By Rosemary Low
Nearly eight hundred people from 46 countries, with each one going away with different highlights, new friends made and old friendships renewed. The number of UK participants increased from 31 in 2016 to 48. This put Britain fourth behind Germany, France and Spain.
For many of those attending, it was as much about the people as acquiring knowledge. Making new contacts worldwide is so important. Sadly, some participants from outside Europe were delayed by a huge storm, which grounded flights from Madrid to Tenerife for two days. People coming from Australia, Brazil and the USA lost the first two days of the meeting, stuck in hotels in Madrid. To travel all that way and miss most of it was disastrous.
Then it was cool and cloudy, with limited sun. The convention had a new venue, Hotel Las Aquilas, in the hills overlooking Puerto de la Cruz, and the view of town and ocean was impressive.
I wish I could report more fully and mention all the lectures, but please note that a memory stick with the content of the papers presented is available from the Loro Parque Fundacion. There were some outstanding speakers. Eight of the 20 were female, and I have to say that several wore the most beautiful parrot-themed and/or colourful dresses!