SolaceSoul

Carnaval is the most expensive hotel / AirBnB time of the year in Rio. If you’re booking just for that period, expect to pay more — a lot more.

You’re reporting “pre-pandemic”, even if that was just a few years ago. There are several posters here (and in other recent threads) who are reporting their current experiences with garoto pricing in real time. To put it in better perspective, today 100 Brazilian reais is worth only 22 CAD or $17.50 USD. There are probably a few at 202 (more likely) than at 117 (less likely) that you could talk down to 100 reais, but the question is: why would someone (a traveling client, not a local) want to?

It’s definitely safer to hook up with an unknown garoto at a sauna than at your hotel or apartment, but another option is to get a room at a love hotel for the deed — they are all over the cities and towns in Brazil and all the locals use them for their extramarital affairs and hookers. Pulling an unknown worker from the sauna and taking him back to your place is not a suggested move. But then again, it might be just as “safe” as hiring an unknown from an online ad. Russian Roulette, either way. Your call. The saunas work great as a launching pad and testing site for the guys. After dealing with them a couple of times, an invite back might prove to be safer. But if you’re a tourist who’s only there for a week, I realize you don’t have that much time. Some guys like the overnight as part of their “BFE”. If someone up to no good knows you’re only there for a few days, and they’re in your place with all your stuff, that’s just a recipe for disaster — sooner or later. It’s against Brazilian law (punishable by jail and fines) to post photos of someone online without his or he consent. If it’s a site with adult content or of a sexual nature, the penalties can be even more severe (call it a twist on Latin pride). It’s also just in bad form and poor taste. But that doesn’t seem to stop some people! I would privately message some posters you know and like who are frequently in Rio with his photo and ask them if they have any leads. Or ask other GPs from the saunas in Rio in WhatsApp. A lot of them are friends with each other and may keep in touch even after retirement.

Sign up here then go to your appointment at one of these pharmacy branches, Droga Raia : https://www.drogaraia.com.br/agendamento/covid19/ Or this one, Drogasmil: https://www.drogasmil.com.br/servicos/teste-de-covid

Wednesday night is currently Point 202’s best and busiest night. Club 117 on a Wednesday is going to be slow or just completely dead. Thursday is going to be meh at either sauna, so pick your poison and expect a slow night.

Overnight rates vary wildly. It really depends on the garoto and sometimes, the nature of the relationship with the client. A little of it (but not much) has to do with negotiating skills. I’ve seen as low as 200 reais (rare), and as high as 2500 reais (also rare). You just have to decide what you’re willing to pay and if it’s not in that range, be okay with walking away. Some advertising garotos indicate on their ads (Viva Local, Garoto Com Local) what their overnight prices are. That would be a good place to start to get a general sense of overnight pricing.

I’m taking a guess here. But since the CDC vaccine card is acceptable for entry into indoor spaces in Rio, the original CDC card should also be acceptable to board at passport control / for travel from USA to Brazil. I would bring the original for boarding, and use a digital copy on the phone for entry into indoor spaces once in Brazil.

A Supreme Court judge in Brazil has ruled that foreign visitors will need to provide a Covid-19 vaccination certificate to enter the country. The ruling invalidates regulations issued previously by the national health agency demanding only a negative PCR test for foreign arrivals. The judge said it would be impossible to check all visitors and prevent the spread of the new Omicron variant. Lenient measures had made the country popular among non-vaccinated tourists. The ruling is seen as another defeat for President Jair Bolsonaro, who has repeatedly undermined efforts to control the spread of the virus in one of the world's hardest-hit countries by the pandemic. The president, who says he has not been vaccinated, had denied requests of the health agency Anvisa to demand vaccination proof from visitors. Judge Luís Roberto Barroso said exceptions would be made for those coming from countries that had been unable to vaccinate most of their populations. They will need to quarantine on arrival for five days. It is not yet clear when the new requirements will be introduced. The announcement comes ahead of the country's busy summer season, with cities hosting popular New Year's Eve parties and Carnival parades. But several celebrations have already been cancelled because of the Omicron variant. In Rio de Janeiro, the famous fireworks display at Copacabana beach on 31 December has been called off for the second year in a row. Since the start of the pandemic, Brazil has reported 22 million Covid-19 infections and 616,000 deaths. About 65% of the population has been fully vaccinated. The country has confirmed four cases of the new Omicron variant. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-59625304

My current experience and observations (indoor restaurants, stores, coffee shops) has been that digital copies of North American and European vaccination certificates are being accepted for entry into these establishments. Laymen, not experts, are at the doors reviewing these cards. Most of them might not even be able to read or understand English. That being said, it’s still being required — whether some establishments are only enforcing it randomly or not. My sauna experience was that I and my friends were asked for the card the first day of enforcement )Monday at 202, then Tuesday at 117). Then, we were never asked again. But that could be attributed to familiarity — the persons at the front counter already knew my (and my friends’) vaccine cards had been previously verified days before. I don’t recommend trying to circumvent the regulation with.a fake card, especially when it’s so easy just to make a digital copy of your teal one and keep it on your phone.

Your card from the USA is fine. You can use the copy of it on your phone. No need to carry the original around everywhere in Rio and risk losing it.

Expect Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve to be (relatively) empty of sauna GPs. One of the saunas normally closes on both of those days and I think both are normally closed on Christmas Day. However, as these days fall on a Friday and Saturday this year, that might change. The rest of that time period will be business as usual — not any more or any less crowded than usual in December. Some (but not a sizable amount of) Carioca working guys and local clients leave Rio for the holidays to visit family in other parts of the country.

FYI, all indoor spaces in Rio now require showing a COVID vaccination card to enter. This includes the saunas. Both 202 and 117 started enforcing this requirement on Monday and Tuesday, respectively. This applies to clients, sauna workers and garotos. A digital copy of your proof of vaccination card on your phone is acceptable. Don’t leave home without it — unless you plan to spend all of your time in Rio in outdoor spaces.

I can verify that this is really a thing. In Braxil, it’s called an “arrastão”, when a robbery is quivkky done by a big group targeting many people or places in the same facility. This kind of arrastão is quite common at the tunnels on the NW end of Lagoa that go under the mountains and forest with Christ The Redeemer, and less common (although they do happen) at the Alvim Tunnel that runs under the Cantagalo favela, connecting Copacabana and Ipanema. I have been re-routed twice and Brazilian and expat friends of mine have gotten caught in an Uber in those robbery raids (they quickly hid their smartphones in a floor compartment, took out some several hundred Brazilian reais and handed it to the armed robbers when approached). they’re not trying to kill or harm anyone. They just want a quick grab. But they will kill or hurt if you resist. “Toto, I don’t think we’re in Kansas, anymore.”

Delta had already started canceling many of its ATL to São Paulo flights for the remsibder of this year. The Delta flight to Rio from ATL for the last few years went straight to GRU in SP then a change of planes to SDU in Rio.

Is Brazil dangerous? Yes and no. Eventually, everyone from tourists to locals “gets got” somehow in the major cities of Brazil — yes, even those of us who “look the part” of a brasileiro. I am referring to anything from petty theft to violent crime. The ones who say it’s never happened to them have just been fortunate thus far or are have not had enough visits to be broken in this way. Tourist areas in Rio especially are major targets for petty theft. The young guys are the best at it. Smart phones are the biggest, quickest and easiest targets. Never, ever, ever have one of those out or within reach. Necklaces are easy to cut from the back or just snatch and grab. If you like your ear lobes, I suggest not wearing your earrings. There is a saying in Brazilian Portuguese that translates in English as “the finger is more valuable to you than the ring.” In this respect, I’d compare the Brazilian cities to maybe 70s or 80s New York City — when almost everyone, from locals to visitors, experienced or witnessed some form of street crime. But is Rio or São Paulo as bad or as dangerous as, say, Lagos, Nigeria or Kingston, Jamaica? Of course not.

The current locker room attendant at Point 202 is a hard-working and very honorable guy. Tip him and he will watch after you and your things very well.

There are plenty of garotos in online ads who list their availability for women, men, couples and/or trans Just read the ads.

Maybe you should take that money and invest in your own strip club down in Rio, complete with private lap dance booths (or curtains). Maybe you’ll make a mint, Or maybe then, you’ll learn why Junior or Monik have yet to do it at their establishments.

Monday nights at Club 117 (previously closed on Mondays) are now exclusively for women clients. Maybe your horny straight female friend can start there.

If you are simply referring to the shows, I don’t know where you would have gotten this impression. Regarding drag shows, they’re not my thing. I take interest in the strip shows only to see if it’s someone I know or find attractive dancing — but I almost never sit at tables and watch the shows. I do enjoy the sauna culture though, and enjoy the socialization aspect of it as much as the sex.

As usual, you’re overthinking it. in Brazil, culturally there’s a wide chasm between how gogo boys / strippers view their availability to sex work and how sauna garotos do. It’s like how call girls look down on brothel girls or street walkers. The “I’m not like those other heauxs!” syndrome is culturally ingrained in the variants of sex work in Brazil — maybe because of the culture, maybe because it’s all legal. Maybe it’s a combination thereof. A number of the gogo boys are discreetly / not-so-discreetly available for private dances / programas outside the sauna setting. A client / customer just has to be willing and open to the dance. Whether it’s a worthy venture or not is only for each individual to decide for himself. I do not see how a sauna operator (Junior or otherwise) would add the feature you’re proposing unless there were a clamoring for it from a regular stream of clients. You are probably in a very small minority — maybe even a minority of one!

This concept works in Montreal, but most likely would fail in Brazilian sauna culture. Gogo boys in Brazil aren’t too keen in being lumped in with the sauna Garotos, and any sex work outside of the sauna or club beyond their stage performances would have to be individually and discretely negotiated on a per-client basis. The gogo boys I know in Brazil would not feel comfortable doing private lap dances in tiny booths inside a sauna or public nightclub. Plus, although some of us may cringe, the drag shows are the features performance and the dancers are just guests. There are loyal paying clients who love the dragons. Having private lap dance booths for the performing gogo boys may be viewed as distracting from the key drag performances.

You can expect to pay more for cumming, unless the garoto makes it clear to you in advance that his ejaculation is free of charge to you.

Feminists tend to either ignore male - male sexuality or want to speak for us, as if they know the first thing about us! They need to just stay in their lane.

The Portuguese spelling of nightclub is “boate”.