I have been to almost every capital city in Brazil but this city merits special note as decidedly the most "un-Brazilian" city I have visited. I went there, lured by one of my girlfriends who has family here, and was shocked by the difference in attitude and culture.

1)80% of the women (and men) are quite ugly; strong indian influence with very little european and black blood to create the typical brazilian look

2)Noticely unfriendly people (e.g. indian looking waiter throwing the bill at me and grunting at the price; taxi drivers trying to rip you off almost consistently, etc.)

3)Lots of street walkers, not bad looking, but a surprising familiarity with foreigners looking for sex; Bar do Parque and Locomotiva being the prime spots, followed by Acropolis and O Lapinha; quality low to medium, but forget european looking morena claras or blondes...lots of indian blood; also beware STDs here, as most clients are sailors who carry all sorts of crap with them from port to port

4)Ugly, ugly city

5)Decent dock development (Estacao das Docas) with some restaurants and such

6)Ranks with Manaus, Rio Branco, and Macapa as having the most accessible non-pros in Brazil; like piranhas circling in for the kill (assuming you can speak Portuguese); I had 7 phone numbers in 2 hours at the mall, and my phone rang non-stop thereafter; if you have an peruvian indian fetish, then this is your spot

7)Not too dangerous, but you have to be on your guard here, particularly in the Centro

8)Overall, definitely not for the faint of heart, and a world away from the mickey mouse sex theme park of Rio; only recommended if you like adventure, don't mind roughing it, and like indian looking broads

Sounds like a great place to AVOID. Thanks for the report!

BS

Bomboa
Having just returned from Belo Horizonte, I am beginning to develop an appreciation for other parts of Brazil. For a person with VERY limited but mildly conversational portuguese skills, where would recommend I next go? and why?
Thanks for the updates btw
GNM

Go to Florida

For paid sex, any place with a fair # of rich Brazilians or steady flow of gringo tourists will do in my opinion, since they will all have the boate environment that caters to that crowd.

I remember being on the plane to Recife (transit point for the Northeast and North of Brazil), and my plane had about 8-10 american guys in their 20s (mostly travelling alone or in 2s), and they all transferred to flights for Fortaleza and Natal. Both are very nice cities, clean with amazing beaches, but heavily touristy.

Belem do Para, Rio Branco, Macapa, Manaus, etc. have boates, but the prices really aren't THAT much cheaper (70-100R) However. the quality is quite a bit lower than what you may be used to (think the bottom 50% of terma girls). I didn't actually sleep with any of the pros, so I can't comment on performance.

One thing that's surprising about the North of Brazil. You pay equal or greater prices for everything (compared to the South), even though the quality (food, housing, etc) is quite a bit lower.

It was fun grabbing a car and driving through the interior of various states, Pernambuco, Paraiba, etc. Depends on what you're into I guess...if you just want to have sex with nice looking pros, Rio, SP etc seems to serve the purpose for most johns.

Bomboa:

You are exactly correct about price/quality ratios in North (and to a large extent Northeast) Brazil. The reason is three-fold: one, goods really are just more expensive up there, most everything is "imported" from South/Central Brazil... and two, they're charging "what the market will bear." Since most of the population lives at or near the substinence level (meaning they eat what they catch/grow and have zero money), anyone who DOES have money and is actually BUYING things rather than scratching out a living must be "rich"... so they can be charged outrageous prices. So, for instance, if you are dumb enough to sleep in a hotel instead of in a hammock in a hut, then we may as well charge you out the nose for it. Lastly, it's what I call the "island syndrome".. everything is more expensive on an island becuase you can't exactly walk over to the next town to go to a competing store. Same goes for a stadium, nightclub, any captive audience situation. In this case, Amazon, once you've left the urban/surrounding suburbs area, there's NOTHING, so you're essentially a captive audience again.

Anyway, now you are begining to understand why Brazilians consider the North (and Northeast) to be a third world country within a country. One economist labeled the whole phenomenum as "BelIndia"... Brazil is Belguim (Sao Paulo and South) attched to India (everywhere else). Somewht exagerated, but it's very true that there are many different Brazils within Brazil.

GringasnoMas:

Where else to visit in Brazil? We've had this discussion before, but as Bomboa wrote, it all depends what you like. Most anywhere with any tourist flow or upper class will have people that speak at least some English, but outside of Rio/Sao Paulo/BH/Porto Alegre forget about finding "commoners" (whores, waiters, barmen) who speak any English, and it's rare enough in the South. Nevertheless if you have basic "restuarant menu" portuguese, and a good attitude, you can go far.

Do you want purely mongering, mongering and "scenery"/atmosphere, get away from it all with a "travelling companion"? All depends. Knowing you, I think you like a good mix, so try Fortaleza... lots of providers but great beaches up and down the coast that you can take a few "chosen ones" for a few days (Canoa Quebrada, Jericoacoara, Lagoinha). Likewise Salvador, but the "scene" is less obvious (but it's there, believe me!), way more mulattas (I'm in heaven), and way more tourists (yuk). Since you like BH, go back there and explore some of the surrounding countryside, starting with Ouro Preto (my favorite). Just remember to take a girl or three along with you... Campo Grande/Bonito has similar possibilities, although more "ature" oriented. And don't forget Porto Alegre, read Athos' reports for a non-biased view (since I'm from POA, I'm VERY biased).

Enough rambling...

Enjoy!

BS

Fortaleza is nice, beautiful beaches especially a few hours drive away, "buggy" in the dunes, and a nightlife that can't be beat. The sheer number of working girls is pretty impressive, although if you're into the Cafe Foto types, then you'll be disappointed. Still, they're a friendly lot, and at least you get BBBJs. I stayed in Meirelles, the action is concentrated in Iracema.

The only thing about Fortaleza is that you will not be anything special, even as a gringo, to the locals. Tourism is really spiking in Ceara, and there are A LOT of young Italians, Dutch, etc guys who party and vacation here. I saw a lot of them with working girls, although they were easily enough turning the heads of the non-pros. Guess they prefer the sure thing while on vacation. I was overly sensitive to their presence, easy enough to just ignore them.

Went to Club Mucuripe that had stunner non-pros. The thing about the Northeast of Brazil, the upper class will look more or less like the upper class of Rio and SP. Fairly european features...in fact, you can probably say this for most cities throughout Brazil. Result of colonialism. In any case, once you get the hang of identifying such types, you generally know who you can lay quickly, and who you'll likely not have success with.

I was also on the plane with the Fortaleza futebol team as they headed for Manaus for a game. It was good fun talking to them about the women of Ceara.

Just got a report from a friend that at Docas there are lots of available semi pro girls

Any comments from the experts??

here is the report >>>>>>>>>>>
Docas is a dock, it is the central entertainment district of the upper middle class in Belem. It is a 10 minute walk from the Hilton, which is across the street from the hooker park (Bar do Park).

We sat in a bar, and young girls walked by. My friend saw two from a distane that looked nice and invited them foir a drink. Within 5 minutes it was clear they were for rent.

I would guess tht about 50 girls walked by between 8:30 pm and 10:30 pm when we left. We left because my friend did not feel good about fucking the pretty girl and leaving me with the not so pretty girl. There are also girls in the street out side of the Docas area, and they are obviously for rent as well. None of the girls I have met at Docas are professionals.
They are part time hookers.

That being said, making a deal with a young girl and then having her flee after a few kisses and getting her shirt off was crazy. I am quite certain that she was haviing doubts about the wisdom of being a prositute, even if it was a part time job. I suspect that the next guy who picks her up will be luckier than I.

The Docas is like a big air conditioned mall that sits right by the Amazon River. It's actually a cool feeling knowing that you are eating dinner and sipping drinks next to the mighty Amazon. Also, Belem is known for its daily rain, usually hits around 3-4pm every single day.

As for the girls, there are always girls in the Docas, both inside and out. They'll be trying to make eye contact with, so don't worry about having to worry about who's a hooker and who's not. Belem is really lax on the prostitution scene, almost too lax. The local mall outside the city is notorious for having dozens of 15-16 year old teenage girls accost men in the parking lot for quickie sex.

If you rent a car and drive through the city at night, you'll see a large number of street hookers all over the city as well, particularly at the Bar do Parque. Some aren't half bad.

I thought the start of this string was pretty negative. I was in Belem last week and was struck by the beauty of the girls there. Don't write it off.

I agree with Gclooney.
I was there in the early 90's so my info may well be out of date. However, it it's not then I can assure you that there are some real beauties to be had. Last time I was in Belem, I stayed at the Hilton and every night after sunset the terrace bar was loaded with some VERY nice looking young things looking for a "date" with a buisnessman.

True, there are some decidely Indian looking girls, but they are stunning in their own way. If you are looking for nordic features and blonde hair - don't bother with Belem. The client I went to visit did have one piece of advice. He said to me, "Senior Jake, the girls in Belem - they loooove to fuck". I know, I know, that's true of pretty much all of Brasil, but it's been ten years and I will never forget the way he said it.