Members travguy Posted February 15 Members Posted February 15 Hello i am planning to go to the Campeas at the SamboDromo Saturday night and it ends around 7 am Sunday morning. Please let me know if others in town are interested. Top 6 samba groups will repeat their parades. Amazing spectacle. Near the Gloria Metro stop and 117 there is sometimes a Sunday afternoon and early evening very large community party. Great bands and food. Thinking of going to the Sauna in Bangu Sunday as well. Looks like it can be done by Metro - rail plus bus. Anyone else interested? Maybe some beach time as well Saturday. Lol thx TotallyOz 1 Quote
Members Riobard Posted February 15 Members Posted February 15 3 hours ago, travguy said: Hello i am planning to go to the Campeas at the SamboDromo Saturday night and it ends around 7 am Sunday morning. Please let me know if others in town are interested. Top 6 samba groups will repeat their parades. Amazing spectacle. Near the Gloria Metro stop and 117 there is sometimes a Sunday afternoon and early evening very large community party. Great bands and food. Thinking of going to the Sauna in Bangu Sunday as well. Looks like it can be done by Metro - rail plus bus. Anyone else interested? Maybe some beach time as well Saturday. Lol thx FWIW, if you use public transport, take the commuter train westward from where it intersects from the Metro (likely Central station) and get off at the large modern Bangu Shopping. Be mindful that the track directions split at some point and you want the destination (likely marked on train or platform; Santa Cruz) with the endpoint that will have brought you to Bangu. I suggest taking Über from the shopping centre even though it is close to the sauna and will be circuitous due to the complex tangle of roads in that area. I wouldn’t take the bus alone. You probably have to get off at the maternity hospital anyway and make your way from there. Drivers will be familiar with the area due to the shopping, hospitals, and Boate Casa Grande club your destination. Perhaps others will have better or alternative suggestions, for example, don’t use public transport. Also be aware of Sunday train schedules later in the day. The Feira Livre da Glória can be loads of fun and tends to spill over to the west sidewalk around Carnival time. If you get there early enough you may have an opportunity to go up to and inside the mid-eighteenth century Church of Our Lady of Glory on the Hill as it is usually only open Sundays. In fact, you might decompress there for a few minutes following the all-nighter. The aforementioned Sunday Gloria market is formally 07:00-16:00, many of the vast array of stalls winding down earlier, but extended festivities following sales closure. It would be extremely ambitious to squeeze in Bangu same day. Safe travels. Quote
Members travguy Posted February 16 Author Members Posted February 16 Riobard. You rule !! Not sure if we are noting the same event as I do not know he name of the events I saw in Gloria and was never there in this park area with a giant statue, maybe of the early Portuguese settlers, before 1600 hrs. Pedro Alvarez Cabral monument and park area on the google map. What I saw was not a market per se but various musicians performing. Perhaps more traditional music and folks really seemed to love the artists. There were maybe 20-40 small stalls selling food or wares, t shirts etc - but mostly aimed at locals vs tourists from far away. Regarding the sauna in Bangu, the google map suggested several possible transfer points from Metro Rio to a local bus. Time just on the bus was about 45-90 minutes for most routes. Endless stops were possible. The maternity hospital seemed like a good drop off point for many but not all bus routes. Will have to start serious shopping for campeas tickets tomorrow. My SIM card and linked phone number no longer function most likely due to non use and not paying for recharges. Also, when I went to Claro today they said they stopped the card from working. I tried to buy another SIM card to replace it and they said it cannot be done - only 1 ? Claro ? SIM card per cpf number.  Completely insane. I will try vivo tomorrow. hurstwickham 1 Quote
floridarob Posted February 16 Posted February 16 3 hours ago, travguy said: Regarding the sauna in Bangu, the google map suggested several possible transfer points from Metro Rio to a local bus. Time just on the bus was about 45-90 minutes for most routes. Endless stops were possible. The maternity hospital seemed like a good drop off point for many but not all bus routes. That's serious dedication to getting there....I've been twice by Uber with friends and wouldn't bother going back a third time. However, a friend was there recently on various Sundays and he said it's good, like the old times at Meio Mundo ShivRoy 1 Quote
Members travguy Posted February 17 Author Members Posted February 17 Thx floridarob. Got my ticket for the Campeas. Turns out the company handling this has its temporary ticket office at the Hotel Atlantico Copacabana. "How convenient" as it is next to Metro Siq Campos. Bought a cheap seat in the arquibancadas (sp) for 500 RS. So, yes, expensive, and more than what it was in the past. Some fancy party boxes were 3400+ RS. They threw in a Metro Giro card with R/T fare and a free T shirt too.  Pls note that they said not all of the sectors (setor in PT) can be reached by Metro and I bought a ticket that would be reachable via Metro. Still no Sim for the cell phone.....but will likely try to buy a Vivo sim at a newspaper / candy kiosk later today. Sexy Rose was great Thursday and Friday. Absolutely packed Friday at 1730-1800 hrs. 117 was busy last night too. Prices seemed higher and a punter friend said it was Carnival pricing, even after Carnaval. Looks like it will be a nice day today. To the Moderator: Microsoft Edge insists that this is an unsafe site. Makes use quite difficult. Quote
Keithambrose Posted February 17 Posted February 17 I noticed that with Edge. It applied to other, similar, sites. I changed my browser. Quote
Members travguy Posted February 17 Author Members Posted February 17 Pre Campeas update: Airbnb host gave me a pm tour of the beaches west of Rio and some parts of Rio earlier today. :)) Corcovado train is now 122 RS on the weekends and ?? 97 RS Mo-Fr. I have been before and as memory serves me the price may have doubled since pre COVID. We skipped it and still got back late, so not much of a pre Campeas nap for me. Beaches outside the city were great. Some areas reminded us of Miami (not a complement). Also drove through the Rocinha favela. Not something I would do on my own, as he drives like a Formula 1 driver! There will be a very large block party at the Ipanema Leblon border tomorrow, Sunday. Don't know what time, and the street along the beach will be closed off. We likely missed the Ipanema parties today, but did not understand all that my host said in PT. He also said that 1 million folks were supposed to be in centro today. Partying?? He does not like centro and we did not go there. My host also sat me down to explain how to be even safer in Rio. He gave me an under shorts money belt type thing where he said I must put my cell phone, cash and CCs traveling to and from the Sambodromo and seemed understanding but unhappy about my small camera for pics. Actually, his concerns were appropriate, and I will be even more careful than usual. Also said no food or water, etc can be brought into the smabadromo. Also said that the hot food items were likely spoiled food or poorly cooked, so try not to eat a burger or fries there. Anything in a store type package is likely ok. No time to deal with the lack of working SIM card today. And that is all from your EyeWitless News Reporter. Now back to the folks in the studio.... Marc in Calif and hurstwickham 2 Quote
Marc in Calif Posted February 18 Posted February 18 1 hour ago, travguy said: And that is all from your EyeWitless News Reporter. And you, sir, are Morley Mudd! 🤓 Quote
Members travguy Posted February 18 Author Members Posted February 18 Poor Roger Mudd at CBS always in the shadow of Walter Cronkite, if that is the ref to Morley Mudd. And I am no Morley Safer, but unlikely to be as bad as Ted Baxter. When growing up the network anchors had a god like status in the industry. The Campeas was amazing. However, there seemed to be some major issues with last group to march at 525am leading to a 40-minute delay and an apparent dearth if marchers at the parade start. For folks comfortable with the ways of Rio and its Metro, the Metro was fine and fully functional in both directions. Waited less than 15 minutes from the queue to enter Praca Onze to when the Metro train arrived. Might be missing the banda at Leblon beach at 9am local time as I write this. But need a brief rest anyway. Also, my feet are swollen and a bit numb. New to me. Perhaps too much salt or liquids to cope with the heat and humidity here. I can jog and treadmill, so my heart should be ok. LOL. What time do folks suggest arriving at Bangu (if I do it today), is 1630 hours about correct? Thx in advance Riobard 1 Quote
Members Riobard Posted February 18 Members Posted February 18 One reason I take an apartment alone or in addition to a hotel room is the overabundance of salt typically used in eateries or sidewalk grills, particularly meat dishes. Prepare myself a lot of my nutrition. Not so much due to fluid retention worries but because I have no recollection of a past existence wherein a stall salt lick figured prominently as a dietary treat. Not a criticism as perhaps it’s related to preservative functionality. I have found, though, that a few mocequa  meals have been seasoned to my liking. Quote
floridarob Posted February 18 Posted February 18 4 hours ago, travguy said: What time do folks suggest arriving at Bangu yes....let us know how it is....if you see a tall American, tell him Rob says "hello whore". Quote
babybear2 Posted February 18 Posted February 18 7 hours ago, travguy said: Poor Roger Mudd at CBS always in the shadow of Walter Cronkite, if that is the ref to Morley Mudd. And I am no Morley Safer, but unlikely to be as bad as Ted Baxter. When growing up the network anchors had a god like status in the industry. The Campeas was amazing. However, there seemed to be some major issues with last group to march at 525am leading to a 40-minute delay and an apparent dearth if marchers at the parade start. For folks comfortable with the ways of Rio and its Metro, the Metro was fine and fully functional in both directions. Waited less than 15 minutes from the queue to enter Praca Onze to when the Metro train arrived. Might be missing the banda at Leblon beach at 9am local time as I write this. But need a brief rest anyway. Also, my feet are swollen and a bit numb. New to me. Perhaps too much salt or liquids to cope with the heat and humidity here. I can jog and treadmill, so my heart should be ok. LOL. What time do folks suggest arriving at Bangu (if I do it today), is 1630 hours about correct? Thx in advance Given how far away Bangu is, it have to be good to compensate your commute time. Let us know how do you feel about it Quote
Marc in Calif Posted February 19 Posted February 19 14 hours ago, travguy said: Poor Roger Mudd at CBS always in the shadow of Walter Cronkite, if that is the ref to Morley Mudd. The reference: You said on Saturday that you were our EyeWitless News Reporter in Rio. There was actually an "Eyewitless News" feature that Johnny Carson used to perform on The Tonight Show in the 1980s. In it, he always played a reporter named "Morley Mudd." Quote
Members travguy Posted February 22 Author Members Posted February 22 Marc, Thx for the Carson info. I like liked the Tea Time Movie Guy, Carnac, and the Editorial rebuttal (hunter) characters. The foot swelling was not the pitting edema I remember my older relatives getting. I went down slowly and gone now, but no idea why I had it. Basically no rest after the Campeas. Got back to Leblon by around 8am, Banda at Leblon beach around 1100-1230 hrs. So many A&F type surfer hot guys, mostly late teens /early 20s with girlfriends etc. Then I rested a bit as my feet were a mess. Went to Sexy Rose later in the day. It was busy. Things were quite different throughout the city post Campeus and it seems the celebrations continued well past Tuesday. By 1700-1800 hrs I was walking to Gloria from Cinelandia. Two bars that often have street music in front were quiet, likely folks on a major pause. There was great music in a park by Gloria Metro, adjacent to the park with the statue. Had a nice beer and went back to the apt. Never made it to Bangu. Too tired and no working SIM card for cell phone. I was pretty sick over the next few days. Trots just on Monday am, and feeling like le grippe / the flu to follow. Eating ok but no desire for fun. Bit of a constant upset stomach. Feeling mostly better now. Not sure about going to 117 tonight, not cool to get anyone else sick. Major success with SIM card earlier today. There are web postings re TIM and it seems to work. I will post the details later as not all is obvious or in English. Claro in the past has worked fine for up to a few days, before it stopped working, so I hope TIM is better. Been fairly warm and humid here. ....if only I could come up with something funny to say here like Carson. There is always Dangerfield: My wife's cooking is so bad the flies fixed the screen...AAt the zoo: Officer, I can't find my parents...Officer to young Rodney: Yeah, there are so many places they can hide..... Riobard 1 Quote
Members Riobard Posted February 22 Members Posted February 22 I hope you feel more than mostly better soon. I don’t bother with SIM cards and pretty much just tap into lodgings’ wifi weeks at a time. Very rarely incur a carrier roaming charge and only then out of necessity; my plan costs $20 daily even if I just nullify airplane mode for an instant. It’s more economical to catch a meal and tap into venue internet. However, I think 117 does have wifi and you can ask staff to enter the password and it should load each time you return but only in certain areas of the building. Gregora Arte across the street will release their password if you dine there. Parenthetically, the food is good. Similarly, if you loiter a bit in front of their patio without entering you can catch the signal. But it’s consistently my haunting grounds a few blocks from accommodations so YMMV on the plugged-in needs spectrum. Quote
Members pauleiro Posted February 23 Members Posted February 23 I attended also the desfilé dos Campioes last saturday. You can go to all sectors of Sambodromo using metro. Even number sectors can be reached from Praça Onze, odd number sectors from Central, but in this case it is a much longer and a much more difficult to find walk. You can buy all types of drinks at Sambodromo but it is a rip off. Ice creams were available at 20 BRL ! (normally it is less than 10 BRL). That day, one carro allegorico of Imperatriz broke down and could not move, impeding all carros of Champion Viradouro to enter the Sambodromo. The whole desfilé was delayed, some carros were not shown and the order of entry of carros was modified. Viradouro carros started enter the Sambodromo around 6.30 am. The sun was already shining and the fireworks were just smoke and the light effects of carros could not be seen. But it was a great moment ... for those who can seat on a concrete bench during 11 hours (from 8 pm to 7 am). The whole process was delayed : insted of entering between 03 am and 03.50 am, Viradouro entered after 6 am ! Many people had left or were sleeping.   Any reader here can explain the numbers seen on one carro ? 22 is easy to understand, with help of internet, 80 also but 32 ? Quote
Members travguy Posted February 23 Author Members Posted February 23 I have been to the Campeas before, so I knew the times were not the truth. I arrived a bit late and expected it to finish around 7am or so. Thank goodness for my butt cushion. I thank Pauleiro for his comments and great pictures. The pictures alone do not do this spectacle justice. It is perhaps as close as we mere mortals will come to a Triumph of ancient Rome. Unlike New Orleans, there are no throws, beads, cups, doubloons, toys, etc. It is a visual and audio feast. It is also much warmer than Koln Karneval, etc. Apologies, I do not understand what any of the numbers mean. I noted many folks had left by 0230 hours or so. In the past I noted waves of folks from the favelas where these groups are from came and went to cheer on their own. Saw very little of that from my archibancada setor this year. Looks like they removed the TV tower that crossed over the S D around setor 6 or 8 or so. Therefore, none of the floats were height limited or required animatronics to dip the figures, like a 4 plus story Portela Eagle so it could fit under the tower years ago. This year's Eagle was much smaller. I think the prices this year were very high vs prior years for us tourists. Quote
Members travguy Posted February 23 Author Members Posted February 23 I wanted to post this as a separate note from the Campeas. Felt ok late yesterday and went to Sexy Rose from 1700-1930 hours. I had so much sex. I don't understand it to be honest, as my looks and body are nothing special. Mr Happy is a bit larger than most, but not huge. As in the past, I have seen a few very hot guys, A&F surfer types, somewhat older (late 20s-40s) muscle guys and the odd twink having sex with similar. Nothing unusual about that. But then you sometimes see the same guys having sex with much older and heavy set guys to follow. Also, some guys who will not even look at you will quickly polish the chrome on your....if you grab them accordingly. As I don't like being grabbed (unless by a hottie of course) I will (rarely) grab a guy after seeing him respond well to someone of similar type to me. I also don't want to cause a fight, etc. I also seem to have some luck with younger guys in BR as there is less age bias against older gays when hanging out at a bar or as a sex partner, etc. Glad to hear the thoughts of others. Perhaps some type of daddy / machismo thing that I don't see north of the Rio Grande (US and Canada). Connordrick 1 Quote
Members travguy Posted February 26 Author Members Posted February 26 Another strange weekend, in part due to brutal heat and humidity, especially Sunday. No issues with the sun on Friday. But I wisely limited my time while jogging and hanging out at the beach. Not many guys in the Ipanema gay area mid pm. 117 was not as busy vs last Friday night. Completely different vibe and many different GPs. Made the mistake of doing 2 trips to the beach Saturday, and just that extra 15 minutes in the very brutal sun made my upper areas fairly red. The guys were out in force around 1500 hours at the Ipanema gay beach area. So I decided to stay in Saturday night. On the Scruff app, they listed multiple parties, though not The Week. Two parties were nearby in Ipanema, but I thought it best to rest thinking I might get a moderate burn, but didn't. It was also pretty hot. Sunday am was a sweatbox and I think the feels like temperature of 40C or 100F was way too low. I was dripping in sweat at the Ipanema Hippie Fair market at G Osorio at 1100 hrs in the shade. Never went to the beach, in part due to redness and the oppressive heat plus humidity. Found some cuts of meat that I really liked and made a big lunch at the apartment. Got a late start intending to go to Bangu Boate Casa Grande via Uber (too hot to bother with an hour long non AC bus ride after the Metro). Previously quoted me about 90 R$, but would be about 70 R$ due to some Uber promo or special. Took the M to Gloria expecting to spend part of a steamy early pm at my 4 known places for live music on a Sunday. Not one of them was doing any music, not even the parks by M Gloria - though a big market and tons of filled streets were happening. I hung out for a while, drenched again in sweat, but around 1630 hours thought it too late to start the long Uber trip to Bangu. The heat also takes a lot out of you. So, I went to Sexy Rose, where one guy made me quite happy. As in the past, no clue to explain my luck. Cinelandia was pretty dead when I left around 1800 hours. Lots of flirting on Grindr and Scruff, but no hook ups. Had some airbnb issues to deal with and skipped the Bip Bip club near Cantagalo Metro (sort of near...) again due to the heat index, low 90s now and I was not looking to have a 3rd or 4th shower in 1 day. Found lots of outdated information regarding gay clubs still being circulated on the web. In brief: Le Boy and Le Girl are long gone. My best guess is that all or almost all of the pre-COVID bars and clubs on or near Farme de Amoedo and de Melo in Ipanema are GONE. Maybe some changed names or owners. The muscle and drug boys at The Week might be eye candy for us, but unless we are in shape sugar daddies, I sense that the readers here might not fully fit in. The sauna by the beach in Ipanema is still around. I don't think it is a GP sauna. I did not go to it. There are some gay bars / clubs on the NE end of Copa and 1 near M Cantagalo, but I did not go to any of them so far this trip. Have not been to Lapa this trip either. Gay clubs there are farthest ones from the Arches / Arcos. In the past, some were busy at MN, others quite dead even at 0200 hours. To change the subject: Another strange custom here is that when some local food markets close down, some sellers refuse to sell perfectly good food as part of last minute sales, although most are happy for any sale. Connordrick and babybear2 2 Quote
Connordrick Posted February 27 Posted February 27 Great report, thanks! I can't believe how well-equipped Rio and São Paulo are for sex and sex Lol,  compared to many other cities/countries. I'm traveling in mid-March, my first trip to Rio de Janeiro and my second trip to São Paulo, as I'll be staying for more than 3 weeks. I hope the heat improves by mid-March; I'm not a fan of getting roasted on the beach, so if it's too hot, I might just stroll around since I easily get red and sore. On the bright side, I won't need to pack too many clothes, and shorts and sandals take up little space. I'll definitely check out the Sexy Rose and The Week. I'm not in great shape, but you never know how some generosity can take you far. I'm more of a 117/Lagoa type of guy. I noticed in many posts that Point 202 is rarely mentioned, and I wonder why. I'm staying close to 202 in one of the Windsor hotels, so I'll check it out anyway. I won't be able to visit all the places mentioned in Brazil forums, but it's incredible what a great country it is Awesome pictures from the carnival. I doubt I would ever attend during the Carnival; big crowds drive me nuts. Scott 1 Quote
Members buttercawan Posted February 27 Members Posted February 27 The Week is no more. It is called "The Home" now. Same location. https://www.instagram.com/thehomerio/ floridarob and Connordrick 1 1 Quote
Scott Posted March 1 Posted March 1 On 2/27/2024 at 1:06 AM, buttercawan said: The Week is no more. It is called "The Home" now. Same location. https://www.instagram.com/thehomerio/ LOL, if it's not at least technically "new" it doesn't seem to interest, eh? Quote
Scott Posted March 1 Posted March 1 By mid-March things should be quite normal in terms of weather, nice but not scorching! Better to bring some long pants for nicer restaurants in both Rio and Sao Paulo, and only tourists wear flip-flops at night, and in Sao Paulo during the day also! The lack of sex work as a crime certainly helps, as I am sure some healthy "donations" let's call them to the city's finest in blue, if you catch my drift. Reach out if you have any questions-I was looking at a report of prices of $50R in 2009. I don't think that would fly, but foreigners way overpay, and Brazilians love to haggle and start at a big price. Don't go for it. R$150 is the going rate or later in the evening $200R with elite (milk). Not sure how many times you have been here, but there are a lot of reports of 202 padding bills that I have read on here, I don't know from personal experience, I have only been there once in 4 years, in the past November, but I was chastised by another x-pat who says that all the Brazilian clients hate me because if the price is something I can afford and I like the person, I usually don't haggle, but it's really like being in Turket at a carpet bizarre, they love to start high and who knows, maybe the person doesn't care or know, so give it a try. I am trying to mend my evil ways and get in good graces with the Brazilian clients so they won't hate me so much-I didn't know, thankfully I have a very blunt great new friend who is not afraid to tell me the truth!  Most of all, never just look at someone longingly, have them come up to you, and when they say "let's go" take off without any negotiation, even on Google translate, of what is going to happen and HOW MUCH IS IT GOING TO COST. I have a Brazilian friend who takes screenshots in case there is a dispute, and if you look new and may be in town for a short time, for sure you will get that, almost like a compliment-don't fall for it, it is an invitation for 90% to double or triple charge! Just my 2 cents! Connordrick 1 Quote
Members Riobard Posted March 1 Members Posted March 1 Thank you for the reprise of Penile Code section 69, subsections 11, 117, 202, 555. Quote
