PORTO ALEGRE UPDATE

[trilingual]

Porto Alegre is alive and well and looking very sleek and prosperous in spite of the never-ending Brazilian economic crisis. Lots of new buildings and shopping malls and hotels.

 

Spent an entertaining evening at the Plataforma sauna last night. Had a couple of adventures with two Afro-Brazilian guys of impressive dimensions (out of three who were available yesterday). Paulo is double-wide, but not that interactive. Walmor is very handsome in a Calvin Klein model way, and extremely interactive. If I wasn't happily married in Rio, he'd be a big temptation!

 

NOTE: At the moment Plataforma is NOT accepting credit cards for payment, so bring enough cash to pay both the boys AND your entry/bar fees. Otherwise, you may end up spending the night mopping up the place!

[trilingual]

Made a return visit to Plataforma last night. I'm also pleased to recommend Márcio, the third of the Afro-Brazilian regulars there. He's tall, slender, very well equipped and interactive.

 

In the interest of variety, I also spent some high quality time with Milton, a stocky, round-faced kid with a broad smile and a very long dick who couldn't have been sweeter and cuddlier after being deep throated for a while. Evidently he doesn't get much of that kind of action, which he prefers, so if you can handle him, he'll be all yours! :9

 

All in all, a great visit to Porto Alegre!

[sf traveler]

Is there anything else to do in Porto Alegre other than the sauna boys? SF Traveler

[trilingual]

Porto Alegre is a very big city (metro area is pushing 4 million) so yes, there are other things there besides the saunas! But POA on the whole is an attractive modern commercial center that isn't brimming with tourist attractions that would make it a prime destination in itself. If you're heading to southern Brazil anyway, like on your way to or from Argentina, it makes a good stopover for a few days.

 

Like all big cities, it offers shopping, art galleries, theater, an active gay scene, etc. POA is an inland port city without real beaches (which are a couple of hours away on the coast). It's a state capital and educational center, too. Rio Grande do Sul, of which Porto Alegre is the capital, borders Argentina and Uruguay and shares the gaucho culture with those countries. This is a very strong influence in RS and in Porto Alegre, manifesting itself in the love of churrasco (Brazilian BBQ), the drinking of mate and in the many centers and organizations devoted to keeping gaucho culture and folklore alive. The city also has a lot of great art-deco architecture.

 

Nearby are beaches (OK, but not as attractive as the ones further north, beginning in the neighboring state of Santa Catarina) and the Serra Gaucha, which has lovely resort towns and wine country. To the west are the beginnings of the pampas (called the "campanha" here) and cattle country. There are remains of some of the great Jesuit missions of the 17th Century (plus some across the borders in what are now Argentina and Paraguay) that are worth visiting.

 

You can have a very rewarding stay in Porto Alegre and RS, but I probably wouldn't rate it as one of the first destinations someone should put at the top of their lists! It's the kind of place worth visiting after seeing the essential places, like Rio, São Paulo, Iguaçu Falls, the colonial cities in Minas, the Northeast, and the Amazon.