Traveler365

After my friend's experience getting drugged in Medellin--and after hearing your experience I decided to read a bit more about the drug used. I came across this very good but rather scary documentary about the use of the drug in Colombia to rob people. You can watch it here free on Amazon Prime if you have any interest. https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B07H3BPTQP/ref=atv_dp_share_cu_r I remember now on my first trip to Colombia I stayed at a gay hotel in Bogota (that ironically was run by a very friendly older straight couple) and they warned me about this. They told me the story of another guest who they tried to warn and they said he was like "I don't need to hear this--I've travelled all over the world and I know how to take care of myself." Sure enough he was drugged in Chapinero (the gay area of Bogota) and lost quite a sum from his ATM. Colombia is a wonderful place with a lot of good people. In 5-6 trips there I have never had a problem personally--but as the saying goes "You aren't in Kansas anymore!"

I thought I had read somewhere on this forum that Club Tobi had closed. My local friends weren’t sure and since my time in Medellin was limited I didn’t check it out.

I just returned from 10 days in Colombia and I thought I would share my experience. It was my 4th or 5th time to Colombia and as always had a great time. Bogota--Arrived late Friday in order to enjoy Teatron on a Saturday night. As many know Teatron is the large nightclub that is truly amazing. Many floors and rooms for dancing and music. The top floor is men only and has naked strippers. Others have suggested that they might be available but I am not so sure. Very little opportunity to talk with them as they are on and off the stage pretty quickly. My local friend says that they have more strippers on Tuesday night than on the weekend--but my favorite night to visit is Saturday when all of the club is open and there is plenty of eye candy in the crowd. As far as hookups--Grindr is the way to go in Bogota(and really all of Colombia). Lots of free offers-- and the working guys in Bogota seemed to be happy with 70-90,000 pesos. There is a Sauna called Saint Moritz that has massage available but every time we visited the massage guys had already left around 6-7pm. If that is what you were looking for then get there earlier like 4-5pm. That seems to be the peak time for Saunas in both Bogota and Medellin. Bogota has a lot to see and you should not miss the view from Monseratte--ride up on the tram or funicular. I stayed at the Novotel--no problem with guests and they take a copy of the ID at the front desk. A friend had multiple guests over the course of the trip and they did not charge him extra with a double room booked. Very nice hotel, great breakfast and good neighborhood. Medellin--Medellin is a beautiful City with a great climate. I stayed at an airbnb in a nice neighborhood called Laurelles--lots of trees and good places to eat. I have some warnings about Medellin that really apply to everywhere in Colombia--more on that later. Lot's to see in Medellin including the Botanic Garden in the city--and a large park outside the city called Park Arvi. Park Arvi is accessed but the Metrocable which is the tram that acts as mass transit around parts of the city. Getting there involves a few different changes between lines but is really easy if you google the instructions. There is a very fun, clean and beautiful sauna called Club 55. This is not a working boy sauna but they do have massage available that I'm told rapidly turns into something else. Again all of the massage guys were gone by 7. The very friendly, cute, and frisky locals tell me that peak time for the sauna is like 5-6pm. It has a bar, jacuzzi and is very clean and modern. You can definitely have fun for free here. Several hot working boys on Grindr in Medellin--they seem to want more than Bogota--like 150000pesos ($43). Medellin is where two people close to me had potentially serious problems within 24hours of each other. In the first situation a good friend from the US who lives there, fluent spanish speaker, and is very savvy about having guys over was drugged and robbed by someone he met online and invited to his apartment. He has lived there for over 10 years and this was the first time anything like this had ever happened. He spent the night in the hospital but is fine now. In the second incident I met a guy on grindr and we had a hot time. I'll admit I took a chance by having him back to my airbnb but I felt comfortable enough with the guy enough to refer him to another friend who was traveling with me. My friend wanted to meet up with the guy and they agreed on a price to meet up. This is where my friend made a big mistake. He agreed to go to they guy's nearby apartment(also in a nice neighborhood) and the guy who had just hours before been nice and friendly with me became very aggressive with my friend and took the money that they had agreed on up front and then demanded more before he would do anything. When my friend (a native spanish speaker) decided to just leave--this guy blocked his exit and started screaming and demanding more money even though they hadn't done anything. My friend gave him another wad of cash and beat a quick retreat. It easily could have escalated into something worse. In all cases this could have been avoided by following the usual safety measures talked about on this board. The reality though in Medellin is that many hotels do not allow guests and "love motels" are not that prevalent or are located in Centro far from the areas where most people stay. I'm not sure what the best solution is for Medellin in this regard. Barranquilla and Carnival--I have some younger friends that live in Barranquilla that I wanted to visit and this was an ideal weekend because it was Carnival there. I have been to Cartagena many times and enjoyed it but this was my first trip to Barranquilla. Carnival was in the air as I landed at the airport and the beer companies were passing out cans of beer to arriving travelers on the way to baggage claim. I have never been at an airport where I had drank two free beers before I had claimed my luggage! Barranquilla is a pleasant city and I stayed in a nice high rise air BNB with security at the front desk--but they let my friends pass by as long as they were with me. These are guys I have known since they were college students and are now in graduate school and working and I trust 100%. The carnival in Barranquilla is a big deal and last year there were over a million visitors. Prices for hotels and apartments go up just like Rio. The highlight of carnival is a big carnival parade on Saturday in centro. I relied on my local friends advice and we all got an early start on Saturday to go watch the parade. Unfortunately the area is for the most part blocked off with high barriers that block any view of the parade unless you buy a ticket to a private seating area. Those tickets were being sold by scalpers for upwards of $100usd per ticket. In the end we gave up on watching the parade due to the crowds and heat and the fact that we were unable to find any public viewing area that was accessible. My friends complain that each year the viewing area open to the public for free gets less and less and more of the parade is blocked from view by barriers. From what I did see though the parade in Barranquilla focusses more on colorful costumes and dancing than on the elaborate floats and displays at carnival in Rio. Like carnival in Rio there are street parties but these are more enclosed events where you pay admission as opposed to the free bloccos in Rio which are more open and free flowing. The biggest difference--and for me this is huge--is that in Barranquilla despite the heat at Carnival I did not see a single guy with their shirt off whereas in Rio the display of shirtless male bodies is a big plus! Culturally I think the Colombians are much more conservative about their dress and keeping themselves covered up in public. We had great fun at a big open air gay club called The Patio which was packed with cute guys dancing to latin music all night. I was the only gringo there. There is another club in Barranquilla that my friends told me about that plays electronic/pop music but I do not recall the name and I did not visit. I didn't hook up in Barranquilla as I with friends but plenty of cute guys in the club were eager to meet, practice their english, and make out for a while. I would mention that casual cocaine use is common amongst many Colombians of all classes and it is a bit shocking to see how openly used it is in the clubs--no attempt made to hide it from security. I do not do any drugs at all but my Columbian friends tell me that it's not a big deal there --kind of like having a joint or a cigarette.--still I would stay away from it if you are tempted. I love Colombia--great people, hot guys, beautiful scenery and many different regions to explore in a relatively small country. I still prefer Brazil for the open display of bodies everywhere in Rio and the safety of fun in the saunas there. For a true Carnival experience nothing beats Rio despite some of the hassles and security concerns. I will continue to visit both countries for all of their charms!

I have been to Carnival several times and always enjoyed it. Good that you are staying close to the metro as it is open 24hours during the days of Carnival and it is a great way to get around during Carnival. Uber and taxi's are still available but there are frequent road closures and traffic jams so metro is the way to go if possible. For the Sambadrome there is a gay party on Friday night in a private box with open bar and a front row view of the parade. It's great to be right up front and to be able to go inside the private box to get out of the rain if it starts. Tickets are cheaper when bought months in advance but you can still buy them online here. https://www.candybox.com.br If you buy tickets you need to go pick them up in advance at their location in Ipanema. For other nights in the Sambadrome you will probably be somewhere in the stands which is certainly enjoyable but nothing like a front row view. For other nights you can generally buy tickets from various online ticket sellers. A couple of times I even bought tickets for the stands from scalpers outside the Sambadrome at a not too inflated price. Make sure you ride the metro to the Sambadrome as taxi's cannot even drop off or pick up close to there. There are street parties everywhere called bloccos and the theme changes. One fun one I went to was the neon themed party that they have every year. The location changes every year so for bloccos ask some locals if they can help you find out where the best parties are every night. The big club The Week is busy during Carnival with Circuit type events but most of my friends in Rio avoid it during Carnival as there are so many free alternatives on the streets. I usually still go there at some point during Carnival and it is fun. Needless to say watch your phone and wallet during Carnival in the crowds. Even my very savvy friend who has grown up in Rio has lost his phone during carnival. I have seen many fights and even been tear gassed during Carnival--especially in the later days of the celebration. Best to get away from the crowd at the first sign of any problem. Saunas are busy and fun. I am sure you will enjoy Carnival--or at least parts of it. Make sure to report back!

What I meant was If you know if is there a metro stop nearby. Usually in Rio I get to the saunas by metro as it’s more convenient when traffic is bad. The one time I went to the soon to be old Lagoa it took forever to go a few miles on a Friday afternoon in a taxi. The new place sounds like it will be great and thanks for the update!

Is it accessible by metro or better by UBer?

Guadalajara is a beautiful city with a large gay population. They say that Guadalajara has the most attractive men and women in Mexico. There are several gay clubs but you could probably find fun on Grindr.

Thinking of a visit to Sao Paulo for a weekend mid-november during my trip to Brazil. Does anyone know if the old Lagoa will still be open? I would hate to go to Sao Paulo and get caught in the period between the old Lagoa closing and before the new location opened.

One of my friends booked a room through Mister BNB in Rio during carnival. The host was straight and his slightly disapproving girlfriend was there in the apartment the whole time. Needless to say he couldn't bring guests back to the place if it was someone who he "just met."

There is a series on Netflix called "Inside the Worlds Toughest Prisons" where a British ex-con goes inside to "live" inside a tough prison for a week to document conditions. Not surprisingly many of the toughest prisons he visits are in Latin America. Check out the episodes where he is in Brazil, or Colombia and it is not hard to imagine some of the tough guys that he interviews working in either 117 or 202. There are a lot of hot, shirtless guys in this series but more than anything it shows me what a fine line there is between a hot, seemingly well spoken guy and someone who could be a killer. It's worth watching not just for the eye candy but to remind us all to be careful south of the border.

I think an important distinction in hotel guest policies is whether or not they will allow multiple different guests to register with you during your stay. At the old Ipanema Plaza(which I am pretty sure is closed for good) you could register one guest for the duration of your stay which was great if you had a boyfriend join you for your vacation. On the other hand some hotels will allow you to register multiple guests as long as they are one at a time but will charge you a fee for each one even if you have a double room. Some hotels won't allow any guests to register at all past the original check in.

Well I always use condoms --100%. Recently two friends who are on PREP were in Rio and they really wanted to have bareback sex and they had a hard time finding garotos who were in to that--and their impression was that all the garotos played with condoms only. I guess it depends on the night, the client , and the $$.

Bogota is 8660 feet above sea level. I've never had a problem with altitude sickness there but some people may. You may feel a bit winded going up stairs for a few days until your body adjusts--but that is not altitude sickness. If you have a history of altitude sickness then you should start taking Diamox 1-2 days before arriving for it to be effective.

Amazing that a lot of gay people still voted for this guy. Unfortunately that shows how desperate Brazilians are for a change of some sort.

Do you guys have any recommendations for hotels near Sauna Thermas? I have stayed at Rommmate Hotels in Mexico City and I know they have a few locations in Barcelona that I will check out. Any other suggestions?

I didn't really get into details since I couldn't hook up. I was just surprised by how many were so open about it on grindr. This was mostly in the larger cites of Aukland/Christchurch. I certainly wouldn't book a trip there just to look for rent boys--but its nice to know that you wouldn't be without options if you visit New Zealand for all of the other natural scenery!

I was just in New Zealand for a few weeks. Amazing country to visit with stunning scenery and great people. I was traveling with friends so I didn't hook up. I was surprised by the number of guys advertising on grindr, some quite cute, for fun with "rewards welcome" which indicates $$. Chatted with a couple but didn't waste their time since I really couldn't get away to hook up. All were very nice.

Planning my first trip to Barcelona this summer. It sounds like Sauna Thermas is great and I am looking forward to checking it out. I will try not to raise my expectations too high so as to be disappointed. Since it is my first trip to Spain I will be splitting my time between Barcelona, Stiges, and Madrid and doing a lot of tourist things as well as visiting friends. The sauna scene will definitely be a nice addition to my trip but not the whole purpose. That being said--are there any nights that are so dead at Thermas I should not waste my time? I understand Friday, Saturday are the best nights but what about the other nights?

Not sure if has improved at Thermas California but on each time I have visited, there were at least a half dozen or so working guys--unlike Dragon Club which has only had one or two. I really can't figure out Fortaleza. It has so many gorgeous guys walking around and from what I hear bisexuality is even more common in the Northern Region of Brazil but the sauna scene for working guys has always been disappointing.

Uber is good in the city but sometimes traffic can be crazy there. Don't be afraid to try the Metro which has a stop close to your hotel It's much more efficient for getting around CDMX and is cheap, safe, and somewhat of a cultural experience! You can even ride the Metro back to the airport.

Maybe try Thermas California. More working guys there.

I seem to remember one of the historic plazas being populated with hustlers in the early evening hours. My friend from Lima told me that that is where guys went sell themselves. Since I was with group I didn't have a chance to pick anyone up. Sorry I can't remember the details but there is a scene there.

Lots of guys making out on park benches in the city as this article describes. https://www.latimes.com/world/mexico-americas/la-fg-mexico-city-pda-capital-20190408-story.html

BB bar a few doors from your hotel has strippers that you can hire for private dances. There can be great looking guys there or just so so depending on the night. It gets started around midnight. That whole street is packed with clubs and if you are willing to buy a few beers for the guys it can often lead to something else. Grindr is also active. I love Mexico city and I am sure you will enjoy your stay.

Depending on which rate you get it can include breakfast. I love the fact that breakfast is served until noon.