<html><div style='background-color:'><P>Mr. Mendes.</P>
<P>Frankly I find your comments on this listserve to be offensive and counterproductive. I assume the purpose of gocamino is to provide pilgrims and potential pilgrims with a forum to dicuss the practical aspects of the pilgrimage and some of the wonderful experiences of the trek to Santiago, not a place to dismiss reasonable opinions on matters related to the trek or to accuse others of being "elitist" because they do not follow ones personal biases and preferences. Your comments to Judy were simply out of place. Matters of health and personal safety are important. Drinking water from untreated sources anyplace except in true wilderness areas (small parts of Alaska, perhaps the Southern Andes, New Zealand, or Antarctica) presents a health real risk, one worth considering and responding to. If you wish to take risks in order to meet some abstract notion of a "pure" pilgrimage, that is most certainly your privilege, and you may exp!
re!
ss what you consider to be "purity" in the pursuit of the pilgrimage. It is not your place or privilege to dictate to others what they <EM>must </EM>do on the trek. I walked the entire distance St. Jean to Santiago staying in refugios, minus a couple of necessary hotel nights, and I am glad I did. Indeed, if all works out well, I plan to do it again this autumn. Some Dutch friends and also an elderly German couple I am acquainted with walked the entire distance staying in hotels. Their experience was diffferent from mine, but valuable to them and well worth doing. If Judy, or anyone else, wishes to drink bottled water or stay in hotels enroute, it is hardly your place to condemn them for doing so.</P>
<P>Please be advised, I shall hit the delete key for all further messages from you, not bothering to read them based on the vitriol and ill-temper of many of your past remarks</P>
<P>E. O. Pederson</P>
<P>Seattle, WA.</P></div><br clear=all><hr>Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at <a href='http://go.msn.com/bql/hmtag_itl_EN.asp'>http://explorer.msn.com</a><br></html>