Casey703 Posted January 7, 2016 Posted January 7, 2016 Hi guys, I'm making my first trip to Rio next month and I'm a bit nervous since I'll be traveling solo and I don't speak any Portuguese. Does anyone have any recommendations for an English speaking tour guide that's familiar with local sites as well as potentially how to navigate the sauna scene? I'd think if prefer a local in a 1:1 situation rather than organized group tours through viator etc. Thanks in advance for any advice as well as for all the interesting posts in this forum! Quote
Members mvan1 Posted January 8, 2016 Members Posted January 8, 2016 Hi guys, I'm making my first trip to Rio next month and I'm a bit nervous since I'll be traveling solo and I don't speak any Portuguese. Does anyone have any recommendations for an English speaking tour guide that's familiar with local sites as well as potentially how to navigate the sauna scene? I'd think if prefer a local in a 1:1 situation rather than organized group tours through viator etc. Thanks in advance for any advice as well as for all the interesting posts in this forum! Your request is not as easy to fulfill, as one might think. Finding a one-on-one guide for Rio who speaks English and knows the sauna scene is next to impossible. You will be able to find a general tour guide but most will not know the sauna scene and most will not know English. More than ten years ago I was aware of ONE Brazilian guide in Rio who guided as you seek. His name is Danilo. To my knowledge, he no longer acts as a guide. One person who might know how to reach Danilo (who could ask him for a referral for you) would be OZ, the owner of this site. You can give it a try. On the other hand, based on my many trips to Brazil, you will not need a guide for Rio. What you need is to read the posts on this site and copy the posts that contain names and addresses of places in Rio you will want to visit. There is a wealth of information on this site concerning Brazil and places that interest those of our persuasion. I realize it is overwhelming to visit a huge foreign city for the first time while not knowing the local language and not being sure of how to maneuver your way around. Unless you are an extraordinarily fearful person, I can guaranty that you will not need a guide if you read the material I suggested above. If you have any specific questions, not covered on the site, ask away. I and several other frequent travelers to Brazil most likely know the answer to any question you might have. You said you don't speak Portuguese. Here is your first lesson in Portugese: Tenha uma boa viagem - which simply means, have a good trip. - Badboy81 1 Quote
Axiom2020 Posted January 8, 2016 Posted January 8, 2016 There is one guy who has a goggle account as a guide in Rio de janeiro. He's gay, speaks English, and received some negative reviews a few years back. I think he's improved based on some comments I read somewhere a few months back. His name is Marcelo and is NOT to be confused with the stellar guide in Buenos Aires. Do a google check and write to him citing your specific needs and wants and desires. This young man served as a guide for a good acquaintance of mine some years back and was a dud then, but again, I think his services have apparently changed. Danilo is based in Sao Paulo and continues to serve as a guide. He's on my FB page and writes daily. Last summer he guided two friends of mine and received high marks from them. In the mid 2000s he guided my friend in both Sao Paulo and Rio. If you desire his flying to Rio and meeting you as a guide for culture only, he'll do that. He has apparently divorced himself from taking guys to saunas from what my friends revealed to me, for today he is involved in high end guiding for the cultural components of a country, town, city, etc. He was in Turkey last year and posted on FB regarding this trip. JAYBLK 1 Quote
Members mvan1 Posted January 8, 2016 Members Posted January 8, 2016 There is one guy who has a goggle account as a guide in Rio de janeiro. He's gay, speaks English, and received some negative reviews a few years back. I think he's improved based on some comments I read somewhere a few months back. His name is Marcelo and is NOT to be confused with the stellar guide in Buenos Aires. Do a google check and write to him citing your specific needs and wants and desires. This young man served as a guide for a good acquaintance of mine some years back and was a dud then, but again, I think his services have apparently changed. Danilo is based in Sao Paulo and continues to serve as a guide. He's on my FB page and writes daily. Last summer he guided two friends of mine and received high marks from them. In the mid 2000s he guided my friend in both Sao Paulo and Rio. If you desire his flying to Rio and meeting you as a guide for culture only, he'll do that. He has apparently divorced himself from taking guys to saunas from what my friends revealed to me, for today he is involved in high end guiding for the cultural components of a country, town, city, etc. He was in Turkey last year and posted on FB regarding this trip. Thanks for the update. I always wondered how Danilo would do later, in life. It is good to know that he is still in the travel industry even if he no longer is involved with showing his tour clients the Brazilian saunas. He was in his early twenties when I met him in Rio (2004 or 2005). He was not an escort. He was cordial, business-like and did a good job guiding Americans through the maze of the saunas. - Quote
Members JAYBLK Posted January 8, 2016 Members Posted January 8, 2016 Thanks for the update. I always wondered how Danilo would do later, in life. It is good to know that he is still in the travel industry even if he no longer is involved with showing his tour clients the Brazilian saunas. He was in his early twenties when I met him in Rio (2004 or 2005). He was not an escort. He was cordial, business-like and did a good job guiding Americans through the maze of the saunas. - He's married to a surgeon and they own a crossfit box in SP. He's doing very well. It's true that he no longer does sauna tours. Quote
Members mvan1 Posted January 9, 2016 Members Posted January 9, 2016 He's married to a surgeon and they own a crossfit box in SP. He's doing very well. It's true that he no longer does sauna tours. I am not familiar with the term "crossfit box" so I checked in Google. Nothing specific about a crossfit box except this - http://www.mensfitness.com/training/build-muscle/what-the-wod-decoding-the-language-of-crossfit Is that what it is? - Quote
Badboy81 Posted January 9, 2016 Posted January 9, 2016 Hi guys, I'm making my first trip to Rio next month and I'm a bit nervous since I'll be traveling solo and I don't speak any Portuguese. Does anyone have any recommendations for an English speaking tour guide that's familiar with local sites as well as potentially how to navigate the sauna scene? I'd think if prefer a local in a 1:1 situation rather than organized group tours through viator etc. Thanks in advance for any advice as well as for all the interesting posts in this forum! I have a Brazilian friend who can assist you...he speaks English very well from living in the states, lives in Copa and teaches several different languages.... What exactly will you need him for?? Quote
Members SolaceSoul Posted January 9, 2016 Members Posted January 9, 2016 Marcelo Vidal is a gay tour guide who speaks perfect English and does all kinds of Rio tours, from sauna tours to favela tours to gay bar tours to standard fare like Sugarloaf and Corcovado. His is knowledgeable and helpful especially for first timers. He is often seen at the saunas with foreign tourists for which he is providing a tour. His email address is celovidal@hotmail.com Axiom2020 1 Quote
Axiom2020 Posted January 9, 2016 Posted January 9, 2016 I am not familiar with the term "crossfit box" so I checked in Google. Nothing specific about a crossfit box except this - http://www.mensfitness.com/training/build-muscle/what-the-wod-decoding-the-language-of-crossfit Is that what it is? - It is supposedly a fitness center. He and I have not discussed this in our Facebook conversations, but one of the men whom I suggested contact D- for guiding relayed this to me. Quote
Axiom2020 Posted January 9, 2016 Posted January 9, 2016 Marcelo Vidal is a gay tour guide who speaks perfect English and does all kinds of Rio tours, from sauna tours to favela tours to gay bar tours to standard fare like Sugarloaf and Corcovado. His is knowledgeable and helpful especially for first timers. He is often seen at the saunas with foreign tourists for which he is providing a tour. His email address is celovidal@hotmail.com This is the man to whom I alluded in my earlier post. I did not include the specifics. Thanks, SolaceSoul. SolaceSoul 1 Quote
Members JAYBLK Posted January 9, 2016 Members Posted January 9, 2016 I am not familiar with the term "crossfit box" so I checked in Google. Nothing specific about a crossfit box except this - http://www.mensfitness.com/training/build-muscle/what-the-wod-decoding-the-language-of-crossfit Is that what it is? - Crossfit is a chain of franchised yuppie fitness centers that emphasize calisthenics, body weight exercises and Olympic style power lifting. They refer to their gyms as "boxes" and any neighborhood with more than a dozen 30 year old lawyers or bankers has a box. Dani and his partner own one of the 10 or so in Sao Paoulo. Quote
Members mvan1 Posted January 10, 2016 Members Posted January 10, 2016 Crossfit is a chain of franchised yuppie fitness centers that emphasize calisthenics, body weight exercises and Olympic style power lifting. They refer to their gyms as "boxes" and any neighborhood with more than a dozen 30 year old lawyers or bankers has a box. Dani and his partner own one of the 10 or so in Sao Paoulo. Thanks for the explanation. Crossfit and the concept just goes to show that as often and as much time as I spend in Sao Paulo, there are things I do not know about the place. I wish him well with his business venture. EDIT: I just did another Google search for crossfit. As I stated in my intial question, the first search produced only the one link I showed. However, the new search produced a link that shows Crossfit in many parts of the world. Check out the belated link: https://map.crossfit.com/ - Quote
Members JAYBLK Posted January 10, 2016 Members Posted January 10, 2016 I should have made clear that crossfit is an American chain of yuppie fitness centers that has spread to Brazil and elsewhere. Quote
Members mvan1 Posted January 10, 2016 Members Posted January 10, 2016 I should have made clear that crossfit is an American chain of yuppie fitness centers that has spread to Brazil and elsewhere. Considering that I am not a yuppie, I use only the common and ordinary (but popular) 24 Hour Fitness Center while in the U.S. and other gyms when traveling. As noted, I never heard of the fancy Crossfit clubs. The name (Crossfit) is unusual for a worldwide health/exercise facility. According to the web address I furnished in my earlier post, the company is doing rather well, with many facilities. This forum is a wealth of information. - Quote
Casey703 Posted January 12, 2016 Author Posted January 12, 2016 Hi everyone, thanks for all the feedback. I actually do pretty well in foreign countries and speak some Spanish and French but for some reason I can't get a handle on spoken Portuguese. It just sounds pretty foreign to my ear. Based on all the good information on the board, I think I can navigate the sauna scene. I've been to Thermas in Barcelona so it sounds somewhat similar. To the quest above from Badboy81, I'd probably be most interested in hiring a person as a regular tour guide with maybe some advice for navigating the scene rather than someone to take me to the saunas. thanks again! Badboy81 1 Quote
Badboy81 Posted January 12, 2016 Posted January 12, 2016 Hi everyone, thanks for all the feedback. I actually do pretty well in foreign countries and speak some Spanish and French but for some reason I can't get a handle on spoken Portuguese. It just sounds pretty foreign to my ear. Based on all the good information on the board, I think I can navigate the sauna scene. I've been to Thermas in Barcelona so it sounds somewhat similar. To the quest above from Badboy81, I'd probably be most interested in hiring a person as a regular tour guide with maybe some advice for navigating the scene rather than someone to take me to the saunas. thanks again! If you need my friends contact info, Ill send it to you privately. Just let me know. Quote
