Pilgrims who walk the Camino de Santiago are called "peregrinos." Although this was a serious religious experience for much of the past 1000+ years, it now seems to have become more of a long vacation project for most of the people we met.
Peregrinos who complete certain requirements gain a Compostela. The main requirement is to walk the last 100km to Santiago and have proof of the journey in your Credencial. There is an additional requirement that you do the pilgrimage for a religious purpose or to honor a vow, but the reality is that all you need to do at the end is sign your name on a ledger and check a box saying that your purpose was "Religious" or "Religious plus Other."
Still, there is a certain recognition by local people and fellow pilgrims that your are a peregrino. Anyone walking the Camino with a backpack is often greeted with "Bom Camino" in Portugal and with "Buen Camiño" in Spain. For us, it became almost automatic.
The Camino route is marked by yellow arrows in Portugal and by shells/arrows in Galicia (Spain). The arrows clearly point the way and are painted by local associations. The shells were typically found on tiles embedded on walls or on familiar way markers that included the remaining distance to Santiago.
Why shells? There are many myths about why the scallop shell became a Camino symbol. According to American Pilgrims on the Camino,
After Jesus' crucifixion, James went to the Iberian Peninsula to preach. Eventually he returned to Judea and was beheaded by Herod Agrippa I. After his death, his body was mysteriously transported by a ship with no crew back to the Iberian Peninsula to the Northwestern province of Galicia. (We'll use the more mythological version of the story.) A wedding was taking place along the shore as James’ ship approached. The bridegroom was on horseback, and on seeing this mysterious ship approaching, the horse spooked, and horse and rider plunged into the sea. Through miraculous intervention, the horse then emerged from the waves with horse and rider both covered with cockleshells. Another version substitutes a knight for the bridegroom, but whichever, Santiago had performed his first miracle. On the other hand the symbol may have come into being simply because pilgrims while in Santiago de Compostela had ready access to a plethora of sea shells, Santiago being relatively close to the Atlantic coast, and enough pilgrims returned home with them as souvenirs that the sea shell eventually became the symbol of the pilgrimage. But whichever story you buy into it is fact that to this day, the scallop shell, typically found on the shores in Galicia, remains the symbol of Saint James and of the Camino.Whatever the reason, shells seem to be everywhere once you get to Spain. Some people carry them on their backpacks. I waited until I completed the Camino to get mine (for 1€).
As a practical matter, the Camino is a long walk. Peregrinos need food, lodging, and direction. An infrastructure for this arose during the Middle Ages and still exists today. Some peregrinos chose to stay in albergues and hostels. I chose to stay in quintas, casas, and small hotels rather than share a room with a dozen or so people. Getting good rest in a "bed and breakfast" place was far more important to me than simulating the Middle Ages. We met quite a few peregrinos who gave up on the albergues after a couple of nights. This was a great decision!
Putting it all together:
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