can I learn from this?" instead.

I had a wonderful time in Havana when I went in January. I suppose it would depend on what one's expectations are. I always hang with locals and I appreciate the Afro-Cuban gente. None of us in our small group had issues with booking dates each day, if that was going to be your next question.