Episode 75 - The Year in Camino 2023

If you want to know what's happening on the Camino, ask a group or forum moderator. Those tireless, kind-hearted shepherds of Camino discourse perform one of the most thankless tasks of the online world, helping to ensure that new pilgrims can hit the Camino with confidence, and that experienced pilgrims can have a place to connect with a shared community. This episode features two prolific moderators--Laurie/peregrina2000 on Ivar's Camino Forum and Paul Garland on the Camino de Santiago All Routes Facebook group--to look back on major developments and overblown issues on the Camino in 2023. We discuss the general state of pilgrimage discourse, the pushback of some albergues against luggage shipment, the perceived overcrowding crisis in May, the local unhappiness with tourist crowds in Santiago de Compostela, and the recent controversy surrounding the Cruz de Ferro, along with a bunch of other stuff. Along the way, we confirm some concerns, brush away others, and even arrive at some positive developments worth celebrating.