The Reopening of Brazil to Foreigners: some observations

[pylonguy71]

11 hours ago, asdsrfr said:

A recent picture from The Week in Rio and an attempt at social distancing measures. I think the cages actually make things worse and it's just plain crazy! I didn't take the picture--a friend who lives in Rio posted it and he is similarly dismayed.

Oh Dear :/

[Mustang359]

14 hours ago, asdsrfr said:

A recent picture from The Week in Rio and an attempt at social distancing measures. I think the cages actually make things worse and it's just plain crazy! I didn't take the picture--a friend who lives in Rio posted it and he is similarly dismayed.

I mean I kinda see what they are attempting to do, but that looks awful. Not just from they failure to prevent spread, but just being boxed in behind metal barricades. 

That being said I miss people and can't wait to pry myself through crowds to get an over priced weak drink from disinterested shirtless bartender! 

[Riobard]

1 hour ago, Mustang359 said:

That being said I miss people and can't wait to pry myself through crowds to get an over priced weak drink from disinterested shirtless bartender! 

Chapeau! This has to be in the top 10 of funny for 2020. 

[Riobard]

The current classification phase is, I believe, 5 Green, if not the lighter restrictions of Phase 6A Blue. The activity cluster is Leisure & Events —>Boate.

In either case, the mitigation ruling is 1/3 capacity and 4 square metres of floor space per person. No closing hours or masks are stipulated. Rulers lost mean rules broken. Where you see enclosed subgroups of 12-15 persons, that space would accommodate 1 person if following the guidelines. 

Activity restrictions, some categories stratified across 8 phases, seem lenient compared to São Paulo’s position within its particular 5-phase classification scheme. São Paulo (returning to Phase 3 Yellow on 4th Jan following a holiday shutdown) appears to allow events at 40% capacity but the attendees cannot be standing or milling about. 

Edited December 29, 2020 by Riobard

[camsi1975]

Must be due another installment please...?!

I Keep coming back and checking for updates!

[numazu]

The B Word: Sao Luis Edition – Something is Better than Nothing

Everyone knows that there is more to Brazil than just Sao Paulo or Rio de Janeiro.  I do not have anything against these two amazing cities - and if I don’t visit any other Brazilian cities in my life other than these two, I’d be more than content.  But all the “bests” I’ve had ever in my short 3-year Brazil touring experience has been out of RJ and SP: best sauna night (TBV in Recife), best road trip (Gramado in Rio Grande do Sul), best AirBNB experience (a party house in Florianopolis), best churrasco (a restaurant in Joinville, Santa Catarina), best Acai dish (an ambulante near the Amazonas Theatre in Manaus) etc etc.

That’s not to say that all Brazilian cities are a must to go to. I’ve always wanted to EVENTUALLY visit all the states in Brazil. So far I’ve been to 15 out of 26, which seems remarkable since I’ve only started going in 2018. So when Paulo asked me if I wanted to go with him to Sao Luis, Maranhao, because he had some family matters to attend to, I jumped on the chance to go, since I have never been to Maranhao state. And when he said there was one boy sauna he knew of that was in Sao Luis, and we could check it out, it made the trip more enticing to me.

But other than knowing that Maranhao state has the famous Lencois Maranhenses National Park, I didn’t know much about Sao Luis, and upon reading about it online, learned that it is a city of a million people that is staddled between the Northeastern cities of Brazil in the east, and the Amazonian parts of Brazil in the west. Sounds like the middle of nowhere to me, but it did have a beach, and a sauna, and with Paulo by my side, I won’t have any qualms exploring the city.

We got to Sao Luis around midnight, after a frantic dash to the airport to make our flight (never have sex before a flight – time flies when you’re having fun). Without dinner or anything, we decided on getting Uber Eats/iFood at the AirBNB. One of the few blessings in this pandemic is that food delivery in Brazil has thrived by leaps and bounds, more than pre-pandemic times, and we would never be hungry. But not in Sao Luis, it seems. We try to put in an order at around 1 AM, and Uber did not have any drivers available.  I guess the town shuts down pretty early, in this weekday night. A far cry from SP or RJ, where you can seemingly get anything at any time.

So a bit about Sao Luis – in the map, its in the middle of the Northeastern region, where Salvador and Recife are, and is defined by beaches, warm waters, and 24 hour sunlight, and the Northern region, where Manaus and the Amazon is, and is defined by tropical rainforests, mosquitoes, and hot hot temps. And indeed, it seems to inherit some parts of both regions, and it doesn’t do any of it well.  It has beaches, but uninspired ones. It has hot weather, but it seems to be Amazon hot (with mosquitoes!) rather than Northeast hot (with a relaxing wind that takes away the sting of the sun). And the infrastructure seems to be crumbling, like what I found in Manaus, than what you see in Recife, for example. I wouldn’t classify this city as a must-go.

But we were here because the BF needed to take care of some family business. We spent most of the waking daylight hours (which is usually after 1 PM for us – it takes us forever to get out of bed) in government agencies and banks, including this branch of Bradesco with a particular inviting ad with world-reknowned hottie surfer Gabriel Medina.  It does make me want to open an account here.

Some other oddities:

We had sushi at a restaurant called Taipan in a shopping mall, and there was an oddly high ratio of gay men among the clientele in the restaurant.  Paulo felt uneasy, because he was (again) easily head and shoulders the hottest guy there, and everyone was checking him out like in the sauna. For Paulo, it was one thing to get checked out in the sauna, but in public, he does want to be left alone. But we got confirmation that, on this Friday night, this restaurant was a bit of an informal hot spot for the gays. Whatever. It was weird. And it was the first time I’ve ever found these training wheels for chop sticks:

The food and beaches were kind of meh for us, but we tried out best to enjoy what was in front of us. The saving grace however, were the bars by the beach at night. Live music, including some of the best Reggae live music we’ve ever heard.

This was not an accident. Sao Luis is known as the “Brazilian Jamaica” after all, for some reason.  We didn’t know this at the time of the trip, but was surprised that this was actually a thing here in Sao Luis.  We had a blast anyway.

There was one sauna in Sao Luis, Sauna Go 63.  It follows the proud tradition of naming your sauna after the street number your establishment is in. In Rio, you have Clube 117 (Rua Candido Mendes) and Ponte 202 (Rua Siquiera Campos). Also, SP has Fragata 555 (Rua Traipu) and Salvador has Clube 11 (Rua Jose Duarte). It was across the bridge from the Beach of Sao Marcos where we were. It in the “Centro Historico” part of town, and it felt as such, as it was a bumpy ride getting there, with all the potholes and crumbling infrastucture around us.

This was a Friday night, and upon entering the premises, we were immediately questioned by a guy sitting behind a table right at the entrance way.  Turns out, he was a health advocate, and he was there to promote safe sex practices, which was I guess pretty appropriate, given the venue. After a brief chat, and some nosiness about the BF’s and my relationship, we were free to check in the sauna.  He was also giving out free condoms, as well as free at-home HIV tests:

Upon check-in, we noticed some boys, one half-naked, another naked and cupping his dick, approach the counter to get some condoms. This certainly was a welcome preview of what is to come.

As we head on over to the locker room, Paulo was recognized by a tall and big fellow. He was a boy who who recognized Paulo from one of the saunas in Fortaleza. He had dark skin, nice face, but not as in shape as I would like. I’m sure he was cute to someone. We both change in towels. Paulo asked his friend about the lay of the land here.

Paulo then requests that he go into the premises alone at first, to suss out the territory himself. “Are you going to find a client?” I asked. He said he wasn’t sure yet, judging from his conversation with his friend (cheap clients), but willing to see the lay of the land first before deciding on whether to work or not.

Knowing what to do, and acting accordingly, is important to Paulo when going to a sauna with me. Paulo says that clients are always jealous of other clients, and if he decided to work tonight, we would have to tamp down on the PDA, and maybe even not talk to each other for a bit, until he was sure he was able to get clients. If he decides not to work, he is free to touch, kiss, and be boyfriends with me. He is big on the PDA, and seems like he wants to do it with me, especially in a sauna since it was a more-or-less private space where he is free to be “gay” and not hetero like out in the world, so he has to make these choices.

As Paulo makes his way into the premises to assess the client situation, I make my own way into the sauna slowly, and made sure I was able to assess the boy situation. Yes, I was still forbidden in getting any of these boys, but I was free to look, and sometimes I can get away with inviting a boy with me for a drink. It is still worth it for me to be “single” while I am with Paulo, since the benefits (amazing sex, great conversation, hot hot hot boy, seeing Brazil through his eyes), outweighs the pitfalls (no sex with other guys, penis too large and thick). And it’s not like I am a saint when I am not with him, and I am able to roam the saunas, trawl the sites, and hit Grindr, like before.

After one or two rotations around the sauna, I am sad to say that I found a total of ONE guy that I would even think of hiring. That ONE guy was obviously super busy and was getting hired by one client after another, since he was the hottest one there.  He was handsome, dark skin, and muscular with abs, so he would be a fit in any other sauna in Brazil land.  And any boy of equal or better quality surely should take advantage of this in this sauna. There was not a shortage of clients here for sure. The rest of the boys were boy next door types. Good for hanging out and a laugh or two, but noone I cannot live without.

After a while, I see Paulo, emerging from the lockers, grinning like a Cheshire cat. He meets me halfway and plants me a big kiss. “I just got one, and I don’t want anyone anymore,” he says. He takes my hand and gets me to the bar, where he orders us two caiprinhas:

“What happened?” I asked him. “They kind of suck here in Sao Luis,” he says in a whisper, and then laughs. I asked why. “Clients were offering me 50 reais, and then 70 reais. It was horrible. You know I don’t do it for less than 100.” But you did one client? “Yeah, remember that guy handing out HIV tests? I guess he liked me enough to offer me 120 reais. But he ended up paying me 150. It was fast too. I only had my penis head in him and he came. Easiest 150 I’ve made. And now I am paying for these drinks,” pointing to the two caiprinhas. I guess he was feeling generous with his earnings, and also since tonight was 2 for 1 caipis:

Paulo has a theory that the boys here are happy with 50 reais programas, as long as they can get 4 or 5 clients, that works out to 250 reais a night. They run a volume business. Paulo suspects that the hot guy I saw worked the same way. He said he'd be surprised if that guy couldn't be had for 70. Volume is the key, since there were a lot of clients. The clients simply don't pay like they do in SP or RJ.

The sauna itself was actually pretty nice. The drinks were suuuuper cheap, and we got some snacks too that were 15 reais:

 

The premises were nice too, and there was a pool that was outdoors, but still in the courtyard of the sauna, so with the hot weather, it was a nice addition, and Paulo took advantage of it by diving in naked, which caused a commotion with some guests:

Overall, this was a chill sauna to spend a Friday night in. The space was pretty spacious:

And there was a separate dance room that one could dance with one’s partner to the day’s popular hits. As the sauna was closing, the owner approached us and asked for Paulo’s number. He said he knew some “politicos” that would be interested in getting Paulo’s services, and they pay way more than the average sauna goer. Paulo gladly gave him the number. We got stinking drunk too. And our bill was less than 100 reais. Worth it.

In closing, I guess I wouldn’t go out of my way to go back to Sao Luis, except if I was on my way to Lencois Maranhenses. But Paulo certainly has a way of livening any location we are in, so it was better than nothing.

Up next, Belo Horizonte, during COVID.

Edited January 4, 2021 by numazu

[pylonguy71]

another glorious update from Numazu!! Just a question, given how good your photography skills, are in addition to your evocative writing it would be incredible to have at least a tease/taste of some of the BFs and garotos you've been with. I know how important confidentiality is for many of the GPs, but surely some artfully cropped images (like many of our other favorite Brazil posters post) would be ok? I'd settle for a nipple, or bicep, or belly button! 

[Bucknaway1614502762]

Oh Numizu.......  You're needed

[docbr]

Needed indeed kkkk still afraid of venturing the saunas (even after getting my vaccine shot), so expecting even more the reports from those more adventurous! 

[davet]

Sao Luis is indeed crumbling (tourists from the richer parts of Brazil seemed especially embarrassed by it) but I thought the city was unique and charming, given its French and I believe also Dutch history. The food is distinctive. The main local dish, rice with hibiscus leaves, dried shrimp, and sesame has an unexpected Southeast Asian ring to it. I remember a tourist from another part of Brazil exclaim in delight, "Crab farofa?!"

Across the bay is Alcantara, a colonial town preserved in wax: It's how I imagine Rio might have looked when some seasick Portuguese lady gets off the boat to join her colonial family in the 1700s. The Lencois is a few hours to get to, but impressive. More impressive if I had allowed myself to be seduced by a cute but most likely straight backpack boy into joining an all-night hike. In case you don't know, sand dunes are basically hills to climb. Hundreds of them, without sleep, on the spur of the moment. I wasn't as young and adventurous anymore.

In June, SL has one of the most Brazil's distinctive folklore festivals, Bumba Meu Boi. Alcantara has something around the same time, which holds several major saint's day holidays.

When I was in SL about 10 years ago, there was one bar+boys in an old colonial house. It didn't have any better a selection than the newer place Numazu describes.