Shaking my head was the only way I could indicate to the Spanish speaking man that I did not understand what he was attempting to communicate. He continued pointing to a few words written on the bottom of a souvenir I had purchased just one day earlier at the local market in Lima, Peru. I had decided to pack this over-sized and fragile desk ornament of Machu Picchu in my carry on bag instead of putting it in my checked baggage, which would certainly risk sudden destruction by infamous bag handlers. One of the students traveling with our group returned to the security area at the Lima airport because he noticed that I needed a little help translating. While this was happening, another bag checker appeared with an empty water bottle (and a mask so she would not catch the swine flu from the visiting Americans), so I figured all of us working together would be able to break through the communication barriers. Without notice, the airport security bag checker began unwrapping the pre-packaged souvenir to expose a hidden cork which was not visible to me when I purchased it. By this time a huge crowd, including many of the students from our high school ministry, had gathered to see what was happening to their fearless leader and I was beginning to form my own opinions of what was about to take place. The male bag checker popped the cork and began pouring the, yet to be identified, liquid substance into the empty bottle held by the female airport security attendant.
After the unidentified liquid had been emptied into the bottle, one of our adult leaders asked to sniff the bottle and he confirmed my fear – I had inadvertently purchased a souvenir filled with vodka. I really had no intention of purchasing alcohol, even though the word on the street is that I was attempting to smuggle an “illegal substance” into the USA!
