From the time we got married six years ago, my husband, Scott and I have been talking about moving somewhere outside of the US where our money goes further and the pace of life is slower, but the quality is richer. Our first exploratory trip was to Peru in November of 2018. Scott had been to Columbia, but the furthest south of the border I had ever been was Tijuana and Juarez, Mexico. For some reason I had this dimwitted idea that everything south of the border was pretty similar to Mexico. I’ve traveled quite a bit, so I really should have known better! 

For our third day in Lima, I scheduled a tour with Haku Tours. Haku Tours is a Peruvian company whose profits go toward helping the less fortunate in the slums of Lima. I had picked out the “Bizarre Tour: Gamarra” because it takes you through the Mercado de Brujas or Witch Market where locals go to buy alternative medicine and consult with shamans who perform rituals. To give you some context as to why I chose this tour, my favorite holiday has always been Halloween. I love horror movies, and am fascinated by anything that’s considered strange or unorthodox, especially alternatives to western medicine and treatment. I always try to find a way to get outside of the touristy areas to see how the local people actually live which is especially important if you’re considering relocating to a different country. It was an added bonus that our tour money was going to help the local people in that area.

Our tour guide, Juan Pablo (who later reintroduced himself as John Paul) and our driver, Marco, picked us up from our hotel in Miraflores at 9am in a white van. Just to give you some idea of the striking contrast between the wealthy Miraflores district and the La Victoria district where the Gammara market is located:  Miraflores is one of the most affluent districts in Lima, situated on a cliff high above the beach, with a boardwalk known as the Malecon, overlooking the Pacific Ocean, surrounded by parks, fancy hotels, and expensive shopping. The first day that we arrived in Lima we walked down to the boardwalk to watch the sun set and explore a little. At the end of Av Jose Larco you find yourself standing in front of a very modern, all glass, JW Marriott Hotel where the rooms start at $300 a night and come with spectacular ocean views. The Tierra Viva Hotel that we stayed at was $81 a night. It didn’t have a view, but it was clean and comfortable and a little bit off the beaten path, cutting out the city noises. We only had to walk a few blocks to see the ocean. 

Across the street from the JW Marriott, there’s a cliffside open-air shopping mall called Larcomar. Touted as an “upscale shopping experience,” you can shop at The North Face, Tommy Hilfiger, the Gap, Quicksilver, Calvin Klein, Hugo Boss, etc. Sip on  a Starbucks Venti Latte while you shop, and after you’ve worked up an appetite buying overpriced, imported goods, you have your choice of Chili’s or TGI Fridays for dinner, topped off with some Haagen Das ice cream for dessert. I’m not sure if these places are popular with the locals, but we did see a lot of tourists in that area. I don’t eat at Chili’s or TGI Fridays in the States, so I don’t understand why I would in Peru, especially when you can get delicious, fresh ceviche everywhere! 

Anyway, I digress—back to the tour! The drive from Miraflores to La Victoria is less than 5 miles, but it took almost 40 minutes because the traffic in Lima is crazy! Gamarra is the largest clothing and textile market in Latin America. Many of the first textile factories were started by Italian immigrants beginning in 1889. The market now has over 20,000 textile shops, manufacturers, contractors and retailer shops employing over 100,000 people. Gamarra is an “informal market” in that over 40% of the businesses don’t pay taxes to the government. While this number had been decreasing, due to government action, the arrival of hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans has again raised that number above the 40% mark. 

Once we arrived, Juan Pablo led us through the throngs of people to a mini mall where we climbed up 7 flights to the  highest point in Gamarra. Being two tall gringos, we stood out like sore thumbs, but I didn’t feel unsafe at any point, although I did hold onto my purse as the crowded area seemed like paradise for pickpockets. I do the same things in crowded cities in the US or anywhere in the world. 

Every floor in the building that we followed Juan Pablo into was jam packed with individual stalls all selling gowns and dresses for weddings, quinceaneras, christenings, and any other event that calls for formal wear. The dresses were in flashy shades of purple, fuchsia, chartreuse, electric blue, scarlet, etc. It would be impossible to be a wallflower in any of those gowns. Along with the dress shops, there were lingerie shops busting at the seams with padded bras and thongs. The thing that struck us the most was that none of the models looked like any of the Peruvian woman that we’d seen: they were tall, with long legs, huge breasts, small waists, blue eyes, straight blonde hair and caucasian features. 

Once we climbed up to the seventh floor, we were able to get a bird’s eye view of Gamarra and the Pueblos Jovenes on the mountainsides surrounding the city. The shanty towns surrounding Lima are nicknamed “Pueblos Jóvenes,” which translates into “young towns.” These shanty towns were formed in the 70’s and 80’s when there was a massive influx of immigrants to Lima from the Andes and the Amazon due to the 1970 Ancash earthquake, that killed approximately 70,000 people and displaced tens of thousands of others. In these communities, unlike in Colorado and other places around the world, the poorest people live the highest up the mountain because it’s harder to get basic necessities the farther you are up the mountain. Most people live in poorly constructed shacks without running water and electricity, unless they’re able to pirate it themselves. However, as Juan Pablo pointed out the people in each community makes sure that everyone has a place to stay and something to eat regardless of how poor they are.  

On our way back down, we asked Juan Pablo about all the ornate religious shrines featuring a Jesus Christ that we had passed on each floor of the mini mall. He explained that it was for good luck and prosperity for the vendors. When the Spanish invaded, they tried to convert all the Peruvians to Catholicism and to destroy the Incan culture and religious beliefs. Many Peruvians today practice a form of Catholicism that has been merged with the still alive pre-Columbian traditions. 

I had read that 90% of Peru is Catholic, but we got the impression that that was changing with the younger generation from a couple of our 20 something tour guides. Juan Pablo seemed to deride the idea of the Spanish conquerors coming and “saving” the indigenous people by converting them to Catholicism. He told us a story about his older brother’s visit to Spain. Apparently while on a tour the guide suggested that if Spain hadn’t conquered Peru and converted its people, that Peru would still be a third world country today. Juan Pablo’s brother didn’t appreciate that and made a snarky remark about how great it was that Spain took all of the gold from the Incans and left them with Jesus which he didn’t really see as a good or fair trade. 

After all the build up around the Witch Market, it was probably the shortest part of the tour. On our way to that market, Juan stopped and introduced us to Margarita, one of the juice vendors in the area. She was very welcoming and greeted us with a kiss on the cheek and some fresh orange juice. Apparently, Margarita was a regular fixture in the market, putting four children through college by selling juice. Then we walked along the sidewalk and into a building that was lined with vendors selling everything from python skins to dried lizards to aromatic herbs used by Shamans in ancestral rituals that are used to bring the customer good luck, money, wealth and love. Apparently black magic is also performed by the Shamans in Gamarra, but unfortunately we didn’t get to witness any rituals black or otherwise. 

In the market, Juan bought us a figurine doll of a little mustachioed, traditionally dressed Peruvian man with money, bags of grain, and other household items attached to his poncho. Juan explained that the little man was called Ekeko and represented the Tiwanakan (pre-Columbian civilization) god of abundance and prosperity. Someone must buy the Ekeko for you to put in a place of honor in your home to bring you monetary wealth. Unfortunately, the Ekeko that Juan bought Scott and I broke into pieces on the way home, so I guess we’ll have to keep buying lotto tickets!

Haku Tours still offers the Gamarra tour along with other tours throughout the country and also cooking classes. The company has been owned and operated since 2011 and by Inka (the original Quechua spelling of Inca) descendents and aims to show visitors the real Peru, not just the touristy side. They work with an NGO called Reciprocity NGO and the proceeds of the tours go to social programs created to eradicate extreme poverty in Lima.