Iguaçu Falls, Manaus, Brasília

[BillyZ]

Just wanted to check in to see if anybody

could share any recent experiences that

would update my info on these three places.

 

IGUAçU FALLS:

I know it is a long shot, but any tips for action after I've soaked up the spectacular views of the falls.

 

MANAUS:

To follow seeing the sights and Amazon cruise, I found references to

• Club H20 (r. Jose Paranaguá, 657; Centro; Manaus; 092 9962-6222)

• A sometimes cruisy gym/sauna at my hotel (Tropical Manaus Hotel)

• Plus three bars: Notivagos (Rua Wilkes de Mattos), the Nautilus, and Boate dos Ingleses.

 

BRASÍLIA:

Any updates to these culled from the web...

• Garagem (gay bar with show and go-go boys?) SOF/Sul Qd.16 Cj. A Lt.5/6 - 9970-7184 – Fri-Sat 11pm

• Caligola Sauna — Setor de Diversões Sul, Ed. Venâncio Jr (subsolo; basement)

• SOHO Sauna — Setor Comercial Sul – (0xx61) 323-7799 SCS Qd.05 Bl.A Sub.34 - Open daily 2pm-11pm

• New Aquarius Sauna — Acropol Building, lower level

• Conjunto Nacional shopping center (cruising)

 

Thank you for any help! — Billy

[trilingual]

Your info mostly seems to be up-to-date, but I don't recall anyone reporting on any of these cities anytime recently. You may have to be our pioneer!

 

Guia Gay Brasil has the following listing in Foz do Iguaçu:

 

• Gilles Bar Nigth

Rua Benjamim Cosntant, 108 (Centro) -574-6833

wed-sun

 

If you stay at the falls themselves (like at the Hotel das Cataratas or the Sheraton in the park on the Argentine side) you won't be very close to town and I don't think it's really easy to get back and forth late at night, although there always are cabs. For the sheer spectacle, I'd recommend staying at the falls, and pass, if necessary, on cruising, unless you're going to be there for more than a night or two. In that case, you might want to move to a downtown hotel after an initial stay at the falls. Foz is a fairly good sized place (250,000) but probably not big enough to support a booming gay life. The usual "everybody knows everybody else" syndrome is at play, and the locals will want to be discreet. Still, it's large enough that there's got to be some gay scene, as evidenced by the listing above.

 

Looking forward to your reports on your trip and what you find in these three cities!

[BillyZ]

Iguaçu Falls

 

Yes, after exploiting all the great info

here, I'll be obliged to reciprocate

with any tales from the outback!

 

Thanks for the insight on the Iguaçu Falls

situation; I will indeed be at the Hotel

das Cataratas.

 

Cheers, Billy

[trilingual]

RE: Iguaçu Falls

 

The falls are entrancing, and right outside your door at the Hotel das Cataratas, which is inside the Brazilian national park. The bulk of the falls themselves are on the Argentine side of the river; from the Brazilian side you get the best panoramic views of the entire staggering scene. There are some falls on the Brazilian side, though, and you can get right up to the Devil's Throat, the largest of the falls, on the Brazilian side. There are also nature walks and trails in the park. For birders, it's a wonderful spot. A particularly fascinating sight is at sunset at the Devil's Throat, where hundreds of swifts dart right into the roaring wall of water, where they evidently nest. The flocks of parakeets are another sunset sight. If the night is clear, be sure to step outside the hotel to be amazed by the unbelievably starry sky. There are many more visible stars and constellations in the Southern sky than in the Northern one. Try picking out the Southern Cross (it's easy to recognize) and the vast band of the Milky Way bisecting the sky. The Hotel das Cataratas is a great place to do this, because it's fairly far from city lights that can obscure the view.

 

Be sure to visit the Argentine side of the falls, where you can get closer to the falls themselves. There are two walking circuits, the lower and the upper one, and both will get you right up to the water. There are also nature tours led by park rangers. If your Spanish is better than your Portuguese, you might find the tours on the Argentine side more rewarding.

 

By the way, on either side there's a lot of spray from the falls, when you get close to them. Wear clothes that will dry quickly, and have a way of keeping your camera dry (and drying it off). Don't forget sun screen and INSECT REPELLENT. Unless they've been mysteriously wiped out recently, like in Parati, besides mosquitos the falls feature "borrachudos", which are really evil little no-see-ums that leave nasty, ichy, very-long-lasting bites. They seem to be most active around dawn and dusk, but you can get bitten any time. You'll need the insect repellent in Manaus, too. You can get the stuff in Brazil ("Off" is sold there) but it's probably less expensive in the U.S., and there's a greater variety of products and formulations available. The "Deep Woods" versions, which are very high in DEET (the active ingredient) work excellently.

[BillyZ]

RE: Iguaçu Falls

 

Tri, sounds like it will be awesome indeed.

Thanks for more good tips.

 

Did you ever journey over to see the colossal Itaipu Dam?

[trilingual]

RE: Iguaçu Falls

 

I wasn't there long enough to visit the dam. It might be interesting, if you have the time. In one way, it's kind of sad, because building the dam drowned some fairly spectacular falls in the Paraná river itself. But it's a great engineering feat, apparently.