Before we embarked on this long walk we found the Pilgrim’s Office in Bordeaux. Here we registered our intention to undertake the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela and were presented with two options to describe our motivation. We could walk with ‘Christian devotion’, or with an ‘attitude of search’. Consenting enabled us to collect the official Credenciales that identify us as pilgrims.
Since then, we have collected a new stamp every day from the hostel where we have slept, or from a church, town hall or museum we have visited. The practical purpose of these stamps is to gain access to available lodgings and eventually to verify that we have walked all the Way to the Cathedral of Saint James.
The excitement of stamp collecting is somewhat familiar, as Susan and I subscribed to some sort of postage stamp magazine when we were children. This business supplied pre-marked albums and ‘mystery bags’ of international stamps, perhaps quarterly. Our role was to match the new stamps with their grey outline in the album and then to barter with each other to obtain a more desirable match. These negotiations mostly ended in deep regret over the power play and unequal exchange. To consolidate our advantage or to gain our revenge, we waited with hope for the new supply of stamps to arrive. We were usually disappointed by the frequent duplication of low-value or ‘boring’ stamps in each consignment. These came from countries including the UK that were emblazoned with the head of state, rather than a colourful image. They didn’t count as sufficiently exotic to excite interest or to pique our jealousy. Eventually, we tired of the multiple duplicates arriving in the post and gave up stamp collecting. One day we just stopped.
The albums were stored under the lounge until our younger sister Rebecca inherited the trove, which included two brown paper bags stuffed full of hum-drum duplicate stamps. Minus the attractions of a current magazine subscription and the heightened emotion of the sibling rivalry, I’m not sure what this style of stamp collecting could possibly have meant for her.
These days stamp collecting has taken on a new priority for Rebecca, who joined us on the Camino at Sarria. But the competition for stamps isn’t coming from her sisters. Commencing her pilgrimage at Stage 29 of the 33 stages obliges Rebecca to collect at least two stamps per day. This serves as proof that she walked at least 100km to Santiago de Compostela. It also attests to Rebecca’s fortitude, as she was amongst the torrent of new pilgrims who flowed out of Sarria and walked with fresh enthusiasm (and resolve) to get ahead of the queue for coffee, toilets and stamps. Because Susan and I started collecting stamps at Stage 1, we don’t have to prove our progress with two daily stamps.
While Rebecca is busy finding stamps, we have time to ponder the changed dynamics on the trail. Because the terrain, accommodation and diet have varied daily and across the regions we have traversed in Spain, we have developed a routine that helped us to manage the constant change. This revolved around the moving pilgrim community of friends and familiar faces, who have now been dispersed and diluted by the increased volume of participants who bring new perspectives and a different focus. Although our movement and schedule are a constant reminder that the finish is approaching, the imperative to cope with cumulative fatigue, and to manage the smaller more immediate goals, has kept our attention on the daily grind. But our aim is not actually to collect stamps.
On this very long walk, the end goal of reaching Santiago always seemed far off. As friends were unexpectedly injured and had to make hard choices about their options, we wondered how our bodies would continue to hold up. Yet as the remaining kilometres tick over, finishing now seems achievable, and also imminent.
Now our challenge is not just to stagger somewhat dazed over the line, but to finish strong.
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