Pilgrim Stamps - September 11

I mentioned in an earlier post that we had to get stamps along the way and since I have some down time now I thought I would explain the process. Shout out to Savanna for the reminder 😁.

When we got to St. Jean Pied de Port we went to the official Pilgrim Office to register. The people who work at the office are all volunteers and in order to be one they must have completed a camino.

We were so lucky to have Rene as our person at the office. He took a lot of time with us, made is laugh A LOT and is an all around lovely human being. We ran into him the next day and he graciously let us take a photo with him.

When you register, you provide your details - planned route, where you came from, how far you are going. You then purchase a pilgrim passport for 3 Euros. You are then supposed to carry this passport and as you go from town to town when you stop at bars, cafes, hotels they will stamp it for you. You are supposed to get at least 2 stamps per day.

When we get to Santiago, we will present our filled passports to the Pilgrim Office there and that is where they give you your Compostella (certificate) that certifies that you have done the Camino de Santiago. The minimum requirement to receive a Compostella is 100 km on foot.

Today’s hike from Pamplona to Puenta la Reina is 14 miles with a pretty steep incline/decline in the middle. Rich, Olga and Marta are already on their way. I will be catching a bus and then meet up with them to do the last 5 miles of the day. This gives me some time to wander around Pamplona! I’d like to say I will go sit at a cafe with a notebook and be inspired by the spirit of Hemingway but in reality I’m pretty sure I will wander around stalking all the cute dogs. I miss Pepper 😞

Pepper, on the other hand, is living her best life with Aunties Alisa, Sandy and Sue. I’m pretty sure she isn’t even thinking about us….and that is just the way it should be ❤️