sanddunes

Yeah, it is a difficult situation. The only thing I can think of that would help would be to install cameras. There are cameras now that record directly to a cloud, and you can view them remotely from anywhere in the world on your laptop/iphone.

For you it seems like it would make sense to hold on to the property until the real recovers. When I was in Sao Paulo I met a banker who told me the real is probably close to bottoming out again, and that I should invest in BZF, (which is an ETF that tracks the real - essentially an easier way of buying a currency forward). As the real goes closer to the 4 mark I'm thinking more of initiating a small position. Do you think the real has bottomed or do you see it sliding further? I know historically the elections tend to cause swings in the real, and the next elections are in October.

Is it worth less than 1/3 what you paid in reals, or is the depreciation due to changes in currency (converting the reals back to dollars)

Wow, this is crazy! Sounds like it was an inside job by the security of the building. Has real estate in Rio also depreciated? From what I have heard it has gone up a lot there

I wonder why they do the parade during the winter? It would make more sense to do it when it’s warm

I was bored today and looking at real estate in Rio. Overall Rio is expensive, but cheap compared to NYC or San Fran. An average 2 bedroom in Ipanema goes for around 1-1.5 million reals (beachfront and luxury buildings go for much more). Has anyone here bought property in Brazil? The dollar is pretty strong now.. I came across one dream property - I'm sure it costs millions, but it is amazing! I can only imagine how much fun it would be to invite a bunch of garotos to come hang out with you in the pool there

A garoto sent some photos from Sao Paulo’s pride parade yesterday. Apparently it is one of the largest in the world, with over 3 million participants down Paulista Avenue.

Definitely with you on that I think Brazilian guys on average tend to be pretty big, and even moreso in the saunas.

Lucas with the blue underwear is sexy! Today was the pride parade in Sao Paulo...probably a lot of the garotos from Rio will be around Lagoa tonight

I’m always kind of cautious with garotos (or any hookups) who offer to bottom bare. I’ve yet to have one insist on it. Does anyone know if Brazilians can get Prep for free with their national healthcare?

Paying rent isn’t really a good reason to ask for money, in my opinion. So in that case I wouldn’t. Personally I would only consider sending money for a true emergency that directly effected the gaoroto (not his grandma or relatives, etc). And I would have to verify it..

I guess I’m not understanding why this is a controversial statement He didn’t say that everywhere else sucks - just that Brazil is unique, which is true. Thailand is also unique, and no doubt there is no other place in the world exacty like Thailand.

This seems pretty common in Brazil...mortgages are really difficult to get and the interest rates are high (13%+) I met a handsome 40 year old guy on the gay beach at Ipanema that still lived with his parents lol. He said his parents were used to him having “friends” over, and that his mom might even cook me dinner. Needless to say I insisted that we go to my place

You are right other places, like Hong Kong, have trains from the airport. But generally those have luggage racks, lots more seating, some even have wi-fi, i.e specialty trains that are nothing like the packed metro cars in Sao Paulo. Hopefully someone here can try it out and report back. It looks like the fare has yet to be determined.

The new train is an interesting development and a good option to have. However, uber to GRU is usually only around 60 reals (16usd). It hardly seems worth it to haul luggage around the very crowded, standing-room-only sao paulo metro (you would likely need to transfer lines as well), and then haul the luggage from the metro stop to your street address.

There should be a reality show called Keeping Up With the Garotos. Love triangles, orgies, cheating partners, family problems, accidents, the drama never ends!

It’s amazing the Portuguese you gradually pick up after talking with garotos on whatsapp. Today’s lesson: Tá ligado? When the garoto asked me this I was puzzled. Although I was able to interpret the abbreviation as being short for “você esta ligado,” google translated it literally as “are you connected?” which still made no sense in the context of the conversation. I eventually asked an English -speaking Brazilian friend who explained that it is slang for “ya know what I mean?” and is very popular in Brazilian rap songs. Cool. 2 words down...and still a lot more left to translate! “Eu perdi meu ursinho de pelucia. Vc vai pra cama comigo?” Google translates this as “I lost my teddy bear. Are you going to bed me?” Sigh. This doesn’t really make sense either...translating these messages could take all day. But I have to admit it is kind of fun..

How long of a drive is it to the beach from Merida? Do you have a car there or how do you get around...uber?

He sounds like a keeper!!! I’m curious in your experience if you notice any difference in bed between the gay guys in Brazil and the straight ones. Personally I prefer the gay guys, but I know some like the thrill of being with a “straight” guy. A lot of the guys in the saunas claim to be “bi,” but there are definitely a few who claim to be totally straight and I’ve had mixed experiences with those types..

Decisions, decisions lol! I guess the best thing to do would be to have the Sao Paulo guy choose who he wants

I agree with your sentiment that it’s sometimes not a big deal to pay more to keep the ball rolling. However, the problem wasn’t that the garoto wanted 50 reals more, but that he pitched a fit and acted offended just for offering 100. That’s a huge red flag and doesn’t bode well for how the garoto would be in bed. The majority of garotos would charmingly insist on 150 and start kissing you, making you feel their hard cock, telling you how much milk they have, etc. to convince you that 150 is worth it. The minute a garoto starts copping attitude I peace out lol.

Agreed. There is a definite learning curve in navigating Brazilians saunas and dealing with garotos. It isn’t realistic to waltz into a sauna for the first time and expect that everything will go perfectly, or that you will be treated like tomcal lol. It gets easier over time, but even experienced clients get an occasional rotten apple (one of my garoto friends pointed out some guys at Lagoa that had previously been in jail. So you are literally dealing with ex-convicts occasionally at the saunas).

The problem is that even if you can find a good job in Brazil, the pay is awful and far less than you would be making in the US. I was surprised how little accountants, pilots, etc. make there. I was told a junior accountant at Ernst and Young in Sao Paulo makes just 4200 reals a month (1,141 USD). I know an anesthesiologist in Rio who gets paid a lot by Brazilian standards - 300k reals a year. But in the US they make 3 to 4 times times that. The ideal would be to find a job with a US corporation that pays you in dollars and assigns you to work in Brazil (most Fortune 500 companies operate in Brazil). Or, another possibility might be to get a job with a US company that allows “remote” working. I know an American who moved to Rio and teaches English online to Chinese students for $20 USD an hour. He couldn’t make enough teaching Brazilians and getting paid in reals.

Thanks for posting about your experience at Lagoa. It’s interesting to hear your perspective as a Brazilian and Portuguese speaker. -Some “elite” Lagoa boys can definitely be arrogant/rude. Most of these are looking for high-end clients. Some probably assume because of your age you don’t have money or won’t be worth their time. Garotos often view younger clients suspiciously at first, because in their minds they can’t understand why you would pay for sex. -In Lagoa it is fairly common for some of the guys to stick to their 150 real asking price - even though they don’t appear to be busy at all. I thought they just did that with foreigners, so it is interesting to know they also do that with Brazilians. -Pitching a fit just because you offered a lower price is diva behavior. He could have politely just stuck to his 150. I had a Lagoa guy throw a tantrum once because I was getting a regular room, and he was “offended” that I wasn’t taking him to a suite. This kind of behavior is so off-putting that I lose all interest, no matter how hot they are. -In general, I would never consider taking a garoto for a longer period/overnight without first going for a “test drive” in the cabin. You just never know how good they will be in bed or if the chemistry will be there. -The guy you took sounds like a real scammer. 4 different pay per view porns!? So ridiculous lol. I’m surprised he was that bold with someone who spoke Portuguese! I have also had a garoto use the cum-before -actually-having-sex trick. It’s a common scam. In my case, the garoto came within the first 3 minutes of the programa, and then said, well you asked for goza, and tried to act like he was confused why I was upset (he knew exactly what he was doing). -A lot of the guys at Lagoa are great, so I think you just got unlucky this time around. If you try a few more of them you will find some good ones..

The bottom picture I believe is from the 1950’s. It’s interesting to see Ipanema before the high rises - I’m guessing most of them were built in the 1960’s.