Chapter 2, Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port Summary

As a parade files through the streets of Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, the Narrator arrives at Mme Lourdes' home. After several knocks on her door fail to arouse an answer, the Narrator fears that he has failed in his task before the journey has begun. A small child bursts through the unanswered gate and directs the Narrator to a house across the courtyard.

Inside the house an elderly woman yells at a small boy. When the woman finishes her tirade she takes down a book and begins to record the Narrator's name as a pilgrim on the Road to Santiago. The woman asks for 'the Scallops," or tokens used to identify those making the pilgrimage. The Narrator's scallops form the base of a statue of Our Lady of the Visitation, which the woman deems 'pretty but not very practical.' The woman, Mme Lourdes...