Not for sale
THE CARDS YOU CANNOT BUY
A small run of hand-made Camino keepsakes, carried on foot and given to pilgrims met along the way. They are not sold anywhere, at any price. The only way to get one is to be out there on the Camino.
A credit-card-sized keepsake with the journey to Santiago de Compostela painted across it, inspired by my experience on the trail.
Where the numbered edition carries a serial number, these carry the word Ultreia, the traditional pilgrim greeting, meaning “onward” or “keep going further”. Each one is finished by hand and comes in a wax-stamped envelope.
It is also a working Bitcoin wallet. There is no battery, no screen and nothing to charge. It ships empty and stays empty unless you choose to put something on it; nobody is handing out money here. If you never touch that part of it, it is still a nice keepsake to carry home.
I walked the Camino Portugués earlier this year with my daughter. You carry what you need on your back, you follow a yellow arrow, and nobody can walk it for you. That is the same bargain Bitcoin asks of you: your keys, your responsibility, your road. Several times I got lost along the way, but there was always a fellow traveler to help me find my way back to the trail. That felt worth making something about. I am heading back out next summer with a pocketful of these.
I can only cover one route at a time. If you are heading out on the Camino this coming year (the Francés, the Norte, the Primitivo, the Inglés, the Vía de la Plata, the Portugués, anywhere along the Camino) on foot or by bike, and you would enjoy giving a few of these away, I would like to hear from you.
Tell me which route, roughly when, and whether you have walked before. I will confirm whether I have cards left, then follow up about six to eight weeks before your start date to arrange posting.
A separate numbered edition is offered for sale to collectors, which is what helps pay for these. More about the project