ShivRoy

Even when there were two currencies (CUC and CUP - one for foreigners, one for locals), Coppelia was local currency only, you couldn't pay in CUC. At that time, I always changed some foreign currency into local pesos to be able to go to Coppelia or buy local milkshakes (batidos) or sandwiches from local places run by local individuals and not from tourist CUC-denominated ones. @vinapu thanks for a great report down the memory lane. I think I was last in Havana some 7 years ago or so. I still remember incredible lobsters that you could buy from local casas particulares in Havana initially for 10 CUC (like 10 USD) for 2 whole lobsters on the plate, then by 2017-2019 it was like 12 CUC, but when you drove inland to places like Camaguey or Las Tunas those same lobsters cost 6 CUC for two whole cooked lobsters. I think in all my trips to Cuba, I ate enough lobsters to last me a lifetime

Great city - plenty of eye candy on the streets, several gay bars north of Teatro Massimo, excellent food. The trip to Cefalu was mentioned, easy half-day trip. Another very impressive cathedral is up in the mountains just outside Palermo in Monreale. In Palermo, the golden chapel is really worth visiting. Elsewhere in Palermo, excellent food is abound everywhere, street parties late into the night, $5 takeaway negronis, great city. Catania is a different vibe and quite a distance from Palermo. Next to Catania there are great small towns of Syracuse and Noto. Obviously, there's Taormina and the whole White Lotus crowd doing the pilgrimage to what they saw in season 2 which was filmed there.

Security-wise, the old town is edgy but those few blocks where evening fiestas are held are fine when the crowds and police are present. Areas near the hotels (lagoon, Luzeiros, Callao beach) are fine - but when you take an Uber between the old town and the hotels/beach, or an Uber from/to airport, you drive through the areas that seem like infamous Crackolandia in SP which the rest of Sao Luis started to resemble in a way

I think @Xclay provided most answers already. Plane is really easy - Azul and Latam both fly there, and I think GOL too. It's an hour from Fortaleza or from Belem by air. Previously I stayed at Luzeiros hotel, however it's fairly removed from everything - this time I checked in to Praia Callao Hotel on Callao beach, it was adequate with sea views. On that front though, beaches in Sao Luis are for strolling and sunbathing, but not really for swimming. They have been well-known for years for extreme contamination due to some industrial and/or sewage dumps nearby - I read an article from some years ago how they tested the sand (not even the water, just the beach sand) across all Sao Luis beaches, and found parasites and gelmints in 100% of the probes. Praia Callao hotel had a rooftop pool overlooking the beach and the ocean which was a nice alternative. The main atrraction is the old town which is pretty and Portuguese and tile-adorned everywhere - fairly small though. Alcantara, an island of forgotten ruins (as well as of an abandoned cosmodrome) is a couple of hours by boat and a fascinating day trip. The most important trip is to Lencois Maranhenses near Barreirinhas, just over 4hrs by a fairly comfortable and punctual bus one-way - one of the most beautiful places on earth that I've seen anywhere. The old town is full of music and drinks in the evenings - those who are familar with Lapa in RJ, that's sorta the same scene albeit on a much smaller scale. Reggae is everywhere, as are caipirinhas and meat skewers (chicken hearts skewers stole my non-chicken heart). There's only one sauna, correct, but sauna-wise that's enough for Sao Luis. There is another new sauna on the same street two blocks away, but not sure if GPs are there and I did not visit.

Haha I know exactly what you mean - and I really like Fortaleza, but some of the guys in the sauna really should go to the gym at least half the number of days they drink. There were a few guys at California who would be stunning if only they were a bit more athletic. Those GPs who drink in saunas on the nightly basis can quickly become flabby in 12-18 months (many working guys drink non-alc only in saunas, so well-done to them). There is one guy in particular who I remember was a star of that Fortaleza circuit maybe 5-7 years ago, and since then the age, the drink, the pizzas have started to catch up with him, he still goes to the sauna regularly but he's getting wider in that middle-aged way, love handles and all, and is a fading star of that circuit nowadays, even though he could have managed it differently.

A quick belated update on another visit to Nordeste this past August. Excellent trip, and I really love that part of Brazil. Great beaches and plentiful sun in this season, food not too bad, authentic parties. Everything is at least half price of RJ and SP. Azul and some others fly from Florida direct into many cities in Northeast - less than 6hrs flying time on an A321, no need to go all the way to SP/RJ and backtrack, and it's very cheap (I flew to Belem and out of Recife, and my tix were about $200-220 one-way). Fortaleza is slowly gentrifying, but that can't be said about saunas - however they are not getting worse at least! Dragon sauna has closed and hosts occasional mainstream parties in that space, so the only sauna of note continues to be California and it's still good. They put more effort into organizing the suites turnaround, and now at times all four out of four are operational - on busy nights there's quite a bit of a line/wait, but then there are free cabins, and guys are not adverse to using them at all. I saw old favourites at California and some new faces too. The going rate is 100, though some well-built guys are pushing to 150. There was a great guy visiting from SP for a week - looks a total straight muscular thug with lots of clearly gang tattoos, I mean I'd cross the street in Brazil immediately if such a guy would be heading my way - here he was very sweet and doing his job. He quoted 200 as in SP, but agreed on 150 straight away. He was very popular doing multiple programas on a couple of days that I saw him. Most others are really happy with 100, even if they try some gringo pricing first but I have enough of my broken bed-learned Portuguese to bat it away from the get-go. The guy from Goiania, Douglas, is still there - he told me he moved to Salvador in February but then moved back to Fortaleza two or three months later. He's the same incredible guy I remember from a year ago. He's also clearly working to save - he's the only GP who works every single day, 7/7, without any days off. He also takes Prep unlike others. The majority of the guys would be more next-door rather than the 117 type, but there are exceptions, and one only needs one or two or three of those like Douglas or a couple of others. The best day is by far Thursday when some non-regular locals also join to earn some buck - I hired one of those as soon as he came in rather late after 8pm, waited for him as he changed and led to a cabin - he was a bit timid and unsure how all this works, but then sex was good. I saw an Uber Eats delivery guy who probably just delivered to the address coming in further to the bar to see what's going on in his Uber Eats uniform and motorcycle helmet, then he had a discussion with a front desk guy and next I saw him changing from his Uber Eats uniform into a towel in the GP lockers section (he didn't put the helmet back on). Sunday is also very good, Friday is pretty decent, Saturday is a tad slow. I was always surprised how Mondays were fairly busy - probably due to it previosly being a free suites night, however that's no more the case as of August 1, so it may change. Suites on Monday are still at 15, and on all other days at 30 or 35 (don't remember). The totally dead day is Wednesday - I came in and stayed maybe from 5:30 till 7:30, and throughout that time I was the sole client in the whole sauna - there were maybe 5 or 6 GPs, so the one I did a programa with was very happy how it turned out, he told me later that after I left no other client came in. Staff at California are wonderful and kind and chatty - so despite the dilapidated environs (still, suites are miles better than 117 or 202 in RJ) it is still a good place for its purpose. There are more saunas and cruising clubs that I didn't visit this time - I did pop into to a sex cinema called Autorama, and they very occasionally hold special parties - it is a very well-done space and I can see how it can be enjoyed, provided there are any people there. When I popped into Autorama in the afternoon just when people were leaving for work, there was no one else there, apart from one sad twink GP, but it could be bad timing, and I'm really keen to know if/when things are happening there. Sao Luis - sauna Go 61 is doing really well. I noticed that a week before my arrival all their socials on all the platforms disappeared and I feared they closed. I sent them a Whatsapp message and they assured me they are open. It is a really good sauna, with an open swimming pool, cheap bar and a nice layout and facilities. I really liked the choice of GPs, more of them went to the gym than the ones at California in Fortaleza - and free cabins on the 2nd floor are probably the best free cabins I saw in Brazil, so much that in my 3 or 4 nights there I did not see any single client asking for a suite. Suites exist, but nobody uses them where there are fine cabins (and a cleaning guy cleans every cabin promptly after eash use). The going rate is 100, I had programas with guys of different types there. It's not super busy, but there will be more than a dozen GPs on the night, and most would be in the Pointe 202 range looks-wise. Sao Luis though as a city is really struggling. You see it's becoming poorer and more dangerous - usually Fortaleza was considered #1 in terms of poverty and violence in that region, but I had a distinct feeling that Sao Luis became much much edgier. One taxi driver told me how some neighbourhoods became really dangerous and how he wants to save money for a bus ticket (!) to Belem (8hr bus ride) as he thinks it's much better to live in Belem than in Sao Luis. The pretty old town is still happening in the evening, and it's an easy walk from Sauna Go 61 - the main town fiesta in the old town now seems to be on Thursdays, and not on Fridays how I remember it from past visits. Recife - again, very good times at Thermas Boa Vista - very decent choice of GPs or guys who wouldn't mind to earn something, cheap and good caipirinhas, actually a normal food menu like at a Brazilian cantina and I saw many people actually eating there. The universal rate is 100, suites are 35 and 40 (or 30 and 40? - smth like that) and they are really nice suites, especially more expensive ones upstairs. Fridays and Saturdays are hopping, and I met wonderful guys there - I think out of the three cities it is Recife where I saw some really stunning guys. Interestingly enough, Sundays though busy are mostly for locals to socialize and flirt between themselves, the stunners from Fri/Sat told me they are skipping Sunday and will be back on Monday, and I understood why: there were really a few good-looking young guys on Sunday but they were not GPs and it does feel much more like a regular sauna on this one day of the week. If I'm in Recife next time, I'd skip Sunday - unlike in Fortaleza or Sao Luis, where this is one of their best days. Not sure when I'm coming back - I don't have plans to go to Brazil this year or next - but if I do come, I'd be really tempted to skip RJ/SP the same way I did this time and head to Nordeste or other provinces - I felt this trip was a breath of fresh air as RJ starts to feel a bit jaded lol.

He was muscular, good-looking, good English. I'm not very good at pinpointing the age of Asian guys - I guess late 20s, but could be older or younger than that.

I really really love Napoli, my favourite city in Italy - but yeah not for the gay scene lol I had same experience on apps as you - i.e. not very lucky. I did pop in into an old-school gay sex cinema close to Garibaldi (I think the name is Cine Iride) - it is very much alive and was very busy on a weekend afternoon. I saw a couple of rough-looking guys who could be trade - and that would be happening in the toilets. When I was there, it could have easily been 20-30 people in the cinema

lol yes that was the right one) I've been to Thermas throughout the years, hence my observation that was surprising for me. Again, could have been just a bad day with bad luck when it comes to offerings. The price negotiation has appeared in the past 12-18 months though, judging from my visits last year and this year. It's always been the case that it's 50 and everybody knows it. However, I did leave an account here of my previous visit in winter where there was a guy from Medellin who was quoting 80 and not budging, and others who started with a different amount before negotiating back to 50. This Asian guy (again, I really doubt he's from HK, but who knows) eclipsed all this though by a long mile.

I was at Thermas last week, it was the "client day" on Weds which was usually a busier one in the past. Not sure if that was just a bad unlucky day, but I had a feeling that the quality of the guys has deteriorated even further, compared to my previous visits (last one was in winter). The guys I saw were not on any A-list or even B-list, it was some list down the alphabet - many many older, many out of shape (or going out of shape), obviously drugs are everywhere but that was the case before. I didn't hire anyone as it's been slim pickings despite maybe a usual number of guys. One Asian guy claiming to be from HK (I have lots of doubts about that) asked for 200 euro, then for 100, then was running after me all the time trying to negotiate for 80. I said no. I'd be curious if hireable guys have mostly moved online - something we talked for years about being bound to happen.

I was there a couple of months back. There are several saunas in Torremolinos - not with rentboys but with plenty of orgy-like free sex everywhere. The better of them, Exxxtreme, has live interactive sex shows Thurs through Sun, many with some established pornstars visiting town. Depending on the interactive guys involved, they are more or less sharing with the audience. I'd say it's not a bad experience overall - one caveat is that lots of people there are on meth, but that means that some muscular meth-ed bottoms are available free to tops two or three times their age

Facilities-wise, probably the best sauna in Brazil - but they were struggling, not sure if due to mismanagement or something else. They could not attract enough GPs, they tried everything recently to see if there's any income elsewhere - there were drag shows, dancing performances, karaoke sessions, live music - i.e. wild lunges in random directions. It is sad, as this sauna in this city in particular could have had way more potential

You mean XBar? I heard they'd closed too - but they were an awful lame rip-off to start with, I'd discourage anyone from visiting even if they were open. I don't think it should impact your decision whether to visit Prague in any way

KJ, I can easily imagine spending a month in Brazil (or two, or three). As you mentioned, Salvador is a great city - and some of the best beaches in the country are nearby: Taipu de Fora, Boipeba, Itacare. Plus you can do deeper into Bahia for the wonderful hiking and daytrips from Lencois in Chapada Diamantina. I really like Nordeste - Fortaleza and Sao Luis in particular. One of my all-time favourite beaches in the world, Canoa Quebrada, is a couple of hours from Fortaleza. Inbetween Fortaleza and Sao Luis there is one of the world's biggest wonders - Lencois Maranhenses (not to mix up with Lencois in Chapada Diamantina) near Barreirinhas, I was gobsmacked when I saw it. (easier to do as a 2day/1night trip from Sao Luis with an overnight in Barreirinhas) Iguazu Falls - incredible, more spectacular than Niagara, and you can easily see it from both BR and AR sides, and they are so different in those two viewpoints - could easily be done as a 2day/1night trip from anywhere Brasilia for architecture (1 full day is enough to see it in all its extraterrestrial glory - I've been twice though), Belo Horizonte for a city with really nice vibes and some pretty colonial towns nearby (Ouro Preto) Everything outside Rio and SP is pretty much half price of RJ/SP - from boys/saunas to caipirinhas/carne

looks like that's the guy, yes