Passport

When you begin to walk The Camino before the 100 kilometer marker you pick up a Pilgrim Passport.
It's a fold out form about 18"X 5"
Each lodging, cafe, chapel or Alberguer ( hostel) along the path has their own mark/stamp.You must get at least two official stamps per day.
When you get to Santiago past the cathedral on a small street to the left of the piazza there is the official pilgrim office. There you wait in line and single file you are asked to go before a clerk behind a counter. I had clerk #6.

Our last night  was spent about 4 miles out side of Santiago. That next morning our field guide said we were going to walk into Santiago as a group...(which kindly meant as slow as Donne).
As we approached the city it is like any other European city...till you begin the "old town" section. As we approached old Santiago the streets begin to narrow...and then you spot the cathedral steeple. A knot developed in my stomach...Could it be possible? Did I really finish the 100 kilometers?  Were those days of huffing and puffing up and down hills finally paying off?

We came to an underpass just before the Cathedral, the weather was sunny but chilly. Sitting on the steps of the underpass was a young man playing bagpipes...the sound filled the air as it reverberated from the underpass.
The next thing we were at the Cathedral Santiago de Compostello standing in the center of the giant piazza. Groups found  each other ...tears, hugs seen all around...even the cycling Italians with their spandex  still in place circled and embraced as they found others in their group.

It was a memorable moment.

As I handed my passport to clerk # 6 I asked him if I was the oldest pilgrim he had seen that day...he smiled and showed me his  list of previous pilgrims..with his long pen he pointed to a number in the age column it said ..".82". Wow . All I could think about was finding that person and congratulate.
He reminded me to finish filling out the form ...It asked for my name, country of origin, age and why I choose to walk The Camino.
I handed to him.
A few moments went by then clerk # 6 handed me a certificate...in Spanish with my name on it. It proclaimed I was officially A pilgrim of The Camino, The Way of St James.
I burst into tears.