Morning Ritual – It’s Tuesday morning and I’m awaken by the sunshine filling my room feeling its gentle nudging as if it didn’t want me to waste another sleeping minute in Rio . I get up to get ready. For the past two mornings, I’ve been taking chilly showers, which really shocked my body. Fortunately BS is awake and I ask him if hot water was available. Well what do you know, the plug for the water heater wasn’t in and the switch was off. He makes the necessary adjustments and from then on, nice warm showers. Later, I head to the supermercado and decided to get some tasty tropical goods. Bought 2 buns, a carton of coconut milk, mango, bananas, and a box of 3 papayas. I had to actually ask about the price of the papayas and it went well. The papayas cost only 4 reais, what a great deal! Here, it would have cost me 3-4 times for the papayas, so I was happy with the deal. My ritual of fresh fruits and coconut juice/milk in the morning would prove surprisingly beneficial as you will see later on.

Exploring Rio – After breakfast, I head to AT to meet up with my tour guide, Rogerio. I was excited in having my own tour guide to show me around. I meet up with him. I get to know him and he is a family man, good-natured, down-to-earth, intelligent, fluent in English, and of course Brazilian Portuguese. Best of all, he is a "Carioca da Gema" from the yolk; from the heart of this amazing city. After our greetings, we head out. The first I noticed was that the traffic direction had changed. Apparently, Atlantico, changes direction to accommodate the traffic towards o Centro. Forgot the times but I think it switches back at 10 AM. What would happen if you’re driving then all of a sudden it changes…hmmmm. As he’s driving, Rogerio explains the history of Brazil and how the neighbourhoods were formed. Very enlightening. After a few minutes, he gets a call. Apparently, Gr8tr wanted to go to. Sure, no problem, the more the merrier. We swing around back to pick him up. Throughout the tour we got a chance to step out of the car and take some pics and see the place first-hand. To summarize this day, we went all over Rio de Janeiro. Starting at Copacabana beach then Ipanema, Leblon, Barra da Tijuca(new neighborhood), the Tunay waterfall inside the biggest urban forest in the world "Tijuca forest", the mountain of Corcovado to see statue of Christ. Throughout, day Rogerio is providing excellent commentary as well as other side stories. He had met my expectations.

In the afternoon, we had more to go but Gr8tr had a prior engagement. We took him back to the neighbourhood and we settle for $70 USD each. We decided that it was a good time to eat lunch. We go to one of those “weigh the food” buffet type of places and I treat us to a good meal and conversation. Did you know that the deserts and more expensive than the other food? Sugar must be expensive in Rio. We start talking about other things and I find out that he works at AT sometimes. Also, he’s taken clients to the Termas as well and known in there too. I jokingly tell him about my “Gozar en sua boca” dilemma and I’m supposed to meet Paula today at Luomo. He says he knows her and says she’s wild. Great, another confirmation. My afternoon is looking good. As it starts to rain we cut our tour short and decide to complete it Friday morning. As we had back to the neighbourhood, he goes beyond the call of duty. He calls up Luomo to see what time Paula works just for me. They notify him that she works around 5:00PM. We’re doing good time and the buildup is making me anxious. As we say our goodbyes for now, we confirm to complete the tour Friday but to give him a reminder Thursday. It was great to see and appreciate Rio in its beauty and history in a more inncocent way, or non-safado way. I was in good hands with Rogerio.

Club Hombre Works Again – Before heading to Luomo, I head back to my room to make sure I have everything I need. Before I leave, I decided to check my Club Hombre account to see if I had any updates from other members that had contacted before heading to Rio. I had no way of getting a hold of them because I didn’t have contact numbers. I sign in and I get a message from Nellie. Perfect, he’s in town and has provided his cell number. It would be great to hook up with another member because it’s always a different adventure. Everyone has a unique set of interests, characteristics, and goals. With this said, it’s always a different path of events from one person to another and that makes life interesting. Life right now is in Rio, time to give buddy a call. I call Nellie and was fortunate to get a hold of him. We chat a bit because I was eager to head off to Luomo and wanted to get Paula fresh before any other client. We plan to meet later in the evening and hang out and take it from there. Wish I had the opportunity to see the other guys who contacted me but maybe next time. Let the fun continue…

Keeping My Wits – I leave the penthouse and head over to Alcazar. Crossing the street and getting to Alcazar has always kept me on guard. The main fact is that I’m a tourist and more susceptible to being victimized. Thanks to CH’s members, we learn to keep our guard up. I get to Alcazar and see Don and Pappasurf. Since I had missed the tour to Terma 65, a place I wanted to visit since I read good things about it, I try to find out what the agenda was on for tonight. They tell me that they were going to do the all you can eat Sushi at the Marriot (I believe that’s where it was) @7:00PM. That sounds like a doable plan so I call up Nellie to see if he’d like to join. He agrees and we decide to hook up after Luomo before heading to Marriot. Since I was going solo, I consult with Don one final time. He tells me to ask for ‘Pauloma’ because that is her stage name and Paula is her real name. “Pauloma”, got it! Since there weren’t any taxis around I ask whether I should just hail a taxi. He says that he had a guy handy and points to a yellow car. However, it did not have a taxi indicator on the hood. Hmmmm, Spidey Sense tingling. I ask Don why it didn’t have the indicator on top and expalins that the driver’s car was being repaired. The driver was just in the restroom and should be out soon. A few seconds passed and I see an unshaven ‘slim shady’ character coming out of the restaurant. My Spidey Sense gets stronger. Don then notifies me that that was the driver coming out now. Being in a major financial institution where my position requires being detailed oriented and effective communication a requirement, I ask Don if we should confirm the price before he takes me to Luomo. He says something along the lines, “nah, don’t worry, he won’t screw you. It should be 8 reais.” I say “OK”, but despite this reassurance, it doesn’t really make me feel any more relieved. I’m not letting my defenses down.

I see slim shady talk with Don and Don advises that I needed a ride to Luomo. Driver and I head to the so-called taxi and get in. I was looking on the dashboard to see if his car had a meter at least. Nada, or it wasn’t turned on! My Spidey Sense is in the red now and I’m thinking, “Buddy better not try anything stupid or else Don would know about it.” As we’re heading to Luomo, we small talk while at the same time feeling a uneasy. My first time heading off on my own away from the neighbourhood and things can be unpredictable. My S/S is working really well and trying to caution me…at this point, I didn’t want to believe my intuitive side. Especially at a Terma and not knowing Portuguese, who was going assist me? I was on my own. We arrive in front of the mall where Luomo’s located. I ask the driver how much. He replies, “$20R or $10R.” At that point, I’m terribly disappointed at him but not surprised. 20 to 10 reais, too big of a range. He had just screwed himself. If he had said 10 reais, I would have agreed since I remember that it wasn’t that much from my first trip Sunday and confirmed by Don. I take out some money and hand him $9 reais which seemed fair. I bid him farewell knowing that he would not be a beneficiary of my ridership again.

The Mix-Up in Luomo – I’m navigating through the mall to Luomo based on my recollections of Sunday’s visit. I manage to get there unscathed and was proud of myself. I enter Luomo and greet the ladies at the front desk. I ask them if ‘Pauloma’ was working right now to possibly catch her and greet me right away before getting taken. I only had an hour and a bit to session then hook with Nellie and the guys for some sushi. Speaking of sushi, I was trying to get my own fresh and prepared to eat right now and she’s expecting me too ;o) I see both ladies looking puzzled at the computer monitor. Now this scene definitely does not look good especially when they can’t come up with an answer about their ladies right away. The English speaking one turns to me and says that there’s no Pauloma. I reply by stating that I was referred by Don and that she’s also expecting me. Then the other says, while still fixed on the monitor, “There’s Paulimo.” I say, “Paulimo? You sure there’s no Pauloma?” Here I am questioning these front desk attendants on their garota inventory. It might be a spelling error, no? They reply, “We’re sure. We only have Paulimo.” Not wanting to waste anymore time and I can’t prove them wrong, we come to an understanding, “Yeah, probably it’s Paulimo and not Pauloma. They sound similar so it might be that. It’s all right, I’ll go inside and ask for her. Obrigado.” Just leaving the front and heading to my robe and slippers provided a temporary dip in the relief zone, just like a stock taking a quick dip in price (price correction) to shake some small investors’ stops. I was on a mission. Quick change of wardrobe and off for a quick shower to freshen up, which I needed after a long tour of Rio earlier on. Before I round the corner to the showers, I see this same pretty, sexy, short haired, slim, fit garota. It was like déjà vu! She was dancing the same curvy sexy snake-like way, wearing the same bikini, and at the same spot. Guess she really wanted to get noticed. For only a few seconds, I paused right before her and became her admiring lone audience. I snap out of my moment of appreciation and time was ushering on. I smile and give her an acknowledging “Hi” on my way. I love their shower room – decent showers, plenty of clean towels and mini soaps, and best of all, free toothbrush and toothpaste. I freshen up and brush my teeth for good measure for my garota of the hour. Back to the boite…

I head to the boite a bit fidgety, or was my Spidey Sense in overdrive right now? I needed Paulimo or Paula asap. Damn, there a lot of cuties and beauties in here but no time for lusting, I’m on a mission. I do a quick scan of the room for her but how the heck would I know how she looked liked? I was trying to go by description. I was really hoping for a miracle - she’d just pop out of nowhere and say, “Ola, so you’re Dean!” Wishful thinking. The scenario is not really helping my cause either because there were several hot blonds of various degrees and Paula is a blondy. I decided to use my resourcefulness…ask the bartender. Yeah he knows everyone. I ask one bartender for Paulimo and he says he knows her. I say, “Great, can you please point her out.” He points over my right shoulder and waves someone over. I turn around and I see this tall blond greet me with a smile. We do the customary cheeky hello. I didn’t want to rush into it so I ask if she wanted a drink. She says “Sure” and also asks for cigarettes. I’m thinking , “Shit, she wants to smoke and I don’t have much time on my hands.” I consent and we finish the orders. She grabs her drink, pack of cigs, and the most important thing, my hand, then we head over to the couch for the foreplay. As we’re heading over, thoughts are running in my mind and my Spidey Sense is going frantic just like when you see the valve needle rattling in the red zone before it blows off. Something doesn’t seem right and I’m trusting my instincts. I’m totally not relaxed. I’m thinking, “This can’t be her. I was expecting a feeling of connection like meeting an old friend especially when she was expecting me based on Don’s setup. She is also too much of a smoker for me and it is turning me a bit off. Although she’s hot, she’s just not doing it for me.” We sit down and she’s warming me up – make out session, lap dance on my lap, hugs, groping. Damn I miss that shit! As she’s earning her living, I look over across and see an overweight Indian looking fella slouching as if his spine gave up. The weirdest thing about him was that he was wearing dark shades. I don’t think he wants to be identified. Besides the Bartender’s, we were the only two men in Luomo at that moment. Why weren’t the garotas jumping on him? I also catch my self peeking at the other garotas to see what they do when there aren’t any prospects around. Even when they were just chilling, they still looked cute, sexy, and so sweet and innocent in their quiet contemplative way. Funny thing, I can almost smell their sweet scent and feel their tenderness – ah, I love women. As you can tell, I’m not really paying to much attention to my garota. As my head turns back to the other fellow, I notice a fine petite tight-bodied blondy working on him. “Wow, I want her!” I immediately shake the clouds out of my head. That craving for the petite blond and the fact that I was not getting a hard on from my lap dance forced me to take measures into my own hands. I had to resolve my feelings and thoughts. I get up and excuse myself then she grabs my hand with that “Please Don’t Go” sensation. She asks me “Why are you leaving?” which I don’t blame her. I answer accompanied with sign language, “I have to make a call. I’ll be right back.” She says “OK” but I know she seems concerned. I head back to the lockers to grab my cell phone…must call Don.

To be continued...

are you talking about me above? i don't remember anything like that. must be someone else.

sorry gr8tr,got you confused with some1 else.

cheers.

D.

I'm waiting for the rest of the story. People who rely on their internal radar always fascinate me since I tend to walk into doors and have a slightly crooked nose to prove it. Good luck whatever happens.

I've been waiting for 9 days now since we were teased with Paula de Luomo.