MESSAGE CENTER
New Passport Rules

Sunday, December 17, 2006

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New Passport Rules

YOUR ITEM on the new passport requirements [Coming and Going, Dec. 10] says the rules do not apply to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. In January 2004, I flew from Dulles to St. Croix in the Virgin Islands, changing planes in Puerto Rico. I walked off the plane, as expected, without any bureaucratic procedures or seeing any physical evidence of controls of any sort. But when I went to return home, I went through what looked like immigration control and was scolded for not having brought my passport.

Because I didn't have my passport and because it wasn't a very busy day, my carry-on luggage was gone through item by item, and I was thoroughly searched. I probably showed my driver's license, but that didn't seem to be enough.

I was surprised. I did not realize I had left the United States. If I go back, I'll carry my passport.

Donna H. Sandin, Reston

Yes, a Problem

IN THE TITLE of your article on La Manzanilla, Mexico, a Spanish word was spelled incorrectly ["No Crowds?, No Rush? In Mexico, No Problemo," Dec. 3]. The noun "problem" is masculine in Spanish but ends in an "a." Part of learning a foreign language is respecting it enough to learn it properly. Writing "problemo" is offensive and disrespectful.

Patricia M. Balestra, Washington

Editor's note:

Lo sentimos mucho (we're very sorry ). We were trying to apply a light touch in using this fake word that is frequently used by English speakers.

Missouri, Cont'd

IN RESPONSE to what to do in central Missouri at Christmastime [online chat, Nov. 20], do not overlook Rocheport, halfway between Kansas City and St. Louis and 12 miles from Columbia. What's there? At least three charming bed-and-breakfasts (try the School House B&B), a location right on the Katy Trail and a quick drive to Les Bourgeois Winery, with its stunning bluff-top restaurant and high-quality food. Rocheport is charming and tiny -- about 200 residents living in historic houses of all sizes -- and a stopping point for Katy Trail travelers who stay in the B&Bs. It's worth the stop.

Linda Lane-Hamilton, Williamsburg

LEXINGTON, Mo., is a seat of Civil War history and has monuments and antebellum homes, some of which are open for visits, I believe. Even if they aren't, the exteriors should be decorated for the holidays and are worth seeing. There are some nice views along the Missouri River as well.

Arrow Rock is a funky little town. The folks are friendly and often have open-house holiday celebrations and hot apple cider in church.

Hermann is the home of the state's largest winery, Stone Hill, which has an excellent restaurant in a large stone building with a big fireplace. Reservations are recommended for dinner.

Also, in Lake of the Ozarks, there is a huge outlet mall and two nice resorts.

Iris M. Elfenbein, Washington

The Galapagos by Land

MY WIFE IS exquisitely motion-sensitive and can get seasick in a bathtub, so I appreciate someone wanting to make the Galapagos experience a land-based one [Travel Q&A, Nov. 26]. The problem is that the Galapagos Islands are exactly that: islands. Also, only three have tourist accommodations; the rest is pure, undeveloped national park. So even if you're staying on one of the islands, getting around by airplane limits where you go, as most of the islands have no landing facilities. More often you would have to travel by boat, in some cases for a few hours.

In addition, the Hotel Silberstein, mentioned in your response, is quite a way inland and requires transportation to get to town and the docks, or to go the other way to get to see the tortoises.

The bottom line is that the only way to get the Galapagos experience is to stay on a ship and sail from island to island, using Zodiacs to get from ship to shore.

By the way, by using an anti-motion-sickness patch, my wife was never sick and had a wonderful trip.

Howard Kaplan, Chevy Chase

Jerusalem, Cont'd

FOLLOWING UP on the Message Center letters about your article on Jerusalem's German Colony, I'd like to add a bit more history.

The original article mentioned that the colony was started in the 1800s by German Christians. Almost a hundred years later, throughout the 1930s, a number of Jewish people who needed to leave Germany settled in the area.

They were the fortunate ones, who realized very early that Germany was no longer safe for them, and many were professionals who were able to use their skills to begin new lives.

Among these was a German couple, the husband of which had come to teach at the Hebrew University. Some years later, I spent several weeks staying with his widow, who had managed to stay in her home by renting out rooms. She was a charming and interesting woman, and we spent hours conversing in a complicated mixture of Hebrew, German and English.

At the time, I was acquainted with two other families who had also lived there long before 1948, had raised families there, and also stayed long after their children left for other areas. There were undoubtedly Arab families there also, and possibly before 1948, some might have been comfortable with their mixture of neighbors.

Judy Bernhardt, Silver Spring

Tweed, Cont'd

CAROL MCCABE'S article on the making of Harris tweed ["A Swatch of Scotland," Nov. 12] called to mind a visit to a fashionable men's haberdasher in Hong Kong when I lived there several years ago. Finding an exquisite tweed sample, I asked the owner, an American, how much a suit would cost.

He shook his head: "You don't want that."

"Why not?" I asked. "It says right here on the material that it's Harris tweed, hand-loomed in Scotland."

"No, it isn't," was the reply. "It's made in Japan. They just weave that right in there."

Wes Pedersen, Chevy Chase

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