Category: Travel

My Blatino Oasis 2017 (NSFW)

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I finally got my ass over to Palm Springs, California for the Blatino oasis gay event

late last month. Something I had been thinking of doing for the last 6 years but couldn’t, due to (in no particular order) work commitments, personal finances, weddings and a morbid fear of being used for target practice by a jacked up US law enforcement officer.

But I overcame all these obstacles and found myself in the sweltering Palm Springs desert heat of 36 degrees centigrade and looking forward to the entertainment,  lined up for the year’s Blatino gathering.

Here is a blurb from the website www.blatinooasis.com

“Blatino Oasis is a retreat (not a pride event), started in 2007, and held annually in Palm Springs, California. The next event will be held April 27-April 30, 2017. The retreat offers a variety of activities geared towards gay and bisexual men of color and our friends & lovers, to help us to party, relax and enjoy ourselves, in the beautiful, very gay friendly and legendary Hollywood vacation resort getaway to the stars, Palm Springs, California.”

Passes for the activities are released 12 months in advance and the early bird passes sell out really quickly, so I purchased mine not too long after they were released last year.

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As is the norm for such events organised in the US, there is a host hotel, where most of the activities are held.Read More »

Sex In Dubai

keredim9 Comments

I recently had a five day break in Dubai, the city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) known for its iconic skyscrapers and high-rise buildings, in particular the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa and the luxury hotel built to mimic a ship sail, the Burj Al Arab.

Burj Al Arab Outside

I was really looking forward to the trip, not just for some beach and sunshine, but I was also excited about exploring its “underground” gay scene, powered mostly as in the rest of world, by Grindr and Scuff. 🙂 Read More »

How Keredim Got His Groove Back…..Almost

keredim8 Comments

It’s January and I found myself in Montego Bay Jamaica, hundreds of kilometres away from the cold UK weather, primarily to get some sunshine and possibly sample some authentic Jamaican homegrown wholesome non-genetically modified rump. And maybe some authentic Jamaican cuisine along the way.

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During the short 10 minute taxi ride to the hotel resort where I was staying (and throughout the holiday), being a Nigerian I could not help but notice some similarities, between my people and black Jamaicans – physically and in some mannerisms. This is not so surprising considering what went on during the era of slave trade, where my people were forcibly taken from the west code and landed all over the Caribbean.  So effectively we are very distant cousins.

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First thing that struck me was the driving.Read More »

The Prayer II – Finding Jesus

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So it’s Christmas day and I see a missed call from my aunt. (The same one who prayed for a wife for me in the Prayer click here). I had sent her some cash for Christmas, earlier in the month and half expected her to call me to acknowledge receipt.

In fairness I did try to answer the phone, but it only rang twice and stopped before I could pick up. This is not unusual among my people and is called flashing. This is a  type of call collect where the calling party  (e.g someone from my village without enough phone credit as is always the case) makes a call at the called party’s (someone living abroad or deemed to always have enough phone credit) expense.

And woe betide you if you don’t return the call within five minutes, especially if the call is from an elderly relative. You and anyone else who has ears to hear will Read More »

Sex In Torremolinos

keredim13 Comments

It was the week before the unfortunate Brexit vote. I thought I’d visit mainland Europe, just in case the UK did the stupid thing and shot themselves in the foot. Alas they did. (Shit! I need to get to Mexico before November 28th).

So I took a five-day break in Torremolinos in Andalucía, Spain. I had visited the region around the same time last year, but stayed about a 15 minute drive away in Malaga. Much of the five days were spent at Eden Club, which was on the gay part of the beach. Depending on the day of the week, it teemed with lots of good looking guys and to balance things out some not so good looking ones.

Weekends were usually busier than weekdays. It was on the Saturday during my stay, that I noticed three friends, lounging under a beach umbrella, a few spots from mine.Read More »

Crap I Get On Grindr X – A Greek Tragedy

keredim3 Comments

My last entry “Crap I Get On Grindr IX” (click here) took place last week,while on a short break on the Greek Island of  Mykonos, where someone (let’s name him Stalker)  tracked me down to my Hotel.

The way I figure it, Stalker liked my profile on Grindr and messaged me a few times. When I did not respond to any of his messages, he saw that I was within reasonable range of his location, came to my hotel and sent  a message to say he was out front.

The thing is finding me was by no means a Herculean task (or as intriguing as say Huck using high tech equipment to track down his torture victim in Scandal). No, it was quite simple – I was the only black guy at the time, staying in the main (if not only) gay hotel on the Island.Read More »