Massages! Massages!

            After a long day of walking, the cheap massage offers in Peru are no longer a hackling burden in the streets, but a tempting proposition. However, if you choose to give into the desire, there are certain places toward which you should direct your business, especially in Lima. The place my group went to was called Masajes en Braille and was titled so for a reason. Unlike other massage salons in the United States, the masseuses here were all 100% blind.

In general, Lima has a certain level of respect for their handicapped population. From an abundance of accessibility ramps to schools for the blind, the city makes sure to provide for those who need it. As a result, there is a popular business involving blind massages. Recruiting from local schools for the blind, these businesses provide handicapped individuals with professional opportunities that put their skills to use. As a result of having no sight, these people have a heightened awareness of their other senses including touch. This enhanced sensory ability lends to a very unique massage experience.

For example, the woman I had was able to really sense where I was tense and spend time working on those areas. Furthermore, she would locate my vertebrae and massage the muscles that radiated from them which allowed her to focus on individual muscles instead of guesstimating my musculature. According to my friends, they had similar experiences in which the masseuses were able to tell which shoulder was carrying a bag all day and which arm was used in sports. Once determining that these were the tensest areas, they then proceeded to work on them. Also, for people who are uncomfortable with massages because they don’t want others to see their bodies, this is the perfect solution.

Overall, I think that massage parlors with blind masseuses is an amazing idea that not only gives opportunity to the blind population, but lends to some very personalized massages! I highly recommend this experience to anyone passing through Lima and hope to see the business model expand to other countries in the near future.