Do I need another compostela?

[Steeltown Pilgrim]

I have 5 compostelas somewhere in my house-I am not sure
where, but they are here. I have never displayed one, nor have I
ever even shown one to a friend or acquaintance.
Are they meaningless to me?--no, not at all. I was bursting with
pride after completing every inch of the Camino Frances in 2012
and equally proud to have claimed my compostela at that time.
But that was last year and things have changed . This year, I
was fairly indifferent about picking up my compostela after
walking El Norte. Eventually I did, but the process felt a little
awkward.
I am currently working on my Camino plans for 2014, which
may include either Via de Plata, or a combination of Arragones,
Frances, Salvador and Primtivo. I look forward to meeting fellow
pilgrims, reveling in the solitude, standing in awe of history and
architecture, listening to the sweet silence and seeking spiritual
enlightenment and tranquility. I am confident I will discover all
of this and much more.
For me, that discovery will be enough, for someone else,
maybe not, and that's ok. We all must make our own decisions
and follow our own paths. Mine will no longer include the Pilgim
office in Santiago-it just don't need to.

 

[evanlow]

Same here. I have 4 compostela in a tube somewhere in the house. I am currently planning another Camino either for 2014 or 2015 but not ending in SdC (sorry Jimmy, not going to see you next time). For me, it not just the pilgrim office. SdC has become the most visited city in Europe for me in the last decade, and maybe getting to me....

 

[Al the optimist]

On a recent cruise my girlfriend met an couple in their seventies who had amassed 50 certificates from walks around the world.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

It only takes me a day to need another one...!

 

[Al the optimist]

I don't think there is a day that I wouldn't rather be walking than whatever I am doing

 

[Deleted member 12253]

I have 7 and no longer interested . I walk straight in and out of Santiago , and head for finnestere . My 2014 plans . Porto to Santiago April, leading a group of 6 , so no choice but to stay a few hours in Santiago, start Norte in irun and walk for 35 days May, sept still planing.

 

[freescot]

For me it's not about having another certificate: it is a closing ritual, just like attending the pilgrim's mass. It's abrupt enough the finishing of a Camino in itself so all these symbolic acts help me to understand that it has finished.

 

[LTfit]

For me it's not about having another certificate: it is a closing ritual, just like attending the pilgrim's mass. It's abrupt enough the finishing of a Camino in itself so all these symbolic acts help me to understand that it has finished.

I think that this is true for me too although I have done two Caminos without ending in Santiago and that was also fine.

In a few weeks I will enter Santiago for the second time this year. Although it will only be a mini-camino this time around and I already have 2 Compostelas, there is something special about receiving it on December 31st. I look forward to closing off 2013 and starting 2014 in Santiago.