The Camino de Santiago and the Resurgence of Pilgrimage

More than a half-million people completed a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in 2025, while countless others followed one of the scores of ancient, medieval, and contemporary routes across Europe and beyond. For two decades, Sandy Brown and Dave Whitson have explored many of these routes, and in this presentation they will discuss why, even amidst talk of over-crowding, the Camino Frances is still a profound and invaluable experience to pursue. At the same time, though, they will advocate for continued exploration beyond the most popular routes, as exceptional pilgrimage routes expand far beyond Spain. Along with their prepared remarks, there will also be time for audience Q&A, in addition to book signings.

Sandy Brown: The Reverend Sandy Brown has authored seven Cicerone titles covering The Camino de Santiago, The Via Francigena from Canterbury to Rome to Santa Maria di Leuca, The Via di Francesco from Florence to Assisi to Rome, and the California Mission Walk. Since completing his first Camino in 2008, Sandy has walked or biked over 11,200 miles on pilgrimage trails in Spain, France, Switzerland, Italy and the United States. Sandy is an ordained minister. In addition to writing guidebooks, Sandy owns Pilgrim Paths, a boutique travel company that designs custom pilgrim itineraries and offers guided walks on many routes.

Dave Whitson: Dave Whitson is the host of The Camino Podcast and has authored three Cicerone guidebooks: The Camino del Norte and Camino Primitivo, The Via Podensis – Le Puy to The Pyrenees, and The Camino Ingles and Ruta Do Mar. Dave has also published two non-guidebooks, Pilgrimage: A Medieval Cure for Modern Ills and The Camino Compendium: A Historical and Cultural Exploration of the Camino de Santiago. Dave made his first pilgrimage on the Camino Frances in 2002. Since then he has led student pilgrimages across Europe and Japan, walked tens of thousands of kilometers of pilgrim roads, and completed a coast-to-coast walk across the USA following the American Discovery Trail and The Oregon Trail.

Schedule: Doors open at 1:45 PM. We’ll start around 2:10 PM for the special Camino presentation.

Book Signing: 3:30 – 4:00 PM. Dave and Sandy will have a limited amount of their latest books available for purchase. Cash is appreciated for book purchases, but there will also be a credit card option via Stripe. You may also bring your own copies for the authors to sign.
Note: American Pilgrims does not endorse any of products. We are solely providing a space to connect sellers and buyers.

Advance online registration is required. Click the Register Now button below to sign up by Friday, January 23. Please register when you are certain you can attend so we have an accurate count for planning purposes. Thank you!

Cancellation: If you are unable to attend, please email us at norcal@americanpilgrims.org so we can update our list.

Getting There

By Car: Use Google Maps or your favorite map app for directions. St. Augustine is located at 400 Alcatraz Avenue off of College Avenue in Oakland. The church is on the right side between Dana and Colby Streets when heading west towards the bay and the parking lot entrance is on the left side of the building. Meet us on the bottom floor of the gym/multi-use building across the courtyard on the right side of the church (follow our yellow arrows).

By BART/Bus/Foot: From Rockridge BART Station, take AC Transit bus 51B towards the Berkeley campus and offboard at College/Alcatraz (15 min). Walk west on Alcatraz to St. Augustine (0.3 mi). To walk from the station, head north along College towards campus and turn left on Alcatraz (0.7 mi).

Carpooling: On the registration form is a link to an online “Carpool Bulletin Board” to post a message if you need a ride or can give one.

Please note: Unlike our annual events at this venue, this is not a potluck. We’ll only have chairs to view the discussion.

The Ruff Stuff: For insurance purposes, we are unable to welcome dogs, except service animals, at our events.