I am changing my answer on boredom, I think you should actually go for that one. I will be processing it obsessively for some time, I assure you.

So read the message from Nora to let me know she had changed her mind. Nora didn’t walk with me to Sydney, but still experienced similar effects with the signposts. I received other messages from locals who also embarked on mini pilgrimages following signposts in their own minds.

Any lingering doubts I had on whether one could deconstruct a pilgrimage from its walk vanished. Still unsure? Hear it from Rev. Robert Willis, Dean of Canterbury Cathedral, who knows a thing or two about pilgrimages:

You could journey all around the world on foot and not be a pilgrim because your heart and mind are not open to the insights… and maybe you haven’t had the conversations which will shock you… from the most strange people. On the other hand, you could be… at home and be a pilgrim in heart and mind...So, [a pilgrimage] is not about physical movement, though that’s the icon of it. [80]

After reading this far and reflecting on the conversations I had with unlikely people along the way, you may be feeling prepared to open your mind and join me as a fellow pilgrim following signposts. When in doubt, just remember: a tourist is interested in seeing the sights, the pilgrim is interested in having insights [80].