I'm interested in visiting Forteleza in the future. Does anyone have any info? Thanks.

Rio – Fortaleza July 2001
Some links describing Fortal, the summer carnival that occurs the last weekend in July

http://www.fortal.com.br/2001/
This site has many photos from Fortal 2001, click on Quinta, Sexta, Sábado, Domingo

http://www.brazilvacation.net/BVTourPages/Brazil-25-FortalBrazilianParty.htm
This one is travel site but has a music gallery and other info.

http://www.eceara.com.br/fortal/blocos.asp
One more in Portuguese

I was planning a 2-week vacation in Brazil in June 2001 and wanted to get out of Rio for the first time. On prior trips everyone I met that had been there raved about Fortaleza. Bogeys Fortal report and my schedule made it an easy choice.

Booking the Rio ticket was easy on Continental and has been a great route for me in the past. Continental has had several one-pass deals that will get a round trip to Rio for 17.5 K miles that I have been able to take advantage of.

Buying a RT from Rio to Fortaleza was more difficult. After many emails and phone calls without success at a reasonable rate I called Bobby at http://www.blameitonrio4travel.com and he booked a RT on TAM for $670R, about $250 at the time, 1 day before my departure.

I arrived in Rio 2 days before my scheduled flight to Fortaleza around noon and checked into a suite at the Atlantico Copacabana. Within an hour I was enjoying the day on the beach in Copacabana. After a few cocktails at MP decided to stop by Monte Carlo on the way back to my hotel. Turned out to be a good decision as Juliana and I hit it off in the cabine and spent the next two days together. We woke in my room on Sunday and it was raining like hell so spent the morning in bed. I had not been to Barra de Tijuca so took a cab down to the mall there and had a great lunch in one of the many restaurants. I was a bit self-conscious walking around the mall with this little nympho half my age, but soon realized that the only head that was turning was mine. After lunch we returned to Copa and burned some calories.

Monday was another rainy day and Juliana needed to be at work at MC by 3. I promised, insincerely, that I would come by to pick her up later. Luomo was just around the corner so with the rain it seemed the logical choice before checking out the scene at Help, so were my intentions. Soon after an hour with Luize, I received a call from Bobby, he was on his way to Monte Carlo with a few guys and one of them was flying to Fortaleza the next day, as was I. Traveling solo I took the opportunity to hook up with someone in Fortal, along with the sure thing Juliana waiting for me. I briefly met the Irish guy Pat that was going to Fortaleza, we exchanged email addresses before he was escorted away by two garotas. I met him several days later in Fortaleza. Juliana and I hung out in the boite and relax room for several hours before returning back to my hotel.

The flight on TAM to Fortaleza had two stops, first in Brasilia, then in Teresina. I was amazed with the efficiency on both stops. Several cute young girls boarded the plane minutes after passengers departed removing any trash and freshening things up. Minutes later passengers boarded and we were off. While on the ground in Brasilia I met a girl that had introduced herself to me on my first day in Rio on the beach, she claimed to be a top escort girl, I passed. A few minutes later we both returned to our seats and cute collegiate looking girl with glasses was seated next to me. I assisted with her carry on with a smile.

We read magazines without speaking until cocktails were offered. I planned to decline until she ordered a cerveza. A few sips later she started speaking in rapid fire Portuguese, I got about half of it and could only reply with “Eu falo muito poco Portuguese”. She was all smiles after learning that I was American, her English was much better than either my Spanish or Portuguese. Said she was going to Fortaleza for a job interview, alone for the first time and had no hotel reservations. I had been in contact with the guys at http://www.fortalezafiesta.com trying to arrange an apartment without success, but had been told they would find something for me when I arrived.

When we arrived I made a call and FF.com had me booked in a family hotel for the night with a promise for more friendly accommodations the next day. I decided to play this out and offered to share a cab to find her a place to stay. In the taxi I learned the definition of a Pousada , a guesthouse ,hostel or simple room. The taxi driver took us to a Pousada about three blocks up a hill from Biera Mar. She took the room for 40R and I passed on the 60R room next door. She agreed to have dinner later after I got settled in my room but that never happened. I tried calling but she either chose not to answer or wasn’t in her room. So much for good girls, she was worth the effort.

I checked into the Hotel Vela E Mar and inquired about guests, short answer NO. I called my contact at
http://www.fortalezafiesta.com and was informed that he had a reservation for me at Spazzio Hotel Residence. This apart-hotel was home for the week. I would stay there again, new apartment with balcony and hotel services for 110R per day, great staff and a block from the beach.

After settling. I took a long walk down Biera Mar stopping at a few Barraccas along the way for a cold Antartica, eventually reaching Iracema were I would spend several nights. I hopped on a moto taxi back to the hotel for some rest. Later that night I returned down Biera Mar again stopping for a beer and was joined by three working girls, one who spoke English well. I explained it was my first night in Fortaleza, my hotel accepted no guests and I was not looking for overnight company. She said no problem and started to give the low down on the working girls warning me to be careful and there had been some recent problems with drugging especially with girls offering freebies. She then invited me to join them as they were going to boite in Iracema. I don’t remember paying a cover but a round of drinks was way overpriced and I left on my own after one. Africa was closed for renovations at the time so Disgual was probably better the normal. On my way over I found this small open air bar called ZIP, a cool place pool table, darts and about a dozen cute young girls. A few of them later escorted me to Disgual for the first time. I used my hotel guest policy problem to fend of several tempting offers, but one just wouldn’t stop and convinced me she could get into my room. She didn’t, gave her 10R for Taxi and spent a rare night alone in Brazil.

The next day I took a taxi out to Praia do Futuro, the place to be during the day especially during the week of Fortal when Brazilians from all over the country fly in for this event. Great beach and packed with hardbodies. The center of action is at a Barracca called Biruta. The beach is quite long so it helps to have a specific place to be dropped off. There is an open restaurant there as well as plenty of chairs and cheap drinks. Later that night I met Ele at Disgual and partied into the early hours before returning to my hotel. She was excited about spending the afternoon at Pria du Futuro, but wanted to return to her apartment for her bikini, solved that problem by offering to buy her one at the beach and we off for the day. Another great day relaxing as much as possible on a very crowded beach, but what a crowd it was.

Ele needed to get back to her apartment to change, we agreed to meet in Iracema at a Pizzaria on the boardwalk. I arrived about ½ hour late and didn’t see her so stopped by ZIP to kill some time before trying Disqual again, looking for Ele. I didn’t find Ele but meet Sandra and returned to my hotel stopping on the way so she could pick up a few things for our already planned day at Biruta. Sandra was fun but definitely more experienced than the fresh young Ele who had just arrived from Sao Luis. On the beach we discussed doing Fortal later that night. To participate you need to buy shirts for a particular school, the shirt is your ticket to enter the street and parade down Biera Mar. I had the shirts delivered to my hotel, not cheap, I believe it was about 400 real for two, but they were good for the next 3 nights.
Sandra needed to go home and we agreed to meet at the restaurant Barracca Biera Mar just two blocks from my hotel. This was Friday night, the second night of Fortal. Thursday is kind of a warm up night with only a few schools participating. Now a warning, I knew better but I had never felt threatened in Brazil and let my guard down. First mistake was wearing my safe key around my neck , the second wearing a watch with a little gold trim. One block from my hotel the crowd resembled a mosh pit, I was tripped up by about 3 teenagers who fell in front of me. As I was struggling to get up with a shirt in one hand and my wallet the other swinging, hands were all over me, they ripped the chain from my neck and managed to get my watch as well. By the time I got to my feet the punks we long gone. I was pissed and headed back to my hotel to regroup. After a quick shower and inquiring about my safe key (100R to drill it out the next day ) I decided to try again this time without my Cerveja &Cia shirts. As I left my hotel I was surprised to see Ele , from day 2 standing on the corner. Since I had missed her at the pizzeria she had decided to come look for me. My luck was changing for the better quickly. I explained I was a little late, just missed her and had spent the day at the beach alone, tried to call her apartment bla bla bla. I also explained what happened with my key, of coarse I was going out to look for her. We fought our way though the crowd and observed from the sidewalk and Barracas for most of the night, again returning to my hotel. Fortunately no evidence of Sandra in the room so all was well.

The next two days consisted of Praia do Futuro by day and Fortal by night. Saturday and Sunday night we wore our lime green Cerveja &Cia shirts and joined the group on the street. It was a blast, that is if you don’t mind being constantly sprayed with beer, foam and God knows what other liquids. Cervezas were available everywhere on the street for 1R.

Four days with the same girl was rare for me but if anyone considers visiting Fortaleza during Fortal I have to say this is the way to go. We both knew our fun together would end soon but had enough time to forget that money was involved, and enjoy the festivities and each other. After the first night she never asked. She claimed she was in Fortaleza for a couple of weeks to earn enough money to pay off some debts and was returning to Sao Luis. I hope she made it back and is doing what she wants to do.

I told her I was returning to Rio early Tuesday morning and needed to say goodbye after the beach and dinner on Monday. I lied, I was actually not leaving until Thursday morning but needed to move on.

After nearly a week of struggling to communicate in Portuguese, baking in the sun, dancing in the streets, this 38-year-old body and mind was exhausted.

Tuesday morning I checked my email and had received one from the Irish guy I had met in Rio. We met at a Barracca , swapped stories for a while, and was happy that I did my own thing as he had been wasting time and money in the boites most of the nights there. Late in afternoon I couldn’t help waving over 3 girls sitting to our left. The bodies were definitely fine but they were a little too far away to be sure if it was a wise move and I was to lazy to get up and take a stroll by. One was a little hottie, there other two had a few to many miles for my tastes. Pat was interested in some afternoon fun and I needed a break so I helped negotiate 50R for a few hours for him. A well-known Rio resident once told me that there is a saying in Portuguese, the best place to learn the language is in bed. I found that to be true, my pronunciation had improved in the last week, I felt comfortable attempting to convert my very limited Spanish to Portuguese and did pretty well, it had been days since I spoke more than a few words in English.

We agreed to meet later that night at Zip or Disgual. After a nap I went back down to Iracema and wandered around for a while again ending up at ZIP, pronounced Zippy of coarse. I met a guy there who has a web site with some pretty extreme Brazil travel stories.

http://www.brazilnut.com/part%202/travelogue/travelogue.html

Although he loves the women of Brazil as much a most of us please don’t email him asking where to get laid in Estancia or Pernambuco. He does not seem interested in discussing that on his site. Since we were surrounded by a group of fine young garotas our conversation didn’t get to deep, he didn’t tell me about his site or travel experience until the following night as I was leaving Disgual.

Back at ZIP just when I thought I had found the perfect reason to skip Disgual and retire early in walks Sandra from day 2. My new friend is her ROOMMATE and blows me off when Sandra comes over to ask me what happened to me earlier in the week. I really did like Sandra and had it not been for the unfortunate trip down the hill it could have been her that I spent 4 days with. We played some darts and met more of her friends. I was enjoying the company so invited Sandra and another friend of hers, not my original target, to dinner with thoughts of going out with a double bang. After some good Paella on the way over to Disgual I began to suggest what I had in mind. That didn’t work out the way I had planned.

I wrote the above in pieces last year, just never got around to finishing it. Anyway it was a great vacation and I will return to Fortaleza possibly later this year. I will be in Rio 5/9-5/14 , anyone who may be in town on those days feel free to drop me an email.

Copter
Helicopter30@hotmail.com

After my first sex tourism trip to Thailand two years ago, some brief mongering in British Columbia, and occasional desperate patronizing of mediocre quality massage parlors and high priced escorts in the US, I finally (why did it take me so damn long?!)decided to take my first trip to Brazil. After enjoying all the usual venues in Rio, thermas, Help, the beaches, etc. I took a 5 day side trip to Fortaleza.

Even though the laid back atmosphere of this beach town was a pleasant digression from busy Rio, the first day or two was pretty difficult for a Brazil newbie w/ very limited Portuguese skills. However, after learning the lay of the land, it was relatively easy to find abundant garotas in the main pick up bars of Praia Iracema. I was told by the proprietor of my Hotel, the Sunflower Inn, that there were only four clubs worth bothering with, Zipi, Cafe Del Mar, Africas and Desigual. I found Africas the most interesting of all. Although this place is really dark, and it took me a while to be able to distinguish the interesting from uninteresting prey, there was plenty of talent to be found. The dance floor provided ample room for some of the more limber girls to strut their stuff in the attempt to attract a suitable mate. The combination of the strobe lights and the loose-hipped moves of these Brazilian honeys provided titilating entertainment while searching for my choice for the night. The music was more in the disco and techno realm, not my usual listening, but appropriate for the uninhibited dancing which I certainly enjoyed.

Although my limited language skills madae it difficult to meet girls at first, this did not remain a problem for long, as my waitress noticed I was all alone, and considered this her cue to try to introduce me to her 18 year old friend. I didnt end up going home with her, but instead took her sister, whom she introduced me to shortly after meeting her. This kind of introduction happened to me twice in Fortaleza. It seems that many of the garotas here know each other, and once they discern they're not going to be going home with you, will try to point you toward a friend (or in this case, a sister). At least this was the case in my limited experience here.

In Africas and the other Fortaleza clubs, it seems $R100 for all night is the going rate, although like everywhere else, there are some girls who will ask for and even insist upon more. I dont recall the exact drink prices here, but they did not seem exhorbitant, esp compared to Rio prices. Age range seems to be 18 to early 30s. Its advisable to check IDs or stay in a hotel that does it for you, as some of the girls here look younger than the legal age.

Mangoman
Can you compare selection of garotas with Rio, looks, racial divide?
In Sao Paulo for example, there were less mulattas. Garotas were not as hardbodies as in Rio but they still work out over there.
Also did you look into day time activities, sauna or the beach?
Thanks

Athos:

Short answer, I don't think you'd be happy in Fortaleza (no loiras, among other things). Then again, you are more picky than most.

BS

Athos,

I did spend some time at both Praia Meireles and a Saturday afternoon at Praia Futuro. Hagin at Sunflower Inn had recommended Itaparika at the far end of Futuro as a good pick up spot, but I didnt have much luck. That day there was a youth festival sponsored by a local high school, and while there was plenty of scantily dressed teen eye candy, I dont even think about hitting on anyone that young! Maybe I hit Futuro on a bad day, as others have reported more success there. But then I was handicapped by a serious lack of language fluency. The beach cafes along Praia Meireles seem to have some action around sun down. I noticed wome lucky guys picking out some winners there, but all I got was one over the hill hard looking garota trying to pick me up very persistently until I convinced her (sorta) that I was waiting for meu amiga.

In terms of comparisson with Rio, I did not see the same volume of great looking chicks in Fortaleza. I prefer the tall busty types, and didnt see as many of those in Fort. I did pick up a couple of young short and curvy ones, a blonde of 18 years and a 20 year old moreno, with pretty faces and nice curves. I saw about the same proportion of mulattos as in Rio, and took a nice busty one home from Africas who spent most of the next day with me, along with her two sisters at the brasiliera beach near Hotel Beira Mar.
Im not sure what your body type preferences are, but I would guess you can find whatever you like there, it will just take a little more effort than in Rio. It seemed to me that in the nightclubs there was a larger % of less attractive garotas that you have to pick thru to get to the gems, but the gems are there. Portuguese skills definitely are more needed in Fortaleza than in Rio in order to facilitate meeting and conversing. I was at a real disadvantage in that regard, although I did ok in the short time I was there.

Mango--good to see you on here. Welcome aboard. You are twisted in just the right ways so ought to fit in nicely here.

Mangoman
Thanks for the details. I like any kind of beautiful garota.

GCL, thanks for the warm welcome. Coming from you that's a tremendous compliment, as you are a recognized expert on twistedness (among other useful subjects). When are you going back to Rio? My local monger friend wants me to go back with him in April.

it's pretty easy to find a nice girl to spend some 'quality' time with as long as you manage to speak some Portuguese, of course, because most of the girls don't speak other languages but if you want it the easy way, just go to IRACEMA Beach and wonder through the bars... Most of the Call Girls are there between 9pm and 2am. Just look at the girls walking in the streets and call the one you like... if she’s in the 'business' she will come to you and you can offer her a drink and have a nice chat... eventually she will be the one to mention a 'motel' or a 'quiet place'...

Anyway, inside some bars you will be call to the attention of some more 'expansive' girls making some naughty comments or invitations... After 2am the place to go is definitely the 'Desigual' Dancing Club! You will be amazed by the number of girls inside... most of the willing to spend some time with you... When I went there for the first time, it took me an hour to be able to talk again... There must be like 10 girls for each guy inside... Prices go up and down... from R$35 to R$200... expect to pay an average of R$50 (USD $20) plus the Motel (around R$30 for 3 hours). If you're staying in an apartment or house, you can negotiate and take her there... if you're lucky, she will stay with you for a lot more than 3 hours as long as you treat her nice... If she like's you she may even forget the money and stay with you for the fun

I wrote a maior report on Fortaleza 3 years ago and posted it on TSM.

The gist is:
the best pro action in Fortaleza is in private Casas. No tourist ever finds them. They are reasonably priced (R$ 20-70 for an hour or so, 3 years ago), very clean and nice, and girls are fairly natural and not hard core.

You find the casas in the classifieds, you can find classifieds online on the internet.

You will have to call and inquire the address. This involves work. Some taxi drivers know a few casas also.


I am not sure if the urls are still valid, give it a try

Both Newspapers, Diario and O Povo, have a big Classified insert. O Diario has a section "Termas e acompanhantes",† O Povo, has a hard to find section, too.††

http://www.opovo.com.br/ classificados, diversos,
damn, could not find escort ads here too. Seems a cleanliness campaign!!!
=====
O Dia
go to http://www.diariodonordeste.com.br/ † then classificados,† servicos profissionais,† acompanhantes

damn, I tried now, could not find any ads. Probably you still find them in the paper version
======

Funny, in Rio both O Dia and O Globo have hundreds of escort ads online.

I can see the adds here:
http://www.noolhar.com/opovo/ which is a redirect from opovo.

Scroll down to where you see KEFFLEN on the left and ALINE on the right. There are tons from here down. These are all Fortaleza numbers?

Just got back from a month long trip to Brazil, including a stop in Fortaleza and Jericoacoara. I have to say that the sex scene has changed from my last visit last year. Last year, there were a lot of girls working the Beira Mar avenue along the beach. I had an excellent threeway with two slightly above average but eager garotas.
This year, the girls were gone. The few working girls I met were being driven around by guys. The girl sat in the backseat and would blow kisses or yell Hello out the window at prospective clients. In the front were her brother (?) and his friend. Anyone crazy enough to get into that car deserves what he would get.
The two clubs that had become too open about being locations to meet a prostitute, Desigual and Zippi Bar, were both closed, and because they had become prostitute meeting spots, not due to lack of business, according to some working girls I met. They recommended visiting Cafe Del Mar in the trendy part of Iracema.
I did, but trying to figure out who was a pro, who was a part timer and who was out for a fun night was too complicated for me. The last thing I wanted was to proposition some innocent thing, only to have her boyfriend call the cops and haul my ass to jail. So I passed. But the club of choice is Pirata. They're lining up to get in, and once inside it's a mixed crowd of everything from club kids to adults to geriatrics to god knows what. What it ain't is a place to meet a prostitute. I never tried the classifieds or went looking for private sex clubs. Fortaleza seems a little too conservative and way too economically depressed to support the kind of sex scene that flourishes in Rio. Just my viewpoint. Like to hear some other's opinions.

Thanks for update but this sounds like very bad news on hobby front.

Hey Latin, what about the bar/disco Africa's?

The original Africa's was a much better "scoring" place for me than the new one.

It was the club for the "last call/score".

Africa's was there, but whether it was the old or new, I can't say. To be honest, I don't really remember it from last year, but I think it was in the same place. I didn't really notice a lot of people going in or out, though I heard loud music. I never went in. Meant to, but never did. The scene is definitely at Pirata. In fact, whoever owns it has done such a massive marketing campaign that there is even a display case on the upper level of airport departure building in Fortaleza, staffed by two girls, with a replica of a Pirate's boat, and Pirata t-shirts and other promo gimmicks for sale.
Hope that helps.

I'm sad to hear about the demise of Desigual. It was still hopping when I was there last November. At that time, it seemed pretty much every girl in Del Mar was on the program. I was propositioned by several, before settling on one my first trip there. Next time I made eye contact with a cute 18 year old who immediately responded with a smile, and got her English speaking girlfriend to translate for us. I just assumed they were all program girls and didnt hesitate to approach any who caught my eye.

I also had good success in Africas. Waitress there tried to set me up with her friend, who then introduced me to her older more attractive sister, who spend the night and most of the next day with me. I wonder if the scene in Del Mar and Africas has changed that much since I was there. I noticed the same lack of scene on Beira Mar that Latinleif bemoans. Also had no luck at Praia Futuro.

Cecilia from Del Mar

Photo: Cecilia

01

My gfe from Africas. I'm sure she was disappointed in the demise of Desigual, since it was one of her favorite dance spots. We went there after meeting at Africas.

Photo: GFE From Africas

01

Spending a week in Fortaleza and after the first night I am really looking forward to the rest of the week. Being low season it feels like I am the only one tourist around. Afrikas is defintely the place to go. Last night (Tuesday) there was about 5 girls for every guy and the place was packed upstairs and down. Many 8's and 9's with one blonde ten that barely made it through the door before she was gobbled up. Only bad thing is there were a lot of young girls. Not illegal but I like them in the mid or upper 20's.

I was quoted $100 reais by each girl which if I probably wanted to negotiate I probably could have. I though that was a bargain for all night. I just hope it stops raining as it has for the last 2 days. But it's not raining in my hotel room.

Red:

Enjoy! Unfortunately, it won't really stop raining untill July, but as you said, for indoor activites, who cares? R$100 is great and you can certainly beat them down a bit.

How's the street action along Avenida Abolicao? Fortaleza is one of the few places in Brazil where the street girls are actually decent. Of course, it's the same girls as in the bars, so you may as well stay dry. But if you want a change of pace (and the street scene is still on, AND you speak at least a bit of portuguese), try the hole-in-the-wall bars along Abolicao (behind the Othon and westwards), that's were the girls hang out when they're not cruising the pavement. Buy them a drink and chat them up, 10-11PM is a good time to try. In case you haven't read it yet, I did a Fortal trip report back in September.

Did Desigual really close up? Too bad if it did... Oh well, still plenty of garotas. And there's a good cigar store/bar right around the block from it - Cafe Havanna, a big orange house on the corner. The lunchonete across the street from Havana (next to the telefonica) is also good for getting GP's in the afternoon - there's usually a few there having an early dinner before hitting the streets. Can't imagine what the hell else there is to do in Fortaleza during the daytime if it's raining - you may as well grab a girl or three and do an all-day at one of the motels ;-)

Enjoy!

BS



(Message edited by badseed on April 02, 2003)

Redblood,I never noticed that there was an upstairs in Africas. I guess my eyes never aclimated enough to the low light to notice. Is Desigual still closed down? What about Del Mar Cafe?

I'm puzzled as to why Desigual would be closed just because it's a meeting place for whores and their customers. I thought mongering was legal in Brazil as long as no pimps were involved.

Badseed, wish I had talked to you before I went to Fortaleza. It sounds like you know all the right places. I was pretty much confined to the above mentioned three bars (although I did ok from those).

Mango:

Thanks for the compliment, but there really aren't all that many place TO know in Fortaleza. For such a large city, the main "scene" is really pretty small. It's still a great city for mongering, though.

As for Desigual, I wouldn't be suprised if their closing is seasonal. It was closed for a while last year too, and April-June is very much low season in Ceara.

BS

Desigual is closed and I need to ammend my earlier post. I took a girl out of Africas too early the other night. Well, I went back and the place started dying down around 1:30 AM. I found out why, everyone was at Cafe De Mar. Damn there are some cuties in Fortaleza. This has got to be the best time to go to Fortaleza as there are hardly any guys around. I practically have to beat them off with a stick. The scene in the outside of Cafe del Mar reminds me of outside of Help. But everyone goes in and out as there is no cover charge.

I picked up a 22 year old ´secretary` trying to make some money on the side. I couldn´t believe the passion in this girl. She fucked like her life depended on it. Her (and mine) favorite position was with me standing on the bed fucking her against the wall. I swear the people next door had to freak out as I kept accidently banging my head against the wall every so often.

Yikes!

Tommorrow it´s back to Rio for a month and I don´t know when I will get any rest.

Redblood

Redblood
a month in Rio? Holy shit, I started to run out of bullets and energy after 3 weeks on my last trip. I got desensitized, unless girl offered licking my ass and anal, I was not into it.

DAMN RB, I've been to all the clubs except for Cafe de Mar. You have me thinking of changing my quick four night trip to Brasil? Was going to spend two & two in SP and Rio. Now I'm trying to decide if it will be worth the almost 4 hour flight up to FOR and another four back down?

Hope you got some rest on your flight to Rio.
Obrigado for the info, sf4dfish

Fortaleza is a lot cheaper than Rio for Garotas. All girls quote $R100 for the night and I know I could of haggled with all of them. They are a lot younger if you can handle that. I prefer mid to late twenties but I´m not complaining. This 18 year old came up to me and just started dancing with me. She asked how old I was and when I told her 44 she that´s a perfect age because all of the young guys don´t know how to fuck. Where else in the world would a hooker say something like that!

Redblood
Can you compare selection with Rio? I was in Curitiba and Porto Alegre and I thought selection was a bit off compared to SP and Rio. Also have you been to Salvador and Recife?

athos,

girls in the fort are also not up to the rio/sp standards, then agian, where else in the world are they? on the other hand, girls are way sweeter and much more likely to hang with you as long as you want them to. i came across no hardcore pros in my 4 days there. just not the quanity that you will find in rio. prices are also much cheaper, with 100reals being the most you will ever have to pay. and thats without negotiating.
sorry i missed you in rio. i left a message at your hotel, but as usual, i was running around like a fool. one of these days.......

Athos:

Ditto. Selection is nowhere near SP/Rio, but what do you expect? All the best girls from all over Brazil eventually wind their way down to Rio/SP. What's left is catching one on the way "up" or making do with the local talent.

BS

Mongers, I remember paying max, 30 reais for late night pick-up's at the old Africa's. Three, four year's ago. "Inflation" (grin).

Badseed,

how common do you think it is to find a stunner (or at least a real cute one) on the way "up" in fortaleza before heading to Rio/SP?

my opinion is that most of the really good looking girls from throughout brazil don't hook in their home towns. too many people that know them. so they go to the anonymity of rio and sp to get on the program.

i met an undercover monger the other day and he didn't like fortaleza...but of course, because we were in the presence of females, i couldn't openly ask him about pussy quality. i knew he was a monger cuz he said he's been going to brazil for the last 10 years, travels by himself, loves Rio, and has been to Recife, Fortaleza, SP, and is teaching himself Portuguese. heh heh...it's like a checklist.

Bomboa:

It's like panning for gold. In Fortaleza, you have to go through more pans of gravel to get to the gold than in, say, Rio, but the gold is there all the same. The quality of the gold really depends on individual taste, I was pretty happy in Fortal and never went hom eempty-handed, but everyone has their standards (I like them to have a killer attitude and a great ass, otherwise I'm not too picky, all girls look about the same when you're staring down at the top of their heads....).

As for not hooking in their hometowns, true. but most girls in Fortal are from the interior, so they're already far from their hometown, plus FOrtaleza is a big city, anonymity is not hard to find.

Anyway, personally, I think it's worth the trip, but make sure to pick the right season (right now it's raining like crazy)

BS

BS,

I was just surfing around a crappy Fortaleza Yahoo club, and spotted a few photos of a chick a guy picked up there (she was apparently born in Belem however) Wow! She was a morena stunner...if Fortaleza is filled with girls like her, I may just retire in Fortaleza and fish for a living.

I'm really into morenas with nice dark tanned bodies and mind boggling bundas, so it seems like Fortaleza looks solid.

I'm really beginning to think and feel like a stressed out Paulistanto, so saving up for a Fortaleza condo is looking VERY inviting to me.

As long as Italian/Germans don't flood the city cand ruin things, Fortaleza sounds like it could be a smaller version of Rio. I regret not flying up there from Sao Paulo during Carnaval. Am making plans to spend a few weeks there right now.

Bomboa:

Coupla answers to your questions, a coupla observations.

Yeah, I joined that silly FortalezaFans egroup too, goddamn Dutchman.... The spinner stepping out of the shower is Camilla Sarabia, yet another Brazilian minor model, and the photo is from a magazine (anyway who the hell gets out of the shower with lipstick on?).

Nevertheless, Fortaleza is a great spot for morenas/mullatas/negras, tans, and nice bundinhas are everywhere. Check out yahoo brazil's personals pages:
http://yahoo.parperfeito.com.br/
You have to register, etc, etc, but that's no problme if you can read portuguese. Search for 18-24 year-olds from Ceara, that'll give you a good idea of local talent - non-pro anyway.


Hehehe, Sampa certainly IS stressful. Mind you , I like visitin but wouldn't want to live there (same goes for RIo, really). You know the worst thing about Sao Paulo? No matter how far away you go to "get away from it all", you still are surrounded by Paulistas! Anywhere that's within weekend reach to go, is within reach for the other 16 million paulistas....

As for floods of foriegners, it comes and goes. Obviously, it's within easier reach for Europeans than for Americans. In 3 weeks I spent there, I met mebee 3 Americans - and two were semi-permanently retired there, so that left just one who was actually vactioning. The three main "species" of Euros I ran into are Italians, Italians, and Italians (couldn't help myself.. acutally there are lots of visiting Germans, Dutch, and especially Portuguese, with some English and French thrown in... even met a fair number fo Canadians). The Italians, as usual, are obnoxious, unbearable, and tend to take over the entire mongering scene. BUT.. they come in seasons - August (college vacations) is the worst - the locals even call it "Italian Month". Fortunately, the mere fact that you are NOT Italian will get you brownie poitns with the locals, so it's not really that bad (and I had no problem pulling chicks, just had to elbow past some Italians - being 6'2", 220 lbs, shaved bullet-headed Kraut sure helps in those situations! Didja hear about why Pope John Paul II raised all the urinals in Vatican City by 3 inches? He wanted to keep the italians on their toes!). The Germans, Dutch, and Brits supposedly invade in December/January but are not so all-pervasive (try Recife if you want to see a German invasion!). And the French and especially Candians are relatively easygoing (and the Brits I met were too busy soaking up the "smashing scenery", "brilliant culture", etc, to realize that they were surrounded by easy pussy). Prices spike a bit during the Italian Month, but nto too bad, and if you've set yourself up with a "steady", remind her that YOU will still be there afer August, as opposed to the greezers and Krauts.

Speaking of seasons, things really are seasonal in Fortaleza. AS I wrote before, in May it RAINS. The town empties out, half the boates just close down, the garotas go home to Mom, and the town is pretty dead. I think that this is why you get such mixed reiews about Fortaleza - depends on the season. (BTW, I've read the bootsnall guide you mentioned - excellent report! The Nissei guy is full of shit). December, Jaunuary, February, Early March is high season, Brazilina summer.. lots of southern Brazilians visitng, although it's not the best weather (one day good, next day bad). Late March, April, May, Early June means rain, the worst in May. The rest of the year has FANTASTIC weather - hot but not too much, rains only at night or early morning, blue skies, etc, but now the "excitement" of Fortaleza depends on external factors - June/early July is Brazilian mid-winter holiday so you'll get another flurry of SOutherners. August is Italian month, like I said. September, October, Novemebr, most of December is pretty dead for tourists, no-one has holiday, but the local scene is fine. All the locals I spoke with prefer this last half of the year, less crazies, but not totally morto. Who knows, you'll have to visit several times to figure it out, I guess. I just know that I went in August and had no real problems (easy enough to get away from the Italians), and I've lived in Recife which has a similar seasonality, and except for April/May, any season is fine. As for the rainy season - avoid it if you can - it's a monsoon. Imagine it raining so hard that you can't see across the street or hear yourself think, and then doing that for two months straight with no break.... Then it slacks off to a steady downpour for a few more weeks - no thanks!

Beachfront, Classe-A real estate is not all that cheap in Fortaleza. First of all, the main beach area (of which I'm blanking on the name, it' sin my Fortaleza trip report) is wall-to-wall condos and hotels, so expect to buy an expensive (US$100K+) condo. then again, go a few blocks back and prices are more down to earth. One of the American expats I met bought a very nice-sized HOUSE for about US$20K, a decent neighborhood but nowehere near the beach. he showed me phots, I like the house, so who knows? Another option are the apart-hotels (flats), a block off the beach they'll run you US$30/night for long-term, not at all a bad alternative.

Another option (probably the ideal solution if youare goign to actually LIVE there) is any one of a zillion beach "suburbs" of Fortaleza - i.e. get a place within an hour's drive up or down the beach. Much cheaper, and you can always arrange a flat in Fortal itself to stay in for when you don't feel like "commuting" or are too drunk/late/all fucked out to drive.

As for nightlife, Fortaleza actually has plenty - mostly because that IS all there is to do (dance and drink... there are way too many lushes in town). one interesting factor is that each night of the week has one (sometimes two) hot, "IN" spots to be, and essentially the same crowd (of several thousand) gravitate to each spot on each night. Then again, it's nice to know that if I want to dance untill dawn on a Monday night, there's a hip place to do it.

Again, personally, I don't like the big party scenes, it's the little nightclub with a good jazz guitarist, me and a few friends and a Puro or two that I like. I didn't find that in Fortaleza, of course I wasn't particualarly looking for it.

To sum up, go visit Fortaleza (even though the flights Sampa-Fortal are pretty exepnsive!). Form your own opinion, spend a few weeks there, for god's sake go up and down the coast some - go see Canoa Quebrada, Jericoacoara, maybe even go into the interior. Fortaleza is great, but more as a jumping off point to all the other fantastic places in Ceara (bring your own babe, of course). Which means that you have to be somewhat of a "nature freak" - in other words, if a beautiful beach doesn't attract you for it's own sake, then maybe you should just stayin the Sampa/Rio area. Personally, I think the trip is well worth it. Wether I'd want to live there any extensive time is another story, jury is still out.

BS

Thanks BS for a very informative summary on the seasonality of Fortaleza. It's been on my wish list for a while but have heard mixed reports a lot of which is explained by the above.

Interested to hear your opinions on Italians and I thought it was just me. Europeans go on about the Ugly American abroad, and yes the US has its assholes just like EVERY other nationality. However, I have never met any nation that uniformly manages to piss off locals, chicas and other tourists alike like the Italians. Seems to apply in Cuba, Rio and now Fortaleza. Over the years I've enjoyed beers with mongers from many nationalities and backgrounds but not one Italian. I have on the other hand "enjoyed" plenty of experiences of Italian rudeness and loudness.

Rant over, I think I'd better give Fortaleza a miss in Aug.

Glad I could be of help, sorry about all the typos, I'm a lousy typist. Go to Fortaleza in September, it' probably the best month. But the Italian invasion isn't really all that bad, they are generally pretty dumb and move in herds - Praia do Futuro during the day, Ponte dos Ingles/Iracema area (main mongering area, unfortunately) at night. Go in, grab your garota and leave and you avoid the Italians.

Anyway I think that the problem is not so much being Italian (some of my best friends are pasta-swilling wops!) as being dumb college kids/early 20's punks. For some reason, Italian spring-break pimply idiots go to Brazil and Cuba instead of Ft. Luaderdiddle, Cancun, Blackpool, Ibiza, Malaga, etc, like their American, British, German, and French equivalents do. So actually, maybe they're not so dumb after all, wouldn't you rather have spent your misguided youth in Rio or Habana?

That being said, they're still obnoxious, loud, arrogant, stupid, and throw their money around like drunken sailors...

BS

BS,

Thanks for the great post. That was definitely superb intel on Fortaleza. As you can imagine, I am wracking my brains trying to find a spot that is both affordable and has a lively garota scene, along with some of the more modern amenities that Rio and Sampa offers. I am relatively young to be thinking about retirement, but hey, at least it gives me a dream to shoot and work for.

Sampa is just too depressing for me, as I work there a lot and get tired of the oppressive high rise buildings. But I have have to say, there are a lot of non-pro garotas to be had. I am thinking hard about Rio as a place to buy a place in once I save up some money, but then again, I feel like every monger and his cousin wants to buy a place there...so chances are I can kiss anything beach-side good bye. Even a few blocks off the beach in areas like Ipa or Leblon will probably be outrageously priced.

So unless I suck it up and pay Rio prices, I guess I am left with places like Fortaleza, Porto Alegre, Curitiba, etc.

Which brings me to my next question...do you think carioca girls are overrated in terms of being "easy" to pick-up? I've travelled a lot throughout Brazil, and haven't had significantly more success picking up girls in Rio than in other parts of Brazil. But then again, I've never lived in Rio so it's hard to tell I guess.

The most redeeming aspects of Rio are the termas in my opinion. Plus, it seems like a lot of newbies from Espirito Santo and the interior head to Rio to get on the program, so it has a nice influx of talent.

As for the Italians...

Extremely annoying, fairly arrogant, and they're like dogs in heat when they see a program girl. I think it's because the Italian girls rarely give up their pussy to the guys, so they have a lot of pent-up energy. I ran into an older Italian monger, and he was a complete jack-ass. He would speak mediocre Portuguese with a godawful Italian accent, and thought he was the shit.

By the way, are you saying that Camilla (from the crappy Fortaleza club) is not really a program girl he picked up from there?

If so, then that would be VERY DISAPPOINTING.

BS,

You seem to know your stuff on Brazil. If you decide that Fortaleza is good enough to live inlong-term, then I'm starting the Bomboa Fortaleza Housing Retirement fund tomorrow. If you give the thumbs down to Forta, then I continue on my search. heh heh

The sampling of non-pros revealed nice lookers. Not the place for blondes obviously, but you can always jet down to RS for that I imagine.

Bomboa:

1) Camilla is not a program girl, the Dutch guy grabbed her photo from some site. Fucking cloggies...

2) Ha! Don't look at me for retirement ideas, I just report what I see. Go to Fortaleza and check it out yourself.

As for blondes in Ceara, there's enough girls coming up from the South to visit that should keep you busy. Then there's always peroxide....

Seriously, I met a Belgian chick who was out of this world. Unfortunately, we were both already hooked up so things didn't move beyond winks, nudges, and a quiet (but fun) little get-together when our respective "other halves" were looking the other way. Sigh......

BS

BS,

Damn that Dutch site for getting me excited about Fortaleza...so you think quality like her will be difficult to find amongst the program girls there?

Aside from pussy quality, my only concern is whether Fortaleza is just too small to keep me entertained. Although as you said...the night life does seem lively there.

Right now, I am debating between Rio (Leblon; $$$) vs Fortaleza (cheaper) for a place to buy in the next couple of years. The nice thing about SP is that you can just make monthly payments to the builder and buy a pretty nice condo. The bad thing about SP is that it is in SP. I would be paying for space in a concrete jungle.

Might have to suck it up and go for Rio, if my trip to Fortaleza proves disappointing.

Bomboa:

You are forgetting that Brazil is a HUGE place. From what I've been reading from you, you're looking for a place with good nightlife, pretty non-pros to pick up, lucious pros for when you want to really party, relatively cheap and a nice beach somewhere nearby. Holy crap, there's dozens of spots.

Let's get the pro issue out of the way first - ALL towns in Brazil have prostitution, the raggediest little cowtown I've been in has some doable chick who's happy to earn a bit of cash. Quality is, of course, another matter, but as I keep saying and writing, once she's down on her knees "taking care of you", the tops of their heads all look the same. However, believe me, any major city in Brasil has it's fair share of stunners that are hooking - they may not be falling into your lap like in Rio, but you'll find them... patience, my friend. As for prices, Rio and Sao Paulo are more expensive, but the "filet mignon" in Fortaleza, for instance, try to charge Rio prices (fortunately, filet mignon in Fortaleza costs as much as hamburger in Rio, so it all balances out). OK, enough with the degrading meat comparisons, I'm sure ClubHombre's PC patrol will soon flame my ass... SUffice to say, you'll be well provided for wherever you decide to settle down - and you'll find as good as the girl on the Dutch site.

So, fair-sized beach towns with good weather and good prices - Vitoria, Salvador, Recife (I don't like the in-town beaches, but the ones up and down the coast are great, other than that, the scene is great, prices are good, and the nightlife is fantastic), maybe Florianopolis (great beaches, it does get cold in the winter, good nightlife, plenty of college girls, somewhat lacking in pro scene, but where there's a will, there's a way). Smaller towns, with al the advangtages and disadvantages - Boicungaga in Sao Paulo State, Ubatuba mebee, Parati in Rio, Porto Seguro/Trancoso in Bahia is fantastic, Itacare, my favorite but probably too small for you, Natal is a state capital but kinda dead, Seregipe state anywhere (it's such a small state, everything is an hour's commute from the state capital). Hell, maybe even Sao Luis in Maranhao fits the bill.

My point is, do some exploring before coming to any conclusions! Fortaleza is great, but at least check out Vitoria, Recife, and Salvador. And as much as we all love mongering, there's more to life, keep in mind all the other options and posibilities!

As for the monthly condo payments, that' show real estate is done ALL OVER Brasil. If you want to buy a condo in FOrtaleza on a payment plan, no problem. BTW, since you're interested in realestate, there's this bridge in Brooklin Novo I can sell you....

;-)

BS

BomBoa,

If my vote matters, I suggest stick with Rio. You have the best of both worlds in Leblon. Just wait/hope until the Real's falls back to the high three's and get in there....


CN

BS,

Thanks for the nice info. I've actually done a bit of travelling, but not too much on the coast. For example, I did not think Recife was anything special, and certainly, the pro scene there was a bit lacking (I was there in August).

What's your evaluation of Espirito Santo and Porto Seguro? I know I've met some really fantastic looking girls from ES, so I've always been meaning to get there. A gaucho once told me that ES is one of the prettiest cities he's been to, outside of Fortaleza. The crime rate there seems a bit disturbing, and if memory serves me right, that's where the police death squads were strong and organized. On the plus side, I'm running into a lot of escort sites for ES, and remember a GP telling me that she used to charge 80-100R in ES (immediately raised to 150-200R once she arrived in Rio).

Porto Seguro sounds a bit small and touristy, but perhaps I am wrong. After all, a Bahian taxi driver once told me in Sao Paulo that Porto Seguro is paradise (for both scenery and women). Who knows.

CN, I love Leblon. I love the clubs there, I love the hot little girls that frequent places like Melt and People, and I love being able to walk around on the beach one minute, and hit the cafes and restaurants of Ipanema the next. I have some concern that part of Rio is becoming way too overexposed, and for lack of another example, is becoming the "Fisherman's Wharf" (a la San Francisco) of Brazil. A complete and utter tourist trap with an ecosystem that thrives on separarting people from their money. Maybe I am being overly paranoid, but I see Copa, and that's not a place I'd want to buy a place in and live.

In any case, many thanks BS for the info. Are you a Brazuca?

Err...I meant Vitoria in Espirito Santo of course.

Kind of a small city though...only about 300k people?

My dreams about Fortaleza are really starting to spin out of control. Probably building up my expectations too high.

Bomboa:

Vitoria is supposed to be very nice, I've never been in the city itelf, just the outskirts. My cousin lives there and likes it a lot, though. I'm Brazilian-American-Guacho-German... born in the USA to a German father who spent 25 years in Brazil and a Brazilian mother who is from Brazil's German community - all in Porto Alegre, of course. So I'm a mutt

Fortaleza is a more cosmopolitan version of Recife, which ain't saying much... How long ago did you visit Recife? It's changed a LOT in the last 15 years. I lived there in the early 90's and it was a slum-by-the-sea, I've visited since and it's much improved... Porto Seguro is somewhat of a tourist trap, it's up and down the coast from there that's truly beautiful, however if you dislike small towns, then forget it.

As I've writen, the only way to really know is to visit - go to Fortaleza, hang out few days, wander up and down the Ceara coast and then decide if you'd like to spend serious time and money there. It definitely does not have the fabled carioca "praia, calcadao, e botequim" lifestyle, so if that is what attracts you to Rio, stay in Rio. It's more like any other provincial city in Brazil, with some nice ammenties, relatively clean and safe, pretty girls,and some great beaches. YMMV.

Abraco,

BS

BS,

Wow, a Brazuca Gaucho Alemao...what a combo. You must have had the Brazilian girls chanting your name up and down the coast over the years!

I like the cosmopolitan version of Recife description...since when I saw Recife, I was thinking how sad and puny it looked compared to the magnificence of Rio. I'll definitely give Fortaleza a whirl, and see what I think. If all else sucks, as long as the garota quality is good, I'll be a very happy man.

I am forced to spend the next couple of months back in LA due to work...and am really startin go miss Brazil. I went to a bar today, and though it was filled with Mexican latinas, it seemed a sad, pathetic version of Brazil. Caraca!

:-) Nothing worse than Brasil withdrawal.... at least you have a job that gets you to Brasil a lot, so don't complain!

You'll like Fortaleza. Whether you'll want to actually live there is another story. As your Fortal trip gets closer, drop me a line and I'll give you names of hotels, etc.

"Chanting my name"? Cursing it, maybe.... However, I will reveal to you that I hold the South American Long Jump Out the Back Window while Pulling My Pants On Championship. More than one angry husband has unloaded their firearms in my general direction - fortunately Brazilians can't aim worth shit, especially at night....

Ahn, the good old days!

BS

P.S. After you hit the ground - running of course - always jink hard to the right or left. Just a word to the wise.... ;-)

(Message edited by badseed on May 02, 2003)

I've been surfing through the pathetic Fortaleza Yahoo club put up by the dunkin dutchman from WSG (Johan), and have to say it's the worst monger "site" I've ever seen. It's filled with Spanish guys who like banging tranvestites, pics of european porn being passed off as Fortaleza sex pics, and photos of girls that would make me return to my days of high school track & field and sprint/hurdle away in fear.

Nevertheless, I located a guy who appears to be a reputable real estate broker in Forta, so I'm heading over there to check out the local females and potential buys. BS is right. If you move away from the beach, you can get property for REAL CHEAP. Anything modern and near the beach starts getting to be SP prices...I got quotes for 1.5 million reais on some of them!

Anyone know if Desigual and Zippo are still closed?