Tuesday, September 8th
This morning after breakfast, Brenda has us all meet outside with our backpacks fully packed. She asked us to wear the shoes that we’ll be hiking in, and to bring our hiking poles and everything else we expect to take with us each day. After we assembled in a large circle, Brenda took everything out of her backpack and laid it on the ground, demonstrating us what she had and explaining why she she carried it where she did.
Then she had us all do the same. Soon there were thirteen piles of gear lying on the ground. Brenda helped us each assess what was and wasn’t necessary. And then she had us repack our bags.
As we were putting everything back in our packs, Brenda handed out something that will become very meaningful to us: our Pilgrim passports. These booklets get stamped several times a day: at each hotel, restaurant, coffeeshop, or church we stop at on the Camino. Sometimes there’s a little ink pad on a counter to apply the stamp yourself. Other times, someone sits at a little table and stamps your passport for you. Many businesses design special stamps for just this purpose. The last time I walked the Camino, one place had an embossed red wax seal.
When we reach Santiago de Compostela at the end of our 100 kilometer pilgrimage, we’ll turn in our Pilgrim passports and receive in exchange a beautiful hand-lettered certificate of completion, a compostela. The one I received from my first Camino is framed on my bedroom wall.
After we reassembled our gear, Andre went around and made sure everyone’s packs were adjusted properly.
Then Brenda gave us a lesson on the proper use of hiking poles, which is different than how most people use them. Here we are practicing:
As we headed out in our full gear for an art lesson at a nearby church, Urmilla remarked, “There’s more preparation for this trip than when I went to the Himalayas.”
After gear training, art class and writing group, everyone is busy packing their things, getting ready for an early morning departure. Tomorrow at 7:00 am, we leave our retreat at Hola Camp Camino and take a bus ride to O Cebreiro for the next stop on our walking pilgrimage.