I LOVE LAGOA

[+ Billsboy4]

I just returned from a trip to Brazil, spending most of my time in Sao Paulo. I'm not a beach person, so I find SP a great city to spend my time....great food, shops, etc....and the best of all, Thermas Lagoa. I've been to the saunas in Rio and IMHO nothing compares to Lagoa. I also find it a friendlier, social place for patrons. I always find patrons who speak English and have met people from all walks of life from Cardiologists to retirees. The selection of boys is always around 50 in every size, shape, color and build. The place is very large, so you can relax in the bar area, or by the pool & jacuzzi, or watch tv or videos. You can wear street clothes, or a towel or a robe. The staff in very friendly, the place is kept clean....even the food is pretty good. I was a little nervous about the selection of boys, since it is off season, but there was not problem....met alot of hotties and had some great sex... took a couple back to my hotel for overnites for about $50. Another favorite of mine is sitting at the bar area and behind it is a floor to ceiling glass wall and behind that are showers, steam and sauna. It's fun to watch the boys soap up and show off their best features...especially the super-horsehung ones. I always have a great time and meet nice people.

 

I know there are those who will disagree, but for me, there's nothing better than a night at Lagoa.

[sf traveler]

Since my buddy, Gulliver, posted on another thread that he had been twice disappointed in Lagoa, I'm going to throw my 2 cents in. My first visit to a Brazilian sauna was to Lagoa and, following the semi-world famous review by Trilingual, I had no problems and in fact thought I'd died and gone to heaven. The next trip I went to Rio and spent a couple of days in SP on the way out. After 2 weeks in Rio I was much less impressed with the beauty of the Lagoa boys. In fact, just from the physical attactiveness of the boys, I'd prefer Club 117. There's a lot of boys in Lagoa but this time I found way fewer really good-looking ones. But they're less pushy, less focused on extracting more and more money and generally chummier than their Rio brethren. The place itself is much nicer, and cleaner, than the Rio standard, but the prices (not for the boys themselves but for the rooms etc) are about 10-20% higher. Lagoa is also so much bigger than any of the Rio saunas that the greater choice means something in terms of your overall experience. As for the city as a whole, I too am not much of a beach person, and I like SP as a city too. I'll continue to go there on my vacations to Brazil, but the company of other M4Mers in Rio and that city's amazing beauty will probably cause me to spend much more time there than in SP. SF Traveler

[Guest jjme]

Good timimg on this thread! I am at this moment "balancing" my plans between Rio and Sao Paulo. For my first trip to Brazil, many people did not recommend Sao Paulo at all. But because I'm into history (including present day) and culture, a visit seemed worthwhile. The stories about Lagoa certainly helped! Since (Thank goodness) sexual attractions come and go in all sorts of directions, it might be interesting to be more specific when judging the quality of guys working at the saunas. Speaking for myself, my top attracton is to lean and cut guys, moderate to big muscled- but definately "gym-worked." But on some of the pix I've seen here and even on the escort sites I haven't seen too many with this profile. Lots of pleasant, cute guys, for sure, but not the above-average, beautifully shaped. Nevertheless I'm going on faith that I wont be too disappointed. So... how do my tastes match yours? ...and how do they balance the on the Rio-Sao Paulo scale?

[sf traveler]

Club 117 in Rio is definitely for you. It really has the more built type guys. Not that there aren't many other places, but that's the "profile" of 117. Certainly plenty in Lagoa, but seemed like fewer this trip. SF Traveler

[Guest Tomcal_]

I agree with my friend SFTraveler. I also thought there were quite a number of well built,lean muscled to BB types at 202(Breno, Dalton Alek, Julio springs to mind ). If I would guess, at least 12 to 15 guys at both 202 and 117 would fall easily into those categories on any given Friday or Sat. night. and Monday night at Estacio when 117 is closed. I also wondered why the guys for the most part, pictured on the Brazil escort sites are "below average" in both looks and body compared to the guys available in the suanas!:9

[Guest jjme]

Great to hear this info, sf trav. and Tomcal. Thanks. Glad to hear there is no reason to cancel my trip! Are any of the sauna guys you've seen lately really tall and/or really ripped, e.g. obviously into bodybuilding? I'm splitting my time about 7 nights in Rio and 4 in Sao Paulo. Does that sound about right?

[+ Axiom2001]

jjtime-- the time frame that you mentioned was similar to the guidance given to me by many men at this site when I went to Brasil for the first time last October. Many of the guys advised only two days in SP unless you knew the language and had additional activities in which to participate while in the city of the Paulistas.

 

I plan to stay there four days in Oct. of '03; I don't know much Portuguese but plan to hire a guide either through CarloRIo in Rio who can be contacted via this site or hunky Artur Brazil.

 

PS You'll luv Petropolis; I went there on an all day tour with a company that's located at http://www.ipanema.com, but then again, I'd give my business to CarloRio since some of the guys here know him and of his reputation when it comes to his making travel and escort connections for you.

[trilingual]

Yes, there are tall, hunky, ripped (and hung) guys at all of the saunas in Rio and SP. There's almost always a range of choice, ranging from tall to short, black to blonde, naturally built to staggeringly steroided. Lagoa usually has very good-looking guys; I can only remember one occasion over the years when I went to Lagoa and thought the crowd looked "ordinary." (And even then I found someone I liked and had a good time!) You'll see for yourself that the scene in Brazil is extraordinary in terms of variety and choice.

 

Your time breakdown sounds good to me. SP is huge and sprawling, and its attractions are spread out, so you can easily fill 4 days. If you're into history, you'll want to visit the "Patio do Colégio" in the center of town, with some of the oldest remaining structures in the city, the Museum of Sacred Art and the Cathedral, the beautiful Beaux Arts Theatro Municipal, some of the older Art Deco skyscrapers downtown, and the Ipiranga Museum, at the site where Brazil's independence was declared from Portugual. Also don't overlook the Pinacoteca do Estado museum, with a fine collection of 19th Century Brazilian painting in a fascinating building. It's next to Parque da Luz, SP's oldest public park dating from the late 1700s and lovingly restored in late 19th Century style, including a sculpture garden. Across the street is the wonderful 19th Century Luz railroad station, which by now should be well on its way to being restored, and down the street is the Centro Cultural Julio Prestes, where a stunning concert hall, the Sala São Paulo, has been built into another old railroad station. At the Barra Funda metro station you'll find the Memorial da America Latina, where there are some fascinating exhibits and frequent musical and cultural events. Then there's the main art museum (MASP) and the intriguingly cruisy Parque Trianon right across the street. You could also do a day trip to Santos and it's twin city of São Vicente, one of Brazil's oldest, founded in the early 1500s (although there's very little old and historic left in S.V., but the beachfront in S.V. and Santos is as spectacular as Copacabana's, with beautiful landscaped gardens along the shore).

 

As you can see, there'll be plenty to keep you busy in 4 days!

[gulliver]

Since I was the member who posted about my dissapointment in Lagoa I wanted to expand a little further in order to help you plan your trip.

 

My first sauna experiences were in rio at Rogers, 117, and Estacao.

At any one night in any one of these saunas (as well as Point 202 and Meo Mundo) I find at least five boys who I would consider extremely attractive to me. While a sauna will have a slow night now and then

there has never been a shortage of great looking escorts. When you consider the fact that Estacao, 202, Rogers, and the famous Atlantico Hotel are all within a 5 minute walk from one another - it just makes the possibility of a boring night close to zero.

 

Lagoa is clean, large, full of boys, yet to me - relatively boring. There have not on my two nights been other Americans hanging out nor an abundance of super attractive men. I did meet 2 brothers (both real cowboys over 6'5) over Easter and a great Brazilian-Arab last weekend and spent 2 days with him BUT only after being at Lagoa for hours. Dont get me wrong, it was fun checking out huge equipment thru the glass shower walls but I am glad that I now have some great Sao Paulo boys to book in advance so when i go there I can skip Lagoa.

 

Since you are a first timer and as you point out that we all have such varying definitions of attractive - you'll want to check it out for yourself. I was with the group of 7 posters who went to Spa 73 and Meo Mundo last Thursday -AND - without a doubt I found much more in my 5 minutes at meo Mundo then I did after hours at Lagoa. It sounds life both SFTraveller and Tomcal are right on in recommending Club 117 to you (it is closed on Mon nite and closes early on Sat).

 

I think my fellow posters will agree with me on one thing even though we may have different opinions about Lagoa. There is a magic about Rio and I have great memories of all of us sitting around togethor at Corujinha's well after midnight - a half dozen boys and maybe ten of us just watching the scene at three or four tables pulled togethor. There is a magic in the camraderie that is hard to explain but is most appealing and I think makes our travel to Brazil much BIGGER than

we had ever realized. There are always a dozen or so sauna boys hanging around this restaurant for you to choose an overnight from.

Breakfast at the Atlantico can easily become an occasion for a half dozen posters to get togethor. This is not something I have found in Sao Paulo and maybe that flavors my opinion.

 

I am not a beach goer and did not once hit the beach on the last ten day trip. Did hang out at the Atlantico pool (much Scrabble games and room service lunch) enjoying the great off season weather.

 

On my first trip, I took a two night jaunt to Buenos Aires organized by "Our Man in BA - Roberto" who was accurately highly recommended by Trilingual. Loved the city and the trip and am looking foward to a return. Just another idea in addition to the one of Petropolis that someone already mentioned. Since you like museums - do not miss the small but wonderful Castro De Mayo in Rio's Santa theresa.

 

Without even realizing it, I have managed to acquire enough skill with Portugeuse that I could spend days with non English speaking boys and never have a problem talking about anything. Perhaps a set of Pimsleur CD's and a few tutoring sessions (Carlo Romano arranged mine last week) on the Atlanticos roof terrace might add to your trip.

 

I by the way have gotten used to wearing street clothes in both lagoa and all of the rio saunas. No problem to treat the lounge of the saunas just like any other bar. It also keeps a little more distance if you have a problem with aggressive boys.

[+ Billsboy4]

Jjme...I can tell you that there were many muscled guys at Lagoa last week. There were also at least 4 or 5 bodybuilder types as well. Since our tastes seem to be similar, I can tell you that I had plenty to chose from....one of the guys I did an overnite with (Beto) is a personal trainer by day.

 

It's interesting to read all the different experiences that posters have had there. I was there for seven days and had a great time each nite. Everyone has different experiences, everyone's opinion of who is 'hot' is in the eye of the beholder.....so go and experience everything for yourself....you won't go wrong in either city.

 

This was my 4th trip to Brazil and have been home for 4 days and I'm ready to go back.

[trilingual]

I agree with Gulliver about the camaraderie that seems to have sprung up both among the visiting M4Mers and with the sauna boys in Rio. The nightly get-togethers at Corujinha when the gang is in town have been lots of fun and the boys clearly have enjoyed them, too. They definitely talk about them when everyone has left town, and look forward longingly to the next gathering of the clan! That's definitely something special. BTW, the nightly gatherings have been mentioned in "O Grito," the local gay paper, and we've rather deposed the formidable Jabba as the king of the local social heap, at least when the M4M gang is in town! The M4M table at Corujinha has become the one everyone wants to get invited to!!!

 

If there's an equivalent of Corujinha in SP, I'm not sure what it is, although I have seen sauna guys on Vieira later in the evening. Still, Lagoa can be congenial enough, particularly if you make a stab at speaking Portuguese. The local clientele at Lagoa, however, is middle to upper-class, and given its business orientation, many such people in SP speak and understand some English, so it's possible to communicate with locals. It's cool if Lagoa doesn't totally ring Gulliver's chimes, because it leaves more for the rest of us! But the number of people who haven't been enchanted by Lagoa is very small!

 

Oh, and Gulliver, if you've got any photos and contact info for the tall cowboy brothers, please e-mail them to me! They sound like they could be exactly my cup of tea, and I'll undoubtedly be in SP during my next visit to Brazil! Also, if the next big gathering is going to be on Oct. 27th, I think I can make it. I'll try to get there in time for the next rooftop mob scene!

[+ Axiom2001]

Trilingual, it was so great reading your latter lines in your thread today. I do want to meet you, so if it doesn't happen in SF during the latter part of July or in August/September--then it more than likely will be in your and my (quickly-becoming) favorite country/city.

 

I am looking forward to meeting all of the guys who've written extensively here about their experiences in the "land of paradise and will be attending Soiree 2! That whole week should be one hell of a blasssssssssst!

[sf traveler]

Just to add to what Gulliver and Trilingual have said, I too have become very attached to the social group that's grown around our Rio trips. I used to go to Europe for every vacation, but I went alone and it was always an issue of how I was going to arrange things so that I wouldn't be alone the entire time. After enjoying my October trip and the socializing with Gulliver, Tri, Tomcal, Sucker, CT Dick, FloridaRob, etc., just made the trip. Sure I love the boys, but the combination with great guys my own age and background, resulted in an experience which I believe to be much greater than the sum of its parts. SF Traveler

[gulliver]

ron, your words echo exactly how I feel. i think our little m4m group will be meeting in Rio for years to come and hopefully will expand to some European jaunts. All of us in our age group lost many of our old time friends over the years and to meet a bunch of splendid men who I feel so comfortable with was an unexpected joy. And then you throw in all of the rentboys !!!!!!!!!!!!