This event happened to a woman who was traveling with her husband in Peru. As you will see it was in a very respectable and well-liked place. She shared this and is allowing me to share it to remind us that we all need to remember to trust our instincts. This post is all her own words.
Drugged, or a freak drug interaction…
My husband and I, both in our mid-40s, were in Lima, Peru. We met up with a friend of mine, a Peruvian man in his mid-50s, for lunch.
At the restaurant, Punto Azul, which is known to have an excellent reputation, I ordered a Pisco Sour. At the last minute I changed my mind and ordered a bottle of Rose wine. My friend decided to drink my Pisco Sour.
As lunch wore on, he started really slurring his words. He apologized profusely and said he hadn’t really slept the night before. My husband helped him into a cab, came back and said, “I think we need to go check on him, he’s really messed up.” Unfortunately, I did not have his address.
All night we begged him to text us back. One Pisco Sour should not have messed him up like that at all.
My husband had two Pisco Sours while we were there and wasn’t even close to buzzed.
We finally heard back from my friend 18 hours later. Getting out of the cab he had crashed to the pavement and broke his eye socket bone. The cab driver rushed him to the ER where they drew blood. His BAC wasn’t high so they are waiting on the toxicology reports.
Thankfully his retina is fine and he can still travel via airplane, even this weekend.
I share this story because I didn’t listen to my instincts. A Pisco Sour should not have messed him up like that and I downplayed it. I should’ve gotten him to a hospital but I didn’t want to be seen as “overly dramatic.” This was broad daylight for lunch in a nice part of Lima, for Pete’s sake!
Women, our instincts are drilled out of us because we’re supposed to “be nice,” but there is no shame in being dramatic or overly cautious.
LISTEN TO YOUR INSTINCTS!
But please don’t be put off of Peru. Aside from this, was a beautiful vacation!
My own note: the woman who reported this still doesn’t know the results of the toxicology report. Perhaps it was a bad reaction unique to this friend, who is, by the way, Peruvian, and not a tourist. However, I still wanted to post the story because the lessons in it are good ones. This was not a woman traveling alone. She’s an experienced traveler, and she was with her husband.