Ipanema beach mania..

[Guest tommy15]

Sunday is the day Carioca's go to the beach. Francisco(sucker), his lovely friend from New Zealand, Andrew, my partner and myself enjoyed a walking tour grom Atlantico all the way to Ipanema. Talk about eye candy!!! The four of us hadn't sat down 5 minutes until the hunky men came cruising around us. I got a henna tatoo on my leg by a young heart throb who held my leg so gently (sauvamente).

Francisco and I spotted this AMAZING body builder in a tiny speedo, the guy came over to us, offered his services as "masseur". We got his telephone number, will have Eduardo call him and check him out.

NEVER would I just take someone from the beach back to my hotel. It is SO god-damned tempting, however. There are more than a few sharks in the water, so exercise caution. About 4 p.m. my favorite, Fernando, the sweetheart who took us to Maracana, came to our suite, we played for several hours, then went to Carretao for dinner, 19 reais for lunch, 22 for dinner, excellent food. I think restaurant Marius is a tourist trap, WAY over priced, and mediocre seafood.

I am liking Roger's Sauna more and more, not such a HUGE meat-grinder, quiet, more intimate, beautifully refurbished, best cabini in all RIO, plenty of boys.

[+ Axiom2001]

<Never would I just take someone from the beach back to my hotel.>

 

Yes, it's great that you, as a newbie, wrote this. From the outset the veteran RioTravelers have advised all to follow your advice. When one adheres to this-- having problems occur should be nonexistent.

[imrthr]

>About 4 p.m. my favorite, Fernando, the sweetheart who took us to

>Maracana, came to our suite, >

 

Is this the same Fernando who is on the site http://www.brazilianmen.net/index2.cfm ?

 

Thanks for a reply =

 

Cheers

[Driver]

I also went to the hippy market and Ipanema beach on sunday and it was very nice. I was surprised at the slope of the beach which is quite different to copacobana but then the current hits it quite differently. I found the market a bit commercial but still some interesting products.

[Guest alanm]

I bummed around Brazil in 1974 when I was in my 20s with virtual no money. I was hardly a novice, having done the same thing in Europe and Asia. But, Brazil was very hard for me -- few people spoke English back then. I stayed in the cheapest rooms in Copacabana and Flamengo. In reaction, on subsequent trips I have stayed in Ipanema (despite the distance problems). You certainly are correct about the beach in Ipanema on the weekends, especially Sundays. What a treat!

Is there a better beach in the world for eye candy?

 

Wonder if any other American else on this site visited Brazil as early as 1974?

[trilingual]

I first visited Brazil in '83 and Gringo first came here in '82. The fairy godfather (recently deceased) who inspired my first visit was here in the early 70s, and I've run into other gay men decades ago who turned out to have visited Brazil long before I did.

 

It would have been heaven to have known Rio during the Golden Age from the 30s through the 50s, when it wasn't all skyscrapers and high-rise apartments, there was little crime and supposedly there was wider-spread prosperity. Nevertheless, the fun and games were still unbeatable, by all reports! After all, the merriment seems to have started in 1500, when the Portuguese first landed in Brazil, and hasn't stopped since then! :9

[Guest Gringo]

For a fascinating history of gay life in Bz from colonial to modern times, I recommend "Beyond Carnaval." I forget the author's first name, but his last name is Green. :+

[buckguy]

It's "Beyond Carnival" by James Green (U of Chicago Press); here's a link: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0226306380/103-5183645-4495028?v=glance

[trilingual]

For a similar, sweeping survey by a brilliant Brazilian author, look for "Perverts in Paradise" by João Silvério Trevisan. If you can read Portuguese, there's a more recent, updated edition than the version in English. The title in Portuguese is "Devassos no paraíso."

[Mike_M]

I went to Rio in '76 for carnaval and traveled through Brazil to Belem, Brasilia, Recife and Salvador. The gay balls of carnaval were fabulous and I found the whole country tolerant and not a whole lot different than my experiences in my visits the last couple years. I do find these days a little more caution in the streets due, I guess, to the much higher crime rates. The streets now don't seem to be as open to cruising as they were then. At that time the country was under military rule and the streets were kept safer. Almost every corner had military police on it. That was in Rio, and could have been due to added security for the carnaval period. I stayed at the Hotel Vermont in Ipanema and they were cool about having visitors in my room at that time. I don't know their policy now. I still prefer Ipanema to Copacabana - much more laid back and less tourist packed.