SolaceSoul

This has been asked by others and answered by me several times and a search would give you the results you need. Planetario 11 is the most popular rentboy sauna in Salvador, followed closely by Fox. Persona is now closed down. Olympus is AYOR. No one has yet to report on visiting the new sauna, Thermas Club 13.

There are enough gays that go TO Praia do Porto da Barra, and there might even be an area where many of them congregate (closer to the north end). But, again, to be clear — it isn’t a “gay beach”! Not in the Eurocentric notion of what “gay” is. I am just repeating this because there seems to be a lot of dumbasses on this board (not necessarily you), and I don’t want you to end up getting your head cracked open. It is more “gay friendly” than most other beaches in the Bahia. And there is even a pousada / aparthotel across the street that hangs a rainbow flag (the owner is a gay European or American). And there is some discreet (or not so much) hustling going on in and around the area. But it’s not as “openly” gay as, for example, the beach between Postos 8 and 9 off Farme in Rio. There is also a gay-friendly (mostly lesbian) patio restaurant / bar closer to Praia do Farol da Barra (perpendicular to Praia do Porto de Barra), and a sometimes-open, sometimes-not gay club / disco right next to it that is boring as all hell. This is not very far from the non-rentboy sauna in Barra, Sauna Paraíso (Paradise — which it’s not. That title belongs to the rentboy sauna Planetario)!

I’ll answer all of your questions. (1) If you are staying at the Village Novo like you said you might, then it is around the corner where the street parallel to Av. Sete de Setembro ends. (2) The supermarket may stay open until maybe 10 pm and 6 pm on Sundays. You can probably use the ATMs there until closing, but not sure. (3) The neighborhood is comparably safe, as compared to say, Pelourinho — but walk around that street alone at night after grabbing reais at the ATM machine AYOR. (4) There really is no such thing as a “gay hood” in Salvador. You might want to get the Eurocentric notions of gayness out of your head. But Barra has probably more openly gay-friendly businesses than the other neighborhoods, a higher concentration of international tourists near its beaches, and it is known for a very dangerous cruisy area that if you go to at night seeking a cheap thrill and get killed, don’t say I didn’t warn you. Have fun.

And October is a particularly rainy month in Brazil.

As you stated previously, often it is just “the luck of the draw” — even with the best places. At 117 in Rio, Tuesday is supposed to be its best night. However, this past Tuesday did not compare to the previous one, which was better than the one before it, which was not as good as the one before that. It’s almost as if they are making alternate Tuesdays the best nights to attend.

If you are staying in Barra, there are several good and relatively safe ATM machines to use near the beaches, as long as you try to use them before dark and plan accordingly. My recommended one is inside a supermarket (that recently became affiliated with Wal-Mart for some reason) one block off Praia de Porto de Barra, but there are a few others.

I love your generous and kind writing style. Other posters here might word what you are really saying here in a more blunt or even a more mean-spirited way. Your point was (hopefully) made well to your intended audience without having to go there.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confirmation_bias

But from what I hear, you wear it well! The boys don’t seem to mind. Or course, generosity of spirit (and of wallet) always helps!

Meanwhile, Russia has actually set up gay concentration camps in Chechnya. But let’s focus on the “danger” of elderly pasty white gay male tourists getting their iPhones stolen in the tony trendy tourist trap areas of predominantly black and brown cities. As a mathematical science major with an emphasis on probability and statistics, I know damn well that statistics can be improperly used to justify biases and even bigotry. For example, many racists will use statistics citing the percentages of black people on welfare or the number of black people in prison as support for their claims that black people are more violent, criminal and lazy. However, just as in this case, proper statistical APPLICATION matters. When citing crime or murder stats in Rio or Brazil, it is important to note WHERE the crimes are occurring, WHO are the victims, and to WHOM they are being perpetrated. As I mentioned above, the violent crime stats (armed robbery included) for upscale, predominantly white areas like Leblon, Ipanema, and even Copa are much less than they are in areas outside of Zona Sul (where you as a fragile gringo tourist are far less likely to venture into).

I think it’s great and highly admirable that, in spite of your having a harrowing experience on your first trip, you returned to Rio at least 7 more times and had what I presume were wonderful, violent crime-free experiences. I’d also like to point out that the area around Copacabana Palace is a target for thieves and muggers out to get “wealthy unsuspecting gringo tourists”. Because nothing says, “I’m just visiting, have a little money to burn, and don’t know Rio” like the famed Copacabana Palace. I don’t know if you decided to be a little less touristy and a little more unassuming in your subsequent trips to Rio, but this is one thing that (although none of this was your fault) could be a valuable course corrector for you and others moving forward.

I’m fairly certain that I know who all the working boys are that you mentioned above at 117. Of all of them, Junio is the only one that is physically my type. He is Solace-approved.

Anecdotal evidence is always used to support biases.

This is an interesting choice in comparative cities, and illustrates why I tend to side closer to @Latbear4blk in his argument. In my opinion, this goes back to not only WHERE you are and WHAT you do, but also WHO you are (or more specifically, who you appear to be to others). New York City now is not the NYC of the 1970s and 1980s. It has not been this safe and devoid of violent crime in decades. Still, for some people, NYC (especially some less-gentrified parts of it) will never feel safe, and they will always feel like it look like they have a target on their backs. In NYC, as in most major urban areas, most violent crimes are committed intra-racially (black on black, white on white), because human nature is that people tend to victimize in their own communities, yet here as in elsewhere, we have mostly older mostly white guys freaking out over being victims of violent crimes in major urban areas with lots of young men of color. The violent crimes that occur in New Orleans and Miami — save for the anecdotal, media-hyped tales — tend to occur in concentrated, blighted areas with heavy drug wars and lots and lots of poorer people (of color). On your vacay, as a privileged tourist, do you really intend to be “slumming” or hanging out in East New York, Brooklyn, Lower Ninth Ward, New Orleans, or Liberty City, Miami? Petty theft is common anywhere well-trafficked that is known to have tourists or people not as familiar with the lay of the land. However, violent crime, especially something like armed robbery, is going to be far less common in tony Ipanema or Leblon in Rio than it is in the inland neighborhoods — one major reason is that there is a larger police presence there to protect the monied nervous nellies (justified or not). Just as it is on the Upper East Side of Manhattan or South Beach, Miami.

He didn’t look handsome to me. He looked batshit crazy even then.

“Bolsonaro is strongly anti-abortion and once told a female colleague in the legislature she was “not worthy” of being raped by him, according to Vox. He also said he wouldn’t love his own son if he were gay and would “prefer he die in an accident”. “

But point out the obvious for those who may not know.... you’re a tall, athletically built darker black man. This makes a BIG difference. It should go without saying, but petty criminals look for easy targets that would put up the least resistance — and black or darker skinned brown men in good shape who look like they could be locals or like they would fight back (or be armed themselves), or 6’5” tall white guys like Tomcal, are not going to give petty criminals looking for a quick grab and the path of least resistance their easy, quick payday. I was just having this conversation with a fellow traveler friend of mine here in Rio who is also a brown-skinned, well-built black man. We were talking to two of the former garotos / beach boys we know about safety in Rio. They both laughed and remarked (in Portuguese): “you two don’t have to worry much about that, no one is going to bother you, that’s for the white people.” So, if I get ONE privilege out of 5,000.... I’m not as dark as you, Badboy, but I’m over 6 foot tall, a lighter skinned Kinky-haired 200-pound mixed race black / Latino guy. And rarely are any street thieves targeting me, much less fucking with me in Brazilian cities (or most other cities, for that matter). I have FAR more to fear from the police in the USA than from young guys trying to rob me or knock me over the head in Rio. It’s relatively safe for me to walk in “hood” areas outside of Zona Sul, like Tijuca or Jacarepaguá. Of course, I don’t do dumb shit like wander around favelas, go near drug trafficking areas or look like a gringo tourist with electronic goodies hanging off my body. I look like I could be a local — until I open my mouth and a weird non-Brazilian way of speaking Portuguese comes out (so I am circumspect as to where I speak and who hears me). That being said, I see young(er) Cariocas on the Metro proudly wearing gold chains and wrist watches, and using their smart phones in public. Sometimes, it’s not just WHAT you do, it’s WHO is doing it. A retirement-age white man that looks like Mitch McConnell or Lindsey Graham with a bag that may or may not have goodies in it is going to be targeted in Rio. This is not “victim blaming”. It’s knowing your audience. When I travel in the American South in a car, I know that, as a man of color, I’m at FAR higher risk of getting pulled over by the cops (and possibly getting arrested, beaten or even killed). It’s not right — it’s actually very wrong to have to be — but I am conditioned for life to be prepared for these events. There isn’t any reason that you shouldn’t be conditioned and prepared to be targeted in certain cases in other parts of the world as well.

My understanding is that sauna culture — gay or straight — was thriving in Brazil even during the era of military dictatorship.

On Tuesday, 9/11, it was very crowded. However, on Tuesday, 9/18, it was not nearly as crowded. The weather was similar on both days. The crowds have been very unpredictable.

Exactly! Recently, I visited the new sauna in Rio that other posters here rave about: Manhattan Rios. On what is touted as its busiest night, I was in and out in 15 minutes. Hated it! IMHO, it was like Meio Mundo — in my book, a negative — nothing but twinks and at most, regular-looking guys off the street — which isn’t MY idea of a good time. But that’s just MY opinion. If others like the place, knock yourself out. I don’t need to go back again to decide the place isn’t worth my time and money. But I don’t begrudge others for liking what they like.

The garoto formerly known as (and currently known as, in certain ad spaces) “Oliver” — from both 117 and 202. Maybe in a few months, he will be F.Diddy.

According to a friend nearby, two of the closest fire hydrants weren't functional. They had to wait for water trucks and pump a nearby lake.

This is terrible. There is no sugar coating this. “This isn't just Brazilian history that's gone up in flames - many see this as a metaphor for the city - and the country as a whole.”

To Nem Ai. It’s not really my thing, but many patrons (and posters here) seem to like it.

I really don’t think there’s a non-stop from anywhere in the USA to Salvador.