Why Porto Alegre?

[12is12]

Hi Guys,

Why is PA mentioned so much on this forum?
Are the saunas and/or garrotos different than those in Rio? It seems there's only Mazziniu; is it so much better than Rio's saunas, making it worth the trip.....   ?

Beyond sex, are there any touristic attractions I've overlooked?
I didn't find on the web anything on par with attractions in Rio, Amazonas, Iguazu or Salvador.....

Thanks
(-:

[Guest lurkerspeaks]

I am sure someone will correct me if I am wrong, but my understanding is that the garotos in PA are more "European" in appearance (blond, blue-eyed) than the latin/darker complections found elsewhere in Brazil.

[TotallyOz]

Lurker is correct.  The boys are often very light and since many are of German decent, many blond and blue. 

I also think it is mentioned so much as the sauna is amazing. It was built to be a sauna and it is very easy to use and do everything inside.  A nice big open area for meeting and greeting and nice rooms upstairs. 

Personally, I like it as it is a bit cheaper than Rio or Sao Paulo and I have booked the Sheraton for 125 a night several times.  To me, that is a great deal. 

Lastly, I love the restaurants and the ease of walking around outside my hotel to find things.

[SolaceSoul]

If you're into white or white-looking guys, Porto Alegre is going to have far more of them, since it's in the Southern region, where the Germans, Italians and Polish ended up.

[12is12]

Thx guys,

You helped me decide not to come.

I prefer the quintessential Latin look.

[trencherman]

I met the best looking and most responsive boys from Santa Catarina, Rio Grande do Sul and Parana right in the saunas of Rio and Sampa.  They obviously have heard of modern transportation and air travel.  I visited Porto Alegre two times on my way to Pelotas which is the capital of traditional pastry and dessert manufacturing of Brazil and to the Mission sites farther South. I have been to Curitiba which is bandied about as predominantly white in fora such as this and found their saunas  inhabited by boys of  the same ethnic cross-section as can be found in the rest of Brazil.  Same thing with Goiania and BH.  Boys who work in the saunas are not divided along racial lines but by economic class.  They are predominantly poor and therefore, mostly dark.

[Guest bobbalino]

I side-tripped to Porto Alegre in May. Pleasant for a few days, but it is comparable to average secondary North American cities. No wow factor. Stayed in an adult family private room in luxe apt bldg for $20 (Airbnb). Taxi to Mezzaninu Thurs Fri Sat nite. Club itself impressive but not the garoto choice lineup of Lagoa, 117, Planetario. Returned to Rio with substantial leftover cash to squander.

Taxi drivers needed my mapping to find Mezzaninu, it was not a scam and they did not overcharge. Getting home was direct  and same fare. It can be tricky to find due to one-way grid system and the need to overshoot on main road, exit, and backtrack. It was helpful that I had a paper map and flashlight apart from iPhone. Or one can print the area from Google maps. Drivers knew some landmarks but not the street or venue unless they are the ones congregating end of nite for passengers. 

[Lucky]

My experience in 3 visits to Porto Alegre is that the sauna guys are hot. Last visit I picked up a fellow who gave me such joy that I paid him double. Besides being gorgeous, muscular, and light-browned, he knew exactly what to do and he did it so well, without watching a clock, that I would really consider him the best sex I have had in Porto Alegre. When we were done, he showered first, came out stroking his dick, letting me know he wasn't tired, and we went at it again. Now tell me that the color of his skin would make a difference?

Others have pointed out the nice hotels at cheap rates, which are in a neighborhood of good restaurants. PA also has a hustler bar which tends to be a bit blue collar, but the guys are friendly and fun. There are rooms available in the bar, or you can do take out.

[groenthusiast]

I visited Porto Alegre once, back in 2011. My advice is if you are curious about PA and have a couple of extra days to make a visit, then go ahead and visit to satisfy your curiosity. Domestic flights and accommodations in PA were cheap, so it's a small price to pay to experience for yourself what the sauna scene is like. 

Like the OP, I was curious because PA was often mentioned as a great alternative/addition to visit for saunas along with Rio and SP, where I had been many times. I spent three nights in PA, from a Friday - Sunday. I'm not sure if things have changed, but at the time the general advice on the forum was to visit over a weekend. I only visited Mezzaninu, and I visited each night I was there. Keeping in mind that my visit was five years ago, my impression was that perhaps due to few foreign visitors at this sauna at the time, the garotos had a tendency to gravitate toward the locals. There was a noticeable familiarity between the garotos and locals, the working guys were usually seated for hours with a local at a table, where they would talk, have drinks and snacks, kiss, rub each other's crotches, etc. I don't think I observed any visits to a cabine though. However, with 30+ guys working it wasn't difficult to find willing garotos to have a programma with, it just seemed like the best looking guys were sitting with a local. This was the case on the Friday night; the Saturday night seemed to have fewer clients and garotos overall. On Sunday, the place was packed again and I remember that night being quite festive, there was a soccer game going on the monitors and lots of cheering and gesticulating. The guys were less aggressive than in Rio or SP, I usually had to initiate contact with the guys versus being chased after. I had five great programmas and one lackluster programma, which was with a garoto visiting from SP (he was gorgeous though!). The guys were quite good looking overall, with a mix of skin tones but a higher proportion of light skinned guys compared to the guys in a Rio sauna. I remember one of my programmas being Polish, another Ukrainian, another German, which was rare to encounter in Rio. Like the OP I prefer the classic Latin/moreno look but variety is nice sometimes. For a city of its size, I thought the garoto lineup was pretty good, but not necessarily better than in the Rio or SP saunas.

All this being said, I'm glad I visited but I didn't feel that my experience would compel me to visit again. I thought the city was pretty dull. I stayed in the Moinhos de Vento area, which I thought was a pleasant neighborhood. I think the city would be a great place to live if you're a Brazilian, it felt safer and cleaner than SP and Rio. But the city didn't have much for visitors IMHO. Each day I was waiting for it to be 5:30 p.m. so I could head to the sauna. Plus you had to take a taxi to get to the sauna, which wasn't always easy to hail in the later afternoon/early evening hours. I prefer taking the metro like in SP or Rio. I felt like getting around in PA was less convenient. But there are many people who enjoy PA and make it a part of their visits to Brazil, so it may be worth making at least one visit to see for yourself.  

[Lucky]

I did have one visit there that was a dud. The simple fact is that if you can go when Tomcal/tomcall is there, it will make a huge difference. He has a magnetism that brings life to the place and makes those guys think foreigners could be fun after all!

[Tomcal]

Thanks Lucky! I really do like PA! It is individual taste for sure, kinda like there are people who love/hate NYC or Chicago or SoCal(which i love).  I also like hustler bars that still flourishes in PA!  I think Mezziniu sauna is thr nicest in Brazil(although now that is 9 years old needs a makeover of paint, etc.). I would not advise anyone to go there Monday -Thursday!  But i have gone to great rodeos there as it is the center of gaucho territory! And a day spent in Gramado a town 2 hrs north of PA in the hills and look like you have been transported to Switzerland due to the architecture, is well worth it!  I will be back in October and i have enough contacts so that my days and nights will be busy even if the sauna is slow but it definitely is not Rio or Sao Paulo in terms of action!

[JunNJ]

good for you Tom Cal  you have enough contacts in POA!, my boy who I am coming back for supposed to be there decided to work in SP! after I bought my ticket ! grrrrr because he cannot make more money in mezzaninu. I am coming back to Brazil in November (thanksgiving week) since he wont be in POA when I stop there, I asked him how about his muscular friend i saw in his facebook pictures(he is not sauna garoto he said)  and he asked me " u want short time or overnight ? " and i said of course overnight (that would be my first time with garoto overnight). So the deal is still up in the air. He is not really garoto de programa but its exciting and what a challenge to be with someone like him ,i will make him to become a garoto :-)  Oh well, any fellow Members who would be in Brazil Nov 18 thru 28 ?  I will be in SP, POA then RIO. It would be nice to meet fellow members and chit chat :-)

 

[Tomcal]

JunNJ,. Probably my best experience in Brazil(we are talking over 1,000 here) was a non programma guy who the manager at Mezziniu knew the guy, and he needed to make some money that weekend! It was great! Thst was 3 years ago, he has now graduated from law school and is doing really well and yes we still see each other and stay in contact! So definitely go for it!  This guy came to my hotel every visit as he didnt work the sauna.  

[wncdemcub]

I'll be in b

18 hours ago, JunNJ said:

good for you Tom Cal  you have enough contacts in POA!, my boy who I am coming back for supposed to be there decided to work in SP! after I bought my ticket ! grrrrr because he cannot make more money in mezzaninu. I am coming back to Brazil in November (thanksgiving week) since he wont be in POA when I stop there, I asked him how about his muscular friend i saw in his facebook pictures(he is not sauna garoto he said)  and he asked me " u want short time or overnight ? " and i said of course overnight (that would be my first time with garoto overnight). So the deal is still up in the air. He is not really garoto de programa but its exciting and what a challenge to be with someone like him ,i will make him to become a garoto :-)  Oh well, any fellow Members who would be in Brazil Nov 18 thru 28 ?  I will be in SP, POA then RIO. It would be nice to meet fellow members and chit chat :-)

 

I'll be in Brazil from NOV 18- Dec 4.

nov 18-20 Porto alegre 

nov 20-22 Salvador 

nov 22-28 rio 

nov 28-dec 4 São Paulo 

let me know your schedule 

 

also besides the Sheraton what hotels do people recommend in POA?

 

 

[Tomcal]

The last 2 - 3 years i have stayed at the Quality Hotel, which is Diagonally across the park from the Sheraton! 

[Guest bobbalino]

I stayed one night in May at the Porto Retro Flat Boutique just east of the Sheraton. Check out their pics for fun. One would not bring a guest there, however. It was reasonably priced for what it was, one third what you would pay in my home city, though I moved on to a local family's lovely spare bedroom and private bath for 'peanuts' a block from the Quality. 

[JunNJ]

On 9/15/2016 at 2:24 PM, wncdemcub said:

I'll be in b

I'll be in Brazil from NOV 18- Dec 4.

nov 18-20 Porto alegre 

nov 20-22 Salvador 

nov 22-28 rio 

nov 28-dec 4 São Paulo 

let me know your schedule 

 

also besides the Sheraton what hotels do people recommend in POA?

 

 

i usually stay in Moinhos do Vento in Mercure Manhattan apartment, or Ibis very nice and good location but they become pricey. so now I am staying still in Moinhos but in Hotel Laghetto its reasonable price , my first time there tho

I will be in Porto Nov 21 and in Rio 24-28 so i guess meet u at 117 !!

[redxs]

On ‎12‎/‎08‎/‎2016 at 5:14 AM, Badboy81 said:

10 hours ago, JunNJ said:

i usually stay in Moinhos do Vento in Mercure Manhattan apartment, or Ibis very nice and good location but they become pricey. so now I am staying still in Moinhos but in Hotel Laghetto its reasonable price , my first time there tho

I will be in Porto Nov 21 and in Rio 24-28 so i guess meet u at 117 !!

Google is an amazing tool guy....

You may want to do some research on this blog and the internet and your questions will be answered....

Have a great trip in March....a while away and some things may definitely change

I've stayed at Ibis Copacabana Posto 2 twice, first time they allowed me to have guests, second time they didn't.

I've booked Ibis Copacabana Posto 5 for February 2017, the rates seem ridiculously low compared with other nearby hotels and apartments.  

[Tomcal]

On ‎9‎/‎16‎/‎2016 at 5:42 PM, JunNJ said:

i usually stay in Moinhos do Vento in Mercure Manhattan apartment, or Ibis very nice and good location but they become pricey. so now I am staying still in Moinhos but in Hotel Laghetto its reasonable price , my first time there tho

I will be in Porto Nov 21 and in Rio 24-28 so i guess meet u at 117 !!

for the first 5 or 6 years of going to PA I would stay at either the Mercure Manhatten or the Mercure Beverly Hills,  they are between 4 and 6 blocks from the Sheraton and are very adequate.  Since I am only there for 2 or 3 nights and am only at the hotel to sleep they are fine,  but the Sheraton has the best beds/rooms imho in PA, but their prices vary wildly depending on what business conference they are hosting since they have the 3rd and 4th floor conference areas and are attached to the mall.  If they are $145./US  night I will stay there, but many times they were asking $325.U.S.  That is when I found the Quality,  king size beds, good location, and usually around  $80.US/ night.