Along the Camino, we’ve been collecting stamps in our pilgrim credential. You can get them at your albergue, at certain cafés, donativos, churches, and other stops along the way. The true purpose of the stamps is to document where you’ve travelled, a form of proof that you walked the distance you’ve claimed to. However, businesses like café bars also offer stamps to pilgrims, likely with the thought in mind that more pilgrims will stop to spend money if a stamp is available. Some people want to get a stamp at every place they pass, while others only want one from places where they’ve truly spent time. The stamps from each stop are unique, and while collectively, they tell a lot about where you’ve been, individually they say a lot about who you met there.
Author’s Camino credential or passport
On our third day, I got a red heart stamp with the words “Casa de los Dioses” from a donativo offering plates of fresh cut fruit, bread, and drinks. It was run by a man named Davíd who greeted everyone with a huge smile and insisted people take as much as they want without donating. His skin was the kind of reddish tan people have from day after day in the sun. This served to show how long he’s dedicated himself to the Camino and those who walk it.
David’s stamp
His welcoming personality made it easy for pilgrims stopped there to feel a part of this community that he’s created. His stamp is an instant reminder to me of him and his love for the Camino and the people on it.
, and it was explained that the pilgrims on the Camino are a bit like ants walking in a line. There are tons of people on the Camino, and part of who you meet just depends on the timing of where you start walking and where you stop.
This morning I got a stamp from a café where I ate breakfast. The stamp itself was plain, just advertising the name of the place, “Taberna Casanova,” and the phone number. But despite this, it will always remind me of the breakfast I had with a woman named Daniela. She explained to me her motivation for the Camino, that she needed to become more of an adult, to push herself physically and mentally. But beyond that, she said that part of the Camino and of life in general is deciding who you spend your time with and who brings you closer to where you want to be– whether that be spiritually or with your career or whatever values you have. We spent the rest of the day walking together, and had I not stopped at this café we may have never met.