Sao Paulo - Lagoa - I should have known better

[mvan1]

Despite my knowing that Thursday is generally not a busy night at Lagoa, I got talked into going there last night. It was an absolute waste of time, effort and money to go there.

There were some garotos in attendance but (in my opinion) very few good looking ones. The clients out numbered the garotos by at least two to one. That inverted ratio tends to cause the garotos to become a bit aggressive and nagging about taking them to a room. I stayed only a couple of hours due to the composition of the sauna.

But, today is Friday. I expect tonight at Lagoa will be its usual jolly and "cheio" status with lots of available garotos. I expect to be there before six o'clock.

By the way, for those who find the hot and humid weather in Rio to be oppressive this time of year, you might want to give Sao Paulo a try. Although it is summer in Brazil, Sao Paulo is more than two thousand feet elevation which means that it is cooler and less humid than Rio, which is at sea level.

There are only two decent rent boi saunas in Sao Paulo and there are only two rent boi saunas in Rio.

There is more to do and see in Sao Paulo during "non sauna" time.

The airplane from Rio to Sao Paulo takes less than one hour. It is also possible to take an "executive" bus which takes between five and six hours, depending on traffic. The executive bus is quite comfortable and stops half way through the journey for lunch. The executive bus might be something to do - once.

[ihpguy]

Unless you can't find a cheap air fare, try not to take the bus. It isn't bad actually. But the traffic jams on the Marginal expressway on the way to the bus station at Tiete can often be horrendous.

There are also three levels of bus service. Not much difference between the two cheapest. The more expensive gives more leg room and from what I have read, at least one beverage.

Best part of arriving at Tiete is the metro station is right in the bus station terminal complex. It is an interesting place to see at least once for the massive numbers of people transiting through going from one place to another in Brasil. Think of the masses of travel zombies hubbing in ATL, ORD or DFW.

[TotallyOz]

When I was in Brazil for months at a time years back, I would just hire a driver to take me from Rio to Sao Paulo or vice versa. I hired guys with big SUV's as I had too much luggage. The cost of the extra luggage on the planes was more than a private car. I loved the ride and enjoyed the scenery. I did get lost once with a driver as the road was blocked and we took a detour. A bit scary but some beautiful countryside.

[ihpguy]

Probably my favorite part of the trip is passing Aparecida. It is the home to the Shrine of Our Lady(Nosso Senhora de) of Aparecida. The basilica is to Brasil's patron saint. It happens to be the second largest church building in the world after St. Peter's in Rome.

The other highlight is passing through Sao Jose dos Campos, with the Embraer factory.

A definite lowlight is the food stop with poor quality and high prices. I have tried to remember to get something tasty in the Tiete bus terminal or at the other end in Rodoviaria Novo Rio.

[lookin]

I did get lost once with a driver as the road was blocked and we took a detour. A bit scary but some beautiful countryside.

As long as he didn't lose any of your things.

[ihpguy]

Lookin, funny that you posted the photo. Taking the airport bus from Galeao into Rio, the drivers are not at all cautious matching claim checks when exiting the bus. But just the opposite with the long distance buses. They have multiple porters at each end passing out claim checks and loading the suitcases onto the correct bus and not permitting other passengers getting near the luggage. And ditto at the other end where there is a line-up of passengers and one doesn't get their suitcase until the claim check isn't presented and then matched against the luggage.