Letters: Flying the fee-free skies with Southwest Airlines

In response to Catharine Hamm’s article “Refund? Not in This Life” [On the Spot, Nov. 8], my experience was quite different. I booked a flight on Southwest, and then learned that my great-niece would be skating a solo part in an ice show the day I was to fly.

I was able to easily change my reservation to one day earlier, with no extra charge, and I received a Southwest credit for the difference because the earlier flight was cheaper.

And it was all done quickly online.

Joan Kraus

Rancho Palos Verdes

Nazca Lines no mystery

We have worked our entire archaeological careers in Peru (one of us wholly in Nazca) and are perplexed by Hilary MacGregor’s writings about the Nazca Lines in the article “Etched in Time” [Nov. 1].

Although it is correct to say that this tourist destination on the southern coast of Peru “makes for a perfect family adventure,” MacGregor could have dug a little deeper and found that the Nazca Lines are much more than an exotic mystery in a faraway land.

Archaeologists have learned plenty about the lines. We know that they were meant to be walked on, that they were most likely used in ritual processions and that straight lines often pointed to important celestial events such as the winter solstice.

To say that they, and associated features such as the aqueducts described in the accompanying piece, are mysteries ignores some of the most important reasons to visit the lines.

In our experience, educated and inquisitive travelers like to learn new things. They are turned off by superficial and lowbrow renditions of discredited and even crypto-racist falsehoods such as the idea that Native Americans could not make drawings on the ground on their own but needed help from extraterrestrials or whomever.

Real history is vastly more fascinating than cheap stereotypes.

Kevin Vaughn, associate dean of academic affairs, UCLA Extension

Charles Stanish, director, Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, UCLA

Great minds …

I noted with great interest MacGregor’s article “A Spiral Down to Another Mystery” [Nov. 1]. It brought back some memories.

In the early 1950s, I was assigned to the Air Force attaché’s office at the American Embassy in Tehran. When flying over the countryside, I noticed that there quite often were what appeared to be wells leading to villages and towns. They turned out to be ganats, wells that were connected underground to bring water to the local settlements. I understood that they were really old but still in use.

When I was there, that’s how Tehran got most of its water. The water came out to a canal just above the city and was ducted down through open street-side channels, called jubes, then diverted into individual homes for use.

The Cantalloc aqueducts in Peru seemed to be a take on that same approach, only these apparently provided access via the spiral ramps.

Same concept but halfway around the world. That’s amazing — I wonder what archaeologists would have to say about that?

Carl Ehrlich

Calabasas

Ruining Moon House

Regarding “Step Into Another Life,” by David Kelly, Nov. 1: Kelly asks some correct questions about the Moon House ruin in Utah, but then sends potentially hundreds or more to this once-pristine place. Yes, information about the site can now be found online, but only when people are told to look … like in this article.

I first saw Moon House more than two decades ago. The disappearance of its artifacts today is beyond sad, not to mention the long-term effects of people like Kelly touching the baby footprints.

Barbara Stagg

Cortez, Colo.

San Diego tips

We enjoyed Irene Lechowitzky’s short article on San Diego’s Little Italy [“Hungry for Little Italy”] in the Nov. 1 Travel section.

One additional thing she might have mentioned. Last year, my wife and I took Amtrak to San Diego for Thanksgiving weekend. We stayed at a small hotel in Little Italy and enjoyed the local restaurants, easy access to the waterfront, etc. We also got day passes on the trolley, which let us roam the city easily. Great way to enjoy the ride down and avoid that $25-per-day parking charge.

The Amtrak station in San Diego is a short walk from Little Italy. It’s a great way to enjoy the area and the city.

Just one small thing that we did not anticipate. On Thanksgiving, almost all the restaurants in Little Italy were closed, many without mentioning it on Yelp or on their websites. Plan ahead if you want to eat that day.

Thanks for the fun Travel articles.

Dave Cort

San Pedro