Was it more than enough? - Letters - Letter to the Editor

Cruise Travel, July-August, 2002 by Joe Irvine

The added security in airports is certainly justified since 9/11, but what just happened to us on a trip to Lima, Peru, makes us say, "Enough is more than enough."

We had flown from Miami to Lima, from Lima to Cuzco (to view the Incan ruins of Machu Picchu), and from Cuzco back to Lima. At each of these stops, our carry-on bags were opened and searched very completely. No problems. But when we were leaving Lima to fly to Santiago, Chile (to catch our ship in Valparaiso), the bag searcher found and confiscated three nail-clippers and a sewing kit! All of these items had been in my carry-on during all of the previous searches and had not been questioned at all. I have been carrying the sewing kit for about 10 years. I might note that the inspector even added my razor and spare blades to the pile until I objected and her supervisor passed on them and allowed me to keep them.

Let's have security, by all means, but let's not be ridiculous about it, and inconsistent at the same time.

Finally, the trip that 39 of us made in four days to Machu Picchu was the real highlight of our 21-day journey. It takes a bit of doing to get there, and a lot of climbing up many hundreds of old worn stone steps, but the view we saw of the lost city was well worth the effort we all made.

Joe Irvine, Vero Beach, FL