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There are a lot of uncertainties about the Variante Espiritual del Camino Português , Compostelas and certificates of Distance.
yesterday there was a big discussion here so I thought I try to explain something about this sensible topic.
The Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela represented by the Pilgrims Office acknowledges 3 official routes to the tomb of the Apostle San Tiago ,starting from Porto ( I do not speak about the Caminho de Braga or others at the east side of Portugal here )
There are.
A the Central route Porto ,Barcelos, Valença do Minho , Caldas de Reis to Santiago. 240 kms
B the Coastal route ( Coastal through the hills, Senda Litoral ) from Porto , Vila do Conde , Viana do Castelo Caminha , A Guarda Baiona and Vigo ) 280 kms
C a mix of the Coastal and Central , switching points are Vila do Conde or Caminha to get from the coastal to the central. 260 kms.
To apply for a Compostela certificate you have to walk at least the last 100 kms to Santiago and collect from there 2 stamps a day on your credential.
that means starting on the Central route the nearest place that is 100 kms away from Santiago is O Porriño
and on the Coastal that is Vigo.
All places further south of these both places are popular places to start like Valença or Tui or on the coastal Caminha/ A Guarda or Baiona. But starting from there , does not effect getting your Compostela .
You always walk more than 100 kms from there.
The Variante Espiritual.
the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela aka the Pelgrims Office does not acknowledge the Variante Espiritual as an official route.
Nothing wrong with the Variante and it is a beautiful walk and boatride a nice experience but as said it is not an official route.
so when you are asked for a certificate of Distance in the Pilgrims Office -this is something different than a Compostela certificate.
The Compostela certificate you get for free as you can prove that you walked or biked or rode your horse or sailed ( how you succeed in reaching Santiago by boat I do not know but the rules of the Pilgrims Office describe this) 100 kms by walking and 200 kms by biking and as stated here above you obtained to stamps a day .
The certificate is a document that decribes in the Spanish language that you walked from……. And it is …..kms from there. You have to pay for it , 3€ it is a nice souvenir/ document to show back at home how many kms you walked and from where .
so when you started from Porto on the central route via Caldas de Reis it is 240 kms. And on the Coastal via
Baiona it is 280 km .
if you do the Variante (Pontevedra to Vila Nova De Arousa is about 30 kms, the boatride to Pontecessures is about 30 kms ) the clerk at the Pilgrims Office will not recognize the Variante as an official caminho
The distance on your certificate of Distância when e.g. you walk from O Porriño or Vigo and included the Variante to Vila Nova de Arousa will not be 130 km - the boatride does not count at all because you do not walk - but 100 kms.
These are the strict rules of Pilgrims Office. I asked it to the management of the Pilgrims Office yesterday .
Hope this clears everything and does not disappoint you or decides you not to walk the Variante Espiritual . don't let that stop you from walking this route, follow your heart and most of all enjoy your caminho, whatever it may be.
bom caminho
yesterday there was a big discussion here so I thought I try to explain something about this sensible topic.
The Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela represented by the Pilgrims Office acknowledges 3 official routes to the tomb of the Apostle San Tiago ,starting from Porto ( I do not speak about the Caminho de Braga or others at the east side of Portugal here )
There are.
A the Central route Porto ,Barcelos, Valença do Minho , Caldas de Reis to Santiago. 240 kms
B the Coastal route ( Coastal through the hills, Senda Litoral ) from Porto , Vila do Conde , Viana do Castelo Caminha , A Guarda Baiona and Vigo ) 280 kms
C a mix of the Coastal and Central , switching points are Vila do Conde or Caminha to get from the coastal to the central. 260 kms.
To apply for a Compostela certificate you have to walk at least the last 100 kms to Santiago and collect from there 2 stamps a day on your credential.
that means starting on the Central route the nearest place that is 100 kms away from Santiago is O Porriño
and on the Coastal that is Vigo.
All places further south of these both places are popular places to start like Valença or Tui or on the coastal Caminha/ A Guarda or Baiona. But starting from there , does not effect getting your Compostela .
You always walk more than 100 kms from there.
The Variante Espiritual.
the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela aka the Pelgrims Office does not acknowledge the Variante Espiritual as an official route.
Nothing wrong with the Variante and it is a beautiful walk and boatride a nice experience but as said it is not an official route.
so when you are asked for a certificate of Distance in the Pilgrims Office -this is something different than a Compostela certificate.
The Compostela certificate you get for free as you can prove that you walked or biked or rode your horse or sailed ( how you succeed in reaching Santiago by boat I do not know but the rules of the Pilgrims Office describe this) 100 kms by walking and 200 kms by biking and as stated here above you obtained to stamps a day .
The certificate is a document that decribes in the Spanish language that you walked from……. And it is …..kms from there. You have to pay for it , 3€ it is a nice souvenir/ document to show back at home how many kms you walked and from where .
so when you started from Porto on the central route via Caldas de Reis it is 240 kms. And on the Coastal via
Baiona it is 280 km .
if you do the Variante (Pontevedra to Vila Nova De Arousa is about 30 kms, the boatride to Pontecessures is about 30 kms ) the clerk at the Pilgrims Office will not recognize the Variante as an official caminho
The distance on your certificate of Distância when e.g. you walk from O Porriño or Vigo and included the Variante to Vila Nova de Arousa will not be 130 km - the boatride does not count at all because you do not walk - but 100 kms.
These are the strict rules of Pilgrims Office. I asked it to the management of the Pilgrims Office yesterday .
Hope this clears everything and does not disappoint you or decides you not to walk the Variante Espiritual . don't let that stop you from walking this route, follow your heart and most of all enjoy your caminho, whatever it may be.
bom caminho
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