News from the conference?

[Anemone del Camino]

Wondering if anyone is attending the Camino conference currently going on in Santiago and what is beig discussed.

 

[Rebekah Scott]

Lots and lots of discussion, and tours of things around the city, lots and lots of visiting and shmoozing and getting-to-know, which is pretty much the point of this kind of gathering. There's been discussions on waymarking the camino, and problem spots where people who want to make money are shifting waymarks to bring pilgrims past their bar or restaurant; Lots of cool and arcane history about hospitality on the Way -- that individual families didn't start opening their homes to pilgs until the 1830s, when the Spanish monasteries were dis-established and the old pilgrim infrastructure was destroyed overnight. Heads of Amigo groups in Korea, Poland, Canada, Germany, Palencia and Madrid talked about how their groups got started and which way they've grown -- the Dutch group is HUGE, and the Korean group is growing like mad.
... And sexual harrassment is a given for female pilgrims from Korea! Their group actually helps the women report the incidents and follows up with police after the victim goes back home. Not a lot of discussion of crime on the caminos.
Some discussion of technology on the camino, but most of it limited to communication with membership, etc.
Remember, this is a gathering of officials from national Amigos groups. It's a lot of "inside baseball" shop talk that probably wouldn't interest the individual pilgrim very much.

 

[MTtoCamino]

Lots and lots of discussion, and tours of things around the city, lots and lots of visiting and shmoozing and getting-to-know, which is pretty much the point of this kind of gathering. There's been discussions on waymarking the camino, and problem spots where people who want to make money are shifting waymarks to bring pilgrims past their bar or restaurant; Lots of cool and arcane history about hospitality on the Way -- that individual families didn't start opening their homes to pilgs until the 1830s, when the Spanish monasteries were dis-established and the old pilgrim infrastructure was destroyed overnight. Heads of Amigo groups in Korea, Poland, Canada, Germany, Palencia and Madrid talked about how their groups got started and which way they've grown -- the Dutch group is HUGE, and the Korean group is growing like mad.
... And sexual harrassment is a given for female pilgrims from Korea! Their group actually helps the women report the incidents and follows up with police after the victim goes back home. Not a lot of discussion of crime on the caminos.
Some discussion of technology on the camino, but most of it limited to communication with membership, etc.
Remember, this is a gathering of officials from national Amigos groups. It's a lot of "inside baseball" shop talk that probably wouldn't interest the individual pilgrim very much.

Thank you for keeping us informed. You are doing all of us a service. Your feet on the ground is the reality check. Please stay with us.
Keith