Belem

[Jan 156]

Here's a slightly better map (you can clearly see the streets of interest marked) but I've had to cut it into four to conform with ISG uploading rules. You can print it and tape it together if needs be. (A standard instruction on how to get round this for maps would be useful - reducing photos to 640x480 doesn't affect how they look but it mostly makes street names illegible when I've done it for maps larger than a few blocks.)

7th September, Praca Bandeira and the Altas Horas / Paraiso area is in the lower left section.

With apologies to lonely planet . . .

[Prosal]

But there are many places to explore from Belem (again, for Brasil stuff, not including PDP).

I personally enjoyed a lot Mosqueiro, which is for Belenenses what Litoral Norte is for Paulistas. A great combination of natural beauty and party scene, and a cool place to kick back a few days. During dry season (June-Oct), and especially during July vacations, it fills up every weekends with all sort of meninas, from favelada to middle/upper class. Great for tail-chasing.

Anyhow thanks for the informative, elaborate and accurate reports. Belem is definitely the most captivating city in Brasil.

Too bad you didn't visit O Lapinha BTW. I would have loved to hear about the rebirth of this place which was 10/15 years ago simply one of the greatest drinking holes on earth.

[Jan 156]

at the risk of being slightly off topic, casa de show (see last para here) is one of the best places to see calypso danced both professionally (the bands use calypso dancers as their backing stage act) and socially (on the dancefloor). not all calypso music is as cheesy as banda calypso (which i also like) but seeing it danced gives a context that makes the music exciting.

the varieties of musical experience in belem are pretty awesome imho and you may want to pick up as many samples as you dare not to be confirep001ed later at customs. i could find very little legit music available in the stores. mostly you have to buy bootleg copies from the numerous street sellers in ver-o-peso. the going price for a cd is 2r and a dvd 3r. if they ask you for more, just gently inform them that the price is such-and-such, or for cds just hand them a 2r note by way of genial correction. you may want to check that you have the right cd/dvd to match the badly photocopied sleeve before you leave the stall as mistakes sometimes occur (some of the better sellers do this for you anyway unasked).

the music dvds in altas horas and particularly paraiso are a good way to find the names of acts that you like - or you could ask a garota who likes the same music and take her shopping with you.

[ButtLover]

Didn't go there but the printed card I got from a taxi driver gives Rua Santana do Aura, 6a Travessa, Casa F3 and the phone numbers as 9173-9726 and 8115 1164. I've a feeling there may be more than one branch? Santana do Aura is a lot further out than Tamoios/Breves. I also got wildly different quotes from people when asking about the price there. Some people said they'd hiked it to 200R - someone else said just talk them down to 80R.

Hi
Thank you very much for all information !
I am going to Belem one week in July,
Buttlover

[Jan 156]

I discovered that Casa da Verônica used to be 25 kilometers out of town so the original reports about the place were correct. It is the same establishment, only now relocated to the city.

The exact address is Rua dos Tamoios, 561, on the corner of Breves.

Phone is 3224 1148 and 8115 1164.

Didn't go there but the printed card I got from a taxi driver gives Rua Santana do Aura, 6a Travessa, Casa F3 and the phone numbers as 9173-9726 and 8115 1164. I've a feeling there may be more than one branch? Santana do Aura is a lot further out than Tamoios/Breves. I also got wildly different quotes from people when asking about the price there. Some people said they'd hiked it to 200R - someone else said just talk them down to 80R.

[Jan 156]

PDP
As previous posters have correctly pointed out, Belem is not a bargain for PDP. On top of which you have a hefty airfare to get there. If I fell in love with the place almost before I got there* it is for other things – yes really – of which there is much to admire. Music and cuisine to knock your socks off. Total lack of gringo culture. Closest you get to foreigners hanging out is a few Korean businessmen in Locomotiva. No English spoken anywhere. Plenty of beautiful women, just not in the prostitution trade. The PDP is quite limited – mostly not very good looking women and charging more than you would pay in a major Brasilian city. But I found a reasonable spread of types – including blonde brancas. Overall, the PDP is adequate rather than good. Belem does not suffer from the terrible prostitution problem that afflicts such getaways as Petropolis or Terasopolis: these towns have a situation similar to the one described by a famous English wit in his second letter of complaint to the constabulary of a Scottish resort. The problem there being, quite simply, that there isn't any. Belem has enough to provide relief if you are there for other 'more important' reasons. If not, stay away!

flights
One direct one a day from RJ. Several at the same price but with connections of varying length. Cheapest was GOL no-frills, 475R + tax if booked a few days in advance, which works out at around 1000R round trip. Price same whether you book online or thru a travel agent tho I went thru several travel agents who gave me three widely different ‘cheapest flight’ prices. Print out the online deal and ask them for it and go elsewhere if they don’t come through. They get a discount and hence commission from the various airlines. About three and half hours travel time. Ignored long queue for taxis at arrivals and picked one up straight away at departures. 28R into town at night.

hotels
Tried Hotel Novo Avenida first (on Pres. Vargas 404). Two tiers of rooms. Cheapest single 55R. Looked at three rooms in total and even the 85R (‘luxury’??) double room was grubby and depressing. Well overpriced. Poorly maintained (eg shower door hard to open). Mini bar in an old fridge that has seen better days. Grubby toilet roll. Mirror you could hardly see in. Threadbare towels. I don’t mind seedy, but not at non-seedy prices. This place feels like it should have been gutted and re-built many years ago. Or rented out as a slum lot.

Taxi up the road to Hotel Belem Soft (Av. Braz de Aguilar www.belemsofthotel.com.br) where, for only an extra 5R (90R a night, double room, inc b’fast) were rooms up to budget Western standards (near the standard of say, an Ibis hotel). Bright and clean, spacious, good bed, nice towels, cable TV with late night free soft porn, professional staff, very upmarket part of town with good restaurants and boutiques, wi-fi in reception lounge area. Proper plumbed hot water instead of that combination of insulating tape and temperamental glued-on water heater that passes for a shower. Cute receptionist too. No bother taking women back although it did blow my chances with her. Further to walk to the dives than Vargas hotels but worth it IMO. There are buses downtown if you don’t want to walk. Some noise from construction work but they readily gave me a new room that was quiet. Get to know the area – I found some taxi drivers not averse to going a long way round until told off lol.

Other hotels can be had very cheaply if you just want somewhere to shag a very dirty woman. Estacao on the waterfront asked for 25R for a double room and I’m sure he would have gone down.

safety
Belem is hardly a place to hang out if you don’t know Brasil a little bit and have enough street smarts to stay out of trouble. The dark alleyways in Ver-O-Peso beg have a lot of anonymous places to get up to no good. And when big strapping guys in seedy bars want to be my friend after ten minutes and invite me to their home I find I have other things in my diary that day. I have no personal experience of trouble there, but everyone gave me the same story, from Belem to Rio – Belem gangsters will not worry about hurting you or getting caught.

And just in case you thought this was another Belo Horizonte where you can hang out with the down and dirty, BH is much better for PDP and most places are better for weather. It rained every day I was there and I soon shelled out 5R for an umbrella. But there are many places to explore from Belem (again, for Brasil stuff, not including PDP).


* and I am sure I will fall quickly out of love with it as soon as there are transcontinental flights; or the jesus-god-snake-oil becomes even more oppressive than it is now.

[Jan 156]

Bereida

Only stopped in here all too briefly but will head for it in future.

Accurately described in a previous post. I got a taxi from Docas, and was treated to a lecture on how it was too dirty, too dangerous, too nasty and horrible, for anyone to want to go there. I said I agree and take me anyway.

It's actually a lot cleaner than much of Ver-O-Peso, but surrounded by no-man's land for more than a short walk. On the Guama River side of town. A series of bars with disarmingly cute local girls and burly local guys. A refreshingly different slice of life.

Independents advertise in the Classified section of the local newspaper (Olibero) of course.

[Jan 156]

Not exactly a bargain although it can be strangely addictive.

Av. P.A.Cabral 4765
Tel 3233-26-68

The price is 100R (one hour) although they ask more. I found this out from a girl I’d met there who I sessioned with in Paraiso the next day for 50R. She said don’t pay anyone more than 100R in Locomotiva. I tried the next night with the best looking girl there. She asked for 150R and I just looked at her as she was joking and told her the price was 100R. She laughed and asked if she could maybe have a tip. I think a tip is maybe better – it’s appreciated and leaves you in control.

Locomotiva is a large-ish complex that’s about 20R each way in a taxi. Yes, there’s buses, but not late at night (and many girls seem to travel there from outside Belem). Inside there’s table/waitress service for food and drinks, DJ, strip shows on a good stage, an upstairs balcony (like RJ’s ’Help’ and an outside verandah. All this, together with a set of ground floor love-motel rooms, is on the left hand side of the courtyard entrance where the taxi drops you. The outside balcony is a nice warm-up for GFE (massage her shoulders while staring at the moon lol).

On the right hand side of the courtyard is a reception and boite. This is where you pay your entrance and also book a room. Your entrance is a card that drinks and food are charged against. If you are awkward like me you can of course just pay cash as go along. And if you really want to cut the cr*p you can just go in, not buy anything, meet with the girl you fancy and go to a room. If you want a drink but don’t do alcohol, the coco juice at 2R is good value.

The rooms vary – if you don’t specify the price (easy enough – there’s a printed menu) it seems the girls will just order for you. They are quite luxuriously fitted and worth 20R (or a bit more, or a bit less). Near the end of your hour, they phone the room and ask the girl what you’ve used from the mini-bar. Your total bill is put through a cubby-hole in the wall where you also put the money (and, if they are slow with the change, kick up a fuss).

Some of the uglier girls are a bit pushy unless you are firm. You can barfine a girl (I think it was 10 or 20R) if you want to take her home.

The late-night cafe across the road sells wholesome Brasilian food (eg, meat, rice, salad, for 4R) if you don’t want the late-night (slightly overpriced but not outrageous) food in Locomotiva.

This is not really my type of place. I explained this to Rebeca – a Locomotiva girl I saw at Paraiso – it’s not just the money, it’s the pre-fabricated gestures and attitude the girls take. She understood what I meant and did her flouncy ‘Locomotiva’ impression for me in Paraiso, which was hilarious. But Locomotiva is also strangely addictive. I saw three girls in total from there and their performance was consistently good. It’s open till 4am.

A girl from Locomotiva that I took back to my hotel - Melina, from Mosquero - gave me probably the best and most skilful anal I've had ever. I felt each of her muscles tighten on my cock in an awesome fashion as she stuffed my hands anywhere she could and frigged herself off with me up her backside.

Locomotiva shuts on Sunday. Some of the girls work the nearby bars. I was told Creutzers is open on Sundays till midnight but didn't check this out.


Since Belem is not the best value for PDP you are probably here for something else. If it’s music or non-PDP you may want to check out {i]Casa de Show[/i] which is in the same area as Locomotiva. It’s a very big (several times the size of Locomotiva) place where some of the top Brasilian bands play if performing in Belem. Just ask the taxi for Casa de Show a Pororoca. It’s the place for a big night out on Thu, Fri or Saturday. Doors open 11pm, show starts midnight. There were three bands on when I went (finishes about 5am). Big dance floor as well as seated area. The national dance of Para is Calypso, but you can get away with forro on some of the numbers. More women than men when I went and it took me a while to realise but quite ugly men were getting good looking women on the basis of a decent dance or two, max. While that happens generally in Brasil, it was emphasised here. Volume levels quite ear-splitting.

[Jan 156]

(these reports are based just on one week’s stay in Belem in March, so based on my experience in that time only)

From Praca Bandeira (see map and street info) and the diner at the corner of 7th September, carry on a few yards and it’s a black entrance in the wall on the left. No obvious sign although the notice saying entrance is forbidden to those under 18 is a give-away for this sort of joint. For Paraiso, keep going till you hit a junction very shortly afterwards and turn left. Paraiso is a little way along (Rua Manoel Barata), on the right hand side, and a bit easier to spot. 7th September doesn’t go all the way to the waterfront street Av. Castilhos Franca – you have to do a quick right and left along the narrow market streets, then turn right along Castilhos Franca till you come to another “over-18’s” entrance. (Altas Horas to Paraiso seems safe enough much of the time – I felt less safe going from Paraiso to Boulevard down the very dark streets, even if I was following a blonde that looked hot.)

The last reports on these places go back some time. Paraiso seems to have upped its game slightly whereas Altas Horas is proudly maintaining its lowlife status, while still seeming less like hell’s kitchen than Boulevard. Altas Horas and Paraiso are places to live in during the day, propping up the bar and having a girl every so often. Paraiso gets going in the early evening whereas Altas Horas shuts. Boulevard, the only one to charge entry, will take your money even if it’s empty, so go in the evening. All three places are quite dark inside so you have to take time to scope out the girls. Sometimes they go outside for a ciggie, so worth having a look at them out in daylight if the chance arises.

To check current prices, one way is to ask various customers once you’re inside and having a drink. Another is to haggle. Most girls (in all three bars) vary from ugly to average. Some - not that many - that are very do-able (stunners might be too strong a term).

Altas Horas
I never paid more than 40R. The girls started at 50R so even this was excessive. One girl asked me for a 2R tip for her bus (Paraiso girls ask for a taxi tip). I don’t normally tip though, especially if asked. Nevertheless, there are girls who work here then go to Paraiso and charge a higher price, then go to Boulevard and come down again. The Altas Horas rooms are upstairs - tacky and overpriced at 10R. A large beer is 4R. The daytime videos were awful on occasion but better at other times. Soft porn often on one of the large video screens. Music DVDs on the main one. The most ‘normal’ of the three bars – sort of place to pop in for an afternoon fuck in between getting your shopping and an acai ice-cream . . .

Paraiso
The price seems to be 50R (locals also paying this and indicated it was the going rate). Girls would start at 90R but walk off if I went below 50. I used 10R rooms although there might be cheaper ones. The rooms were excellent at the price – clean, ensuite, towels, nice bed set. Some daytime vids were awful but the evening ones were consistently good, especially due to a good (female – probably also available) DJ. Mix of Forro, Calypso, Western Rock Music and a bit of Brasilian Rap thrown in. Best time seemed to be about 7.30pm when Altas Horas was shutting. Still going strong after 10pm (taxis outside in the evening). Claimed to be open till midnight. Large beer 4R, but batata frites overpriced at 8R. Central bar area with counters on each of two sides. Pay for your room at the small counter at the end. Rooms on ground level at far end. Lots of maladros to talk to and pretend to be friendly with (this is not Rio – I agree with former posters, be careful). First girl I took there was one that had spotted me from Locomotiva the night before. Occasional strip show. One stripper did a heavy grind on any and all audience members that were willing (quite pleasant, especially if you didn't look at her face etc). Some girls pretended to approve and others obviously didn’t like the distraction.

Boulevard
First time I went in on an evening, a guy several beers for the worst was enthusiastically eating out the ass of a rather ugly fat stripper (yes, her ass, not her c*nt). She was stronger than he was and hauled him on stage afterwards. He freaked when she tried to get his jeans off. This is quite a stinky, nasty place, like a forgotten backroom in hell. 3R entry fee for guys and you go through a rusty turnstile into a long narrow room, perhaps almost the size of Altas Horas and Paraiso put together. Long bar areas. Stripper stage half way along. Rooms (upstairs) at 10R are surprisingly clean. Fan, new red brick walls. Rooms not as nice as Paraiso but better than Altas Horas. The bustle of people in the evening and a few beers helps to hide the smell and the sense that it is a breeding ground for humungous dockside roaches and mozzies. Although the staff shirts (yes, staff shirts!) say Boulevard, the girls still call it Barroco. TV screens in the bar show hard porn. Prices same as Altas Horas.

[Jan 156]

7th September and Rua Manoel Barata are either not marked on a lot of maps or hard to find. On this map (small in order to comply with ISG rules), I’ve highlighted them. Below the pictures of Ver-O-Peso and Igreja da Se is an upturned blue cross. The line pointing at Ver-O-Peso is 7th September and the line pointing at the igreja is Rua Manoel Barata. The two dots show the location of Altas Horas and Paraiso.

For quick reference, Presidente Vargas starts near the number 4 (Itaoca Belem Hotel) just below Estacao das Docas. The Belem Soft Hotel is No.2 (on Braz de Aguiar). The airport is off to the right of the map, roughly level with Theatro da Paz. The rodoviaria is at the end of a continuation (Magalhaes Barata) of Ave Nazare. Beirada is off the lower left of the map.

Both 7th September and Rua Manoel Barata are narrow streets and a taxi may have problems getting to them (or along 7th September) through traffic. The small free map at the airport is fairly useless, but for some strange reason lists Praca Bandeira as a tourist attraction, and 7th September runs off it (it’s the green rectangle at the bottom of 7th September on this map). A taxi will be able to reach Praca Bandeira via Travessa Padre Eutiquio, which runs parallel to 7th September and alongside the Praca from Belem Shopping Iguatemi to Ver-O-Peso. It’s an easy walk from Shopping Iguatemi.

This map is a section of one called Belem Tourist (free at some hotels inc Belem Soft). Or use the map pages in Yellow Pages directory in your hotel.

[FoxesHunter]

Rockin Bob,
great report, thanks! But I like to understand better if those prices for fucking are for short time or overnight. If they are for ST I think Belem is enough expensive. I am doing my maintenance for 15 days: bar, hotel, fucking, gifts, massage, etc. etc. mmmm May be Macapa is less expensive?
I like very much hot sex with amazon girls and I'd like to reach small towns in the rainforest like Santarem, etc. Do you have experience about small amazon towns?
thanks

[Jake993]

Greetings from Belém. I thought I’d post and bring everything up to date

RB, Thanks for the post. You bring back memories. I have not been to Belem since the early 90's. First place I ever took the plunge into the "monger pool". I remember being taken out to place that resembled the estate in the 007 Movie "Octopussy". It was like a palace behind a 15 foot wall with guards packing machine guns. What a trip.
I stayed at the Hilton Hotel and got picked up damn near every night in the terrace bar. The night Fernando Collor was impeached, the girls came streaming into the hotel to escape the mayhem on the streets. They just wandered the halls looking for guests. I remember getting a knock on the door at 2:00 AM from a girl wanting to know if I wanted her to come in and screw. And 15 minutes later I got another knock on the door from her friend wanting to know if she could come in too. Next day, the three of us walked down to the river and had lunch at restaurant that served turtle.
Those were wild days......

[Rockin Bob]

I discovered that Casa da Verônica used to be 25 kilometers out of town so the original reports about the place were correct. It is the same establishment, only now relocated to the city.

The exact address is Rua dos Tamoios, 561, on the corner of Breves.

Phone is 3224 1148 and 8115 1164.

[Prosal]

O Lapinha. I went to this place years ago. I read a post that said it was closed for good. Well, It just reopened this week. I was told it was going to be the same thing as before, shows, dancing.

Great news indeed. Those who have been at O Lapinha in its heyday know that it was simply one of the coolest place on the planet.

Thanks for this excellent and inspiring report which gives a great overview of Belem.

[Rockin Bob]

Greetings from Belém. I thought I’d post and bring everything up to date.

I’ve been to Belém a few times before and I like it a lot. I have a theory that the closer you get to the equator, the hotter the girls get, and Belém has the added plus of having the Amazon gene pool. You walk around the city and there are beautiful girls everywhere.

Quick orientation. Avenida Pres. Vargas runs from the Estaçao dos Docas up to the Praça da Republica. This is basically the heart of downtown. There are many hotels on Av. Vargas and the side streets just off it. I have stayed at Itaoca and Ferrador. There’s the Hilton for more comfort.

The Estaçao dos Docas is on the river. It used to be warehouses, they rebuilt them into restaurants and bars, kind of like Porto Madero in Buenos Aires. Next to that is Ver-o-Peso market, with a million little bars and food stalls. The rich hang at the Docas, the rest of the world at Ver-o-Peso. Needless to say, Ver-o-Peso is a lot more fun.

Beware! Belém is dangerous at night. DO NOT hang around Ver-o-Peso or that general area after dark. Be careful around Praça da Republica after midnight. Take a taxi where ever you go at night and you’ll be ok.

Mangal das Garças is a nice nature reserve by the river. Birds and butterflies, a tower to get an aerial view of Belém. Something to do in the day time.

Thanks to everyone for the previous posts; I got to check out places I didn’t know existed. Sperto’s reports are great. I have just a couple of additions.

Downtown Dives

Paraiso / Altas Horas. These places are still here. They are right around the corner from each other. 600 ml beer: 4 reais, why drink anywhere else. Pretty much the same deal in each, dark, not the most beautiful girls in the world, but laid back, don’t worry about going alone. Only major difference, they play the worst videos at Altas Horas, but great ones at Paraiso. And yes, Mickey Rourke’s twin is still bartending at AH. I don’t know if there places are open at night and I’m not going to find out.

Bar do Parque. This little place is at the Praça da Republica next to the Teatro de Paz. I would like to echo someone else’s post: do not take a girl from Bar do Parque. It’s an amusing place to have a beer in the evening, but you would be totally crazy to go there looking for a girl.

*****houses

Locomotiva. To me, the best little *****house on the Amazon. Actually, it’s big, many girls to choose from, you can go nuts trying to decide which one to take. Motel is next door. 20 for the room, 120 for the girl if you bargain.

Taxi from downtown is 18 reais. There’s music, the girls do their thing on stage. There’s a bar area, a big area with tables, an upstairs, and even some tables outside on the roof. Very comfortable place. 600ml beer is 8 reais. The place picks up steam round midnight. As with most places in Brazil or Argentina, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday are the best nights.

One of the best *****houses in Brazil, IMHO.

Casa de Verônica. It’s at the corner of Tamoios and Vila de Breves, somewhat near the Mangal das Garças reserve (not 25 kilometers from the center as someone else reported). All the taxi drivers know it. 10, 12 reais from downtown. I went here in the day so I can’t really give a full report. But the place was comfortable, the six girls that were there were definitely doable and one I went for without hesitation. A little bit pricey. 50 reais for the room and overpriced drinks. The girl went for 120. At night I would imagine it would be well worth a look although if you only were in town one night, definitely head for Locomotiva.

Creutzer’s A taxi driver told me about this place. It’s a ways from downtown on Av. Perimetral. They have a website, www.creutzers.com. Nothing special, just a big house with a few girls hanging out. The guy who showed me around said 150 for the girl but when I balked at that the price went down to 100. 30 for the room, I think. As an alternative to Locomotiva, I’d go for Verónica’s.

O Lapinha. I went to this place years ago. I read a post that said it was closed for good. Well, It just reopened this week. I was told it was going to be the same thing as before, shows, dancing. I don’t know, except to say that they also featured a boxing match for the grand reopening. It was a great place years ago, very popular. Not strictly for working girls and mongers.

Free Lancers

Estaçao dos Docas. There are always a few girls walking around at night. They sit on the benchs and will say Hello, as you walk by. Some sit at the tables at the restaurants. You’ll figure it out. Some of them want 150 but I had a real cute one the other night for 70. You never can tell.

Summary: Reading the posts on Belém I see some péople like the place, some don’t. YMMV, as they say, and there’s no accounting for people’s taste. I know Fortaleza pretty well and I guess if you like a zoo filled with Euro sex tourists and dumb beach girls, you’re not going to like Belém. If you want a more laid back, civilized place to monger, Belém is for you. Very few tourists, and the ones that are here are mostly doing the Amazon river/rain forest thing.

One other thing. Belém, being near the mouth of the Amazon, near the Guianas, near the Caribbean, has a really different culture. There’s food that you find no where else in Brazil; well, in the world for that matter. You can also hear some truly amazing music that seems to be a combination of every style imaginable. Also the old city is good for sightseeing, the cathedral is magnificent.

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