Opinions on Salvador ? + Travelling to Brazil discreetly

[KJ1993]

Hello wonderful people,

I'm heading back to Brazil in September for a couple of weeks and was thinking of adding Salvador to the itinery for a few days. I'll be there with a friend.

 

In terms of saunas and online selection is it a decent alternative to the greek gods and gorgeous twinks available in SP and Rio? Or will I leave feeling underwhelmed?

 

I'm aware the demographic is predominantly afro-brazilian which I have no issue with. Beautiful men aside I am genuinely interested in the culture and history of the city.

 

Second question, this will be my 4th trip to Brazil in 2 years as noted by my boss yesterday- yeah awkward I know - . He was genuinely curious in a nice way.

4 times in 2 years may be infrequent to many based on this forum haha, but in the real world people do start asking questions. 'Why is he constantly in Brazil ?' they ask lmao

Obviously 99% of the people I know are completely oblivious to my escapades and the mind blowing selection of mouth watering hunks at cheap prices. 

How does one travel to Brasil semi-frequently without attracting unwanted questions? 

[macaroni21]

You can try saying you're in a long-distance relationship with someone in Brazil.  Boyfriend or girlfriend, take your pick.

[floridarob]

2 hours ago, KJ1993 said:

was thinking of adding Salvador to the itinery for a few days. I'll be there with a friend.

I love guys from that area....my first time in Salvador, gawking at all the beautiful airport workers, I figured I had hit the mother load. But when looking in the saunas, only 1 or 2 stood out as ok and the rest nothing special....it seems all the "special ones" I was looking for, go to Rio and SP looking for work.

If you've never been there, definitely go for the sightseeing/touristy things.....maybe you'll find someone for fun too....you never know.

 

1 hour ago, macaroni21 said:

You can try saying you're in a long-distance relationship with someone in Brazil.  Boyfriend or girlfriend, take your pick.

be prepared with pics, unless they know you're a whore already, lol

[Travelingguy]

It is a huge country and it is hard to visit all the various areas that you want to see in one trip.  Like visiting the USA.  It also is somewhat inexpensive for a really nice coastal vacation.  So, combining sight seeing with real leisure time, for you it is perfect.  Also, every time you go, you run into people who tell you about another part of the country that you just have to visit…

[forrestreid]

How are you can deal with this depends partly on a much of a “real tourist” you are. I have a similar issue with going to Thailand. However I quite like the touristy stuff as well, I usually have plenty of pics from my touristy expeditions which I can show people from those days that, where I played the part of a “quality tourist”

Just bore your work colleagues  into submission with pictures of beaches and temples, ( or the Brazil equivalent of temples). I usually find if you start saying “well just let me bring up the 100 pictures I have on my iPad here - I don’t know how I will pick my favourite, I don’t want to bore you with them all” …you  usually then see the panic in their eyes and they stop asking the questions pretty soon…

 

Of course, if you’ve no real interest of the standard touristy stuff stuff, that’s a bit more difficult, you might need another strategy!

[KJ1993]

16 hours ago, macaroni21 said:

You can try saying you're in a long-distance relationship with someone in Brazil.  Boyfriend or girlfriend, take your pick.

That is is the obvious choice, but then I have to provide receipts to family and friends hahaha

[KJ1993]

16 hours ago, floridarob said:

I love guys from that area....my first time in Salvador, gawking at all the beautiful airport workers, I figured I had hit the mother load. But when looking in the saunas, only 1 or 2 stood out as ok and the rest nothing special....it seems all the "special ones" I was looking for, go to Rio and SP looking for work.

If you've never been there, definitely go for the sightseeing/touristy things.....maybe you'll find someone for fun too....you never know.

 

be prepared with pics, unless they know you're a whore already, lol

That's a shame, I've heard mixed reviews on Salvador in terms of the guys, so hopefully I get lucky! 

There's something exciting about the roll of a dice 😉

[davet]

Does your workplace require you to tell them where you're going on vacation? If it's simply social inquiries, I would just be vague and move on.

[simcity]

On 5/4/2024 at 10:10 PM, KJ1993 said:

Second question, this will be my 4th trip to Brazil in 2 years as noted by my boss yesterday- yeah awkward I know - . He was genuinely curious in a nice way.

Hummm. Tell him you wanted to go to EL Salvador to plan for your Bitcoin’s retirement and you blender with the airport code …Wash, rinse, repeat !

[xpaulo]

On 5/4/2024 at 8:10 AM, KJ1993 said:

in the real world people do start asking questions

Same situation with me re Colombia and Istanbul. I'm now adding another destination on those trips so I don't feel like I should lie when co-workers ask where I went.

[asdsrfr]

It's a challenge some times--but in the end people actually care less than you think they do. As gay men without family ties we have a lot more freedom to travel than a lot of our straight co-workers. A number of them live vicariously through our travels--hence the questions.

I'll admit it would be hard to say month after month I'm going back to Thailand or Brazil(weren't you just there last month?"),  but at the end of your life when your co-workers are nowhere to be found it's important you pursued the things that made your life happy and not lived your life for them.  I'm fortunate in the case of Brazil I practice a sport (kitesurfing) that has world class conditions on the northeast coast so I have a good reason to go there frequently. I always include a stop in Rio or Sao Paulo for a few days "to break up the trip."

In the end you'll find your own way to answer(or deflect) their questions but you should pursue your life without guilt or shame and enjoy!

[xpaulo]

On 5/5/2024 at 3:22 AM, KJ1993 said:

I've heard mixed reviews on Salvador

That makes sense. I had some enjoyable hook ups in the saunas. But not as great as I had hoped. The one incredibly hot guy I met in a sauna turned out to be quite scary. He asked for the money up front, which I paid. Then he immediately asked for more. I said no. His glare at me pretty intense. Then he just laid on the bed without engaging. It was a short session. The next guy the complete opposite, lots of fun. When I was leaving the original guy approached me in the locker room and again demanded more money while staring into my eyes with an angry expression on his face. It was uncomfortable. None of the other hookups in the saunas were memorable. It seems like a really interesting city, but I was alone and every time I walked in an area outside of the heavily sanitized tourist zone..... lots of police and tourist shops... a local would tell me it was dangerous for me and I should go the tourist zone. I have no doubt they were concerned about me. By coincidence a guy met travelling in Turkey was in Salvador visiting his parents and picked me up the airport and took me to their place in a gated suburban community for lunch. They weren't rich, normal middle class retirees with a small home. It was a block from a nice beach which we went to for a walk. It was a weekday afternoon and the beach was almost empty. He told me his mother was very worried about our safety. So it was a short walk. He said Salvador is the kind of place where you never want to look like the most vulnerable person.

[babybear2]

I have been to Salvador once in 2022. I went to both saunas with GP, and would say keep you expectations low.

I did not find any GP above 8/10, most are 6/7. 

I did see some hottest men I have ever seen in the beach though, but alas, guys working as GP are too ordinary looking 

[floridarob]

14 hours ago, babybear2 said:

I did see some hottest men I have ever seen in the beach though, but alas, guys working as GP are too ordinary looking 

Yeah, similar to my experience but at the airport and not the beach, lol

[Xclay]

When I was there last (2002), I too wss disappointed in the sauna, but hit the jackpot with a young taxi driver and with a guy at my hotel.

[Marc in Calif]

On 5/10/2024 at 7:53 PM, babybear2 said:

I did not find any GP above 8/10, most are 6/7. 

And how do you rate yourself? Then we can start understanding your grading scale. 😊

[babybear2]

On 5/13/2024 at 1:31 PM, Marc in Calif said:

And how do you rate yourself? Then we can start understanding your grading scale. 😊

does not matter how I rate my self, haha

I rate some brazil OF stars in Rhyheim's videos as 8/9 out 10

Some guys at 117 are 7/8, not OF star quality, but still very attractive 

Guys at Salvador Sauna are mostly 6 

Of course, this is purely based on my taste, I prefer masculine face and fit body (swimmer type instead of giant build) 

[Latbear4blk]

6 hours ago, babybear2 said:

does not matter how I rate my self, haha

I rate some brazil OF stars in Rhyheim's videos as 8/9 out 10

Some guys at 117 are 7/8, not OF star quality, but still very attractive 

Guys at Salvador Sauna are mostly 6 

Of course, this is purely based on my taste, I prefer masculine face and fit body (swimmer type instead of giant build) 

I've been there many years ago, and I found plenty of nicely built swimmers in Salvador, specially at Fox. Now I am curious to see whether or not quality went down. I would love a second visit, to do the research. 

[Badboy81]

On 5/4/2024 at 11:10 AM, KJ1993 said:

Hello wonderful people,

I'm heading back to Brazil in September for a couple of weeks and was thinking of adding Salvador to the itinery for a few days. I'll be there with a friend.

 

In terms of saunas and online selection is it a decent alternative to the greek gods and gorgeous twinks available in SP and Rio? Or will I leave feeling underwhelmed?

 

I'm aware the demographic is predominantly afro-brazilian which I have no issue with. Beautiful men aside I am genuinely interested in the culture and history of the city.

 

Second question, this will be my 4th trip to Brazil in 2 years as noted by my boss yesterday- yeah awkward I know - . He was genuinely curious in a nice way.

4 times in 2 years may be infrequent to many based on this forum haha, but in the real world people do start asking questions. 'Why is he constantly in Brazil ?' they ask lmao

Obviously 99% of the people I know are completely oblivious to my escapades and the mind blowing selection of mouth watering hunks at cheap prices. 

How does one travel to Brasil semi-frequently without attracting unwanted questions? 

You don't disclose to your manager where you are going...Its not his business...That is your first issue...

Why do you feel the need to provide information that he doesn't need to know?

As far as Salvador, there is a variety of men to chose from....everything from muscular built to slim...I enjoyed Fox the most when I was there in February but there are some hot guys on the apps as well...depending on what you look like

Good luck and have fun

[12is12]

Excuse the ignorance: 

What or who is Fox?

[Latbear4blk]

14 minutes ago, 12is12 said:

Excuse the ignorance: 

What or who is Fox?

Fox is one of the local saunas.

https://ilikepinga.com/2019/01/05/best-gay-sauna-salvador/

[12is12]

Thx

Two question:

Point 5 in Fox cons mentions lack of AC; point 6 says the opposite. At least to my undrstndng....

Why would anyone want to go to a sauna which prohibits use of cellphones?

[Taikonaut]

They don’t have a ac in the common area since it’s semi open but the rooms have it. 
 

When I was there there was no issue with cellphones. 

[Latbear4blk]

12 hours ago, 12is12 said:

Why would anyone want to go to a sauna which prohibits use of cellphones?

I would. I do not need a cell phone to fuck.

[12is12]

As mentioned in the link, Thermas prohibits the use, and the auther found it inconvenient not to b able to use the translator.