Any camino stage of at least 100k should get a Compostela!

[Dubbydub]

Now this is probably a heresy.

If I walk 100k , or more on any stage or stages consecutively, (not necessarily the last 100k) and duly arrive in Santiago...by whatever means either in the same trip, or later, why can't I get a Compostela? Maybe I can, but I always thought one had to do the last stage from Sarria to Santiago at the least, to get one.

Is it in the Codex rules or what?

I just think, reading here, that the Sarria Santiago stage is becoming very crowded. Because the Compostela is given for that stage. So naturally everyone will want to do that.

So, if the Compostela is given for any stage of at least 100k, wouldn't that ease the rush from Sarria?

Just think not every pilgrim can do Sarria to Santiago. But they could visit Santiago at some later stage and pick up Compostela with their credential for the (at least) 100 k they have walked along the route.

It would surely be a better way of spreading things out.

But maybe tradition will rule!

 

[Canucks]

I don't think it qualifies as heresy but I think it does require pointing out the historical context of the camino. If you are doing it for a walk, then you don't need the paperwork......at least not *that* paperwork. If you want the compostela, then I guess you need to adhere to the rules, if it matters to you. It's only been a bit over a millennia so I can understand questioning it though.

 

[mralisn]

The goal is the Compostela?

"So naturally everyone will want to do that."

Not everyone.

Whatever you decide, may you get what you need.

 

[anniethenurse]

You have to walk the last 100 km to Santiago and get the Compostela.

So you can start from:

Ferrol - Camino Ingles - 112 km
Lugo - Camino Primitivo - 101 km
Tui - Camino Portugues - 117 km
Ourense - The Silver Way - 108 km
Sarria - Camino Frances - 114 km
Baamonde - Camino Norte - 102 km
Monte de Lemos - Camino Invierno - 120 km.

You can walk from Santiago to Fisterra and get the Fisterrana and to Muxia and get the Muxillana.

You can walk from Leon to Oviedo and get the Salvadorana.

To qualify to compostela you don´t have to walk in consecutive days. You can for instance walk two days during two weekends and it counts. You have to be able to show the sellos.

 

[julie]

If you are doing it for a walk, then you don't need the paperwork......at least not *that* paperwork.

Nor do you need it for proof that you've been on pilgrimage and have learned so much along the way. You carry that proof inside you and it colours your outlook for ... how long? evermore perhaps.

 

[scruffy1]

I certainly encourage any and all to walk even a tiny part of the Camino, long enough to be infused with the Spirit of the Camino and to enjoy the company of other pilgrims. Having said that, and I am sincerely trying not to pass judgment, the Compostela is not in any way similar to the medallion one receives for participating in a marathon. Saint James resides in Santiago de Compostela, those who have made the effort will find him in their hearts when they arrive in Santiago and upon arriving home afterwards. Historically, the Compostela was often a "Get Out of Jail Free" card today it should not be relegated to "Been there Done That."

 

[jastrace]

So, if the Compostela is given for any stage of at least 100k, wouldn't that ease the rush from Sarria?
...
It would surely be a better way of spreading things out.

Hi there Dubbydub.

You suggestion assumes that there is cohesive management by the Pilgrim's Office in Santiago of all the various Caminos through every country in the world that end in Santiago. Obviously this is not the case. It is not even the case within Spain.

Also I'm not sure that managing the distribution of pilgrims along all the different Caminos is an objective of the Galician Government.

Finally, regardless of all the other criteria and reasons for issuing a Compostela, I imagine that the current setup suits the regional Galician tourism objectives nicely.

Cheers,

Jason.

 

[methodist.pilgrim.98]

This is a fair and valid question to be asked but...

I suspect that apart from a millenium's worth of tradition, the practical quesions of how it would be issued would be enormous.

Am I entitled to a Compostela for every 100km?

Can I only have one per year (I walked two stages in 2012 - March & November) and did over 100km each time? Since they did not end in SdC, no Compostela.

Where would the office(s) be to issue them.

Not everyone will be able to get to the SdC Office at some time in the future or get there from where they finished.

Can you imagine the flood of post if they had to be sent to the Rua de Vilar and the number of people required to process them? Would there inevitably be a charge? How would it be collected?

At the moment my total stands at 2813km over 10 Camino pilgrimages. In actuality I only have 6 Compostela's and - in truth - that is probably 5 too many.

The advice to take one of the other routes is excellent, though note that the Camino Norte joins the Francés at Arzua.

I recommend the Inglés.

The distance is not important, it whether you find God and yourself on the Way.

 

[sillydoll]

The Compostela is given to those who arrive at the tomb of the saint on foot, horseback or bicycle having walked 100km to Santiago, or cycled 200km.
You could walk 100km from Paris to Orleans and then ask for a Compostela? Nah! I don't think so!

The Cathedral web site is quite clear that walking is not the important thing - "the journey is not important, it is arriving at the tomb of Saint James which is the goal".

 

[Deleted member 3000]

A Compostela is not a recognition of going on a pilgrimage; it is a recognition of a pilgrimage to the tomb in the Cathedral in Santiago de Compostela. A couple of decades ago it was given to everyone who visited the tomb. Naturally, a lot were distributed. So a requirement was set that a pilgrim had to walk the last 100 km, or bike the last 200 km, to qualify. It is not, and never has been, a reward for walking a pilgrimage unless it is to the tomb of St. James.

From the earliest days of the pilgrimage there was a desire for the completion of the journey to be recognised in some way. Pilgrims used the scallop shell as a symbol of their arrival at the Tomb of St James. However this simple practice was easily debased. Vendors started to sell shells to pilgrims as they entered the city. Due to the prevalence of fraudulent practices the Church had to impose the penalty of excommunication on the perpetrators. From the 13th century onwards documents called “evidential letters” were used as a more effective way of recording a completed pilgrimage. These are the direct roots of the Compostela.

The Compostela was an important and useful document for pilgrims. In the 16th century the Catholic Monarchs constituted the Foundation of the Royal Hospital and ordered the construction of a hospital for pilgrims in Santiago. This was housed in the building now occupied by the Hotel Hostal de los Reyes Católicos . On presentation of their Compostela pilgrims were allowed to stay in the hospital for three days. The hospital looked after pilgrims’ health needs and it became the most important hospital in Galicia. Later in its history it became the centre of the faculty of Medicine of the University of Santiago de Compostela. In 1954 it was converted to a state run Parador hotel. However the hotel continues the tradition of pilgrim hospitality by providing free meals for three days to 10 pilgrims on production of the Compostela.

In the 20th century the growth of pilgrims arriving in Santiago by vehicular transport gave rise to a concern that the aspects of effort and sacrifice previously characteristic of the pilgrimage may be lost or diminished. It was also the case that there was a growth in certificates issued by other bodies which sought to imitate the traditional Compostela. Therefore the Cathedral of Santiago decided that to gain a Compostela a pilgrim had to provide evidence on a credencial that they had walked or travelled on horseback at least the last 100kms of their journey to Santiago and, if travelling by bicycle, the last 200kms. That rule still stands today.

from the Pilgrim Office website

 

[Dubbydub]

Hi everyone. Thanks for your interesting replies.

I think I was being a bit "tongue in cheek" with my OP.

But I am currently reading the book "Buen Camino" by Natasha and Peter Murtagh. A great read, about their journey from SJPP to Finisterra. Am enjoying it immensely.

Anyhow, when they arrive at Ferreiros they notice how VERY crowded the Way had become. In fact they were upset at this, as it impeded their progress to some extent.

Also, Peter Murtagh writes that in the 1980s a rule was made by the church that anyone who had travelled at least 100 km on the Camino is entitled to a Compostela, and in the author's words, this resulted in the LAST 100 k being the starting point for a huge number of pilgrims. And Sarria is that town.

I am not criticising this, my point was, that if anyone had travelled 100 k anywhere on the Camino, then he or she should be entitled to a Compostela.

I understand the logistical problems, and all that. But it is not insurmountable. Everyone has a pilgrim passport right? And a visit to Santiago could be made at any time in the future. Just present your credential in Santiago, and you get your Compostela. Or apply by post.

I think the hinterland of Santiago would not be happy. But maybe other places along the route might be!

Thanks for reading. And I understand all your views. Just posing a proposition, if you will!

 

[Rebekah Scott]

I don´t agree.
Yes, it is wonderful to walk 100 km along a pilgrim trail, but that doesn´t earn you a compostela, any more than hanging out at McDonald´s earns you a Big Mac.

A pilgrimage is supposed to be a Christian´s life journey writ small, with all the trials, tribulations, and joys culminating at a wonderous ending-point: Santiago de Compostela. There the pilgrim could gain closure for his efforts by honoring the remains of an apostle and celebrating a joyous reunion with Christ and his church -- much like a Christian life full of hardship and joy ends with a happy reception in heaven.

I think this is why the Church Fathers in Compostela are bemused by the big focus on continuing to Finisterre or Muxia, or the secular mantra of "it´s the journey, not the destination." In the Christian vision, the journey is the refining fire, but the cathedral and its rituals reveals the pilgrim´s new, scrubbed, shriven self as the glorious final product.

 

[Dubbydub]

I don´t agree.
Yes, it is wonderful to walk 100 km along a pilgrim trail, but that doesn´t earn you a compostela, any more than hanging out at McDonald´s earns you a Big Mac.

A pilgrimage is supposed to be a Christian´s life journey writ small, with all the trials, tribulations, and joys culminating at a wonderous ending-point: Santiago de Compostela. There the pilgrim could gain closure for his efforts by honoring the remains of an apostle and celebrating a joyous reunion with Christ and his church -- much like a Christian life full of hardship and joy ends with a happy reception in heaven.

I think this is why the Church Fathers in Compostela are bemused by the big focus on continuing to Finisterre or Muxia, or the secular mantra of "it´s the journey, not the destination." In the Christian vision, the journey is the refining fire, but the cathedral and its rituals reveals the pilgrim´s new, scrubbed, shriven self as the glorious final product.

Well then, maybe the whole ritual of the Compostela should be abandoned?

But, many, (and I hear your views), very many like to get the certificate of arrival in Santiago after the last 100k. I.e. the Compostela.

I have no doubt that many will travel the Way for the pilgrimage alone. But thousands do the last 100k to get the Compostela aswell.

That is a fact, and no matter what anyone says about the spiritual benefit ONLY, well why do so many do the last 100k? and why is it so crowded?

OK maybe they want to see the Cathedral in Santiago as journeys end. But I wonder how many start off in Monte de Gozo for example, having walked from Say Pamplona?

Maybe some do. For their own reasons.

Has anyone skipped Saria onwards and just arrived at the Cathedral,. Having walked say 700 k already? I wouldn't blame them if they did. That section looks like a football match crowd exiting.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

it impeded their progress to some extent.

It is so irritating when others steal my idea, or get in my way. They just really have no sense of good manners. :twisted:

 

[Pieces]

I think this is a really strange discussion...

 

[Rebekah Scott]

Dubadub, a lot of very respectable people feel that yes, the whole Compostela business is a ludicrous shakedown.
But a whole lot of other people really love to have a stamped, signed, religious document at the end of their trip, a unique souvenir. I think it is a nice, ecumenical way for the cathedral to continue greeting and acknowledging pilgrims who´ve come to them from a considerable distance -- even if "only" 100 km.!
I think if the cathedral wants to be regarded as The Big Spiritual Goal at the end of the camino, it could do a whole lot more to make pilgrims feel welcome.

But that´s another post for another day.
Strangely
Reb

 

[Dubbydub]

I think this is a really strange discussion...

Hi pieces,

Why do you think that?

My thoughts are, that each 100k or more, not necessarily the last lap should be recognised.

If that is what walkers of the Way would like.

I totally understand that not everyone walks the Way to get a certificate.

But many do. And it's the last 100k from Santiago that counts. Nothing else. Why is that?

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Why is that?

The pilgrimage is to the bones of St. James, so it has to end there. It never has been a reward for walking. The 100km is arbitrary to hold back the tourists.

 

[Dubbydub]

Why is that?

The pilgrimage is to the bones of St. James, so it has to end there. It never has been a reward for walking. The 100km is arbitrary to hold back the tourists.

Hi falcon. Thanks for your reply.

Unfortunately, I think the "hold back the tourists" has been shown to fail. There are probably more people doing the last 100k than anyone else on the full route. Be that from SJPP, Le Puy, La Plata, and so on.

Call me what you will, but I feel the last 100k from around Sarria is turning into a carnival.

But what do I know about people's motivation?

Better to not judge, and then not be judged eh?

It's just something in my head about this.

Thanks, and I hope I did not offend anyone with my thoughts.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

But what do I know about people's motivation?

Half the pilgrims are Spanish. They are probably irritated with all the foreign sportsmen hiking from France and getting in the way, while they walk the last 100km for religious reasons (94% walked for religious and spiritual reasons). :wink:

 

[oursonpolaire]

But what do I know about people's motivation?

Half the pilgrims are Spanish. They are probably irritated with all the foreign sportsmen hiking from France and getting in the way, while they walk the last 100km for religious reasons (94% walked for religious and spiritual reasons). :wink:

I'm not sure what the Spanish are up to in the last 100km, but they are having a lot of fun. I really enjoyed watching.

 

[vicrev]

You're In dangerous waters Dubbydub !...Excumunication Is nigh !...Good on you for having the intestinal fortification to ask the question !!!!! Vicr

 

[Pieces]

I think that everybody competing in the Olympics should have a gold medal, why is it only the one finishing first getting one ?

also I think it should not be allowed for any religion to say some people don't go to heaven, everybody should be allowed in no matter what they did...

the world is simply so unfair, why does anyone have to do anything to get something, and even worse why do anyone have the right to say they dont wanna give people something if they didnt do what they were asked to...

actually I think I will call my boss and ask why I have to come to work to get paid, it just seems so unfair, he should pay me no matter what i did :evil:

 

[sillydoll]

Oh course the Spanish pilgrims are having fun on the road to Santiago!!
They are walking to the tomb of their Patron Saint. A time of joy and celebration.

Hundreds of joyful songs about walking to Sant Iago, mostly merry, marching mantras, have come down to us from medieval times.

And the Compostela is a hangover from the days when, if you could prove that you had been to Santiago for 3 successive years, you were exempt from paying taxes for life. What an incentive! Cause for joy and celebration!

Of course, you actually had to walk to Santiago to earn these rewards. You couldn't walk 100km from your front door and then claim an indulgence or 'la autentica'

The only place you could earn the same rewards was at Villafranca del Bierzo - but that privelege was only for pilgrims who were so ill, injured or exhausted that they couldn't go any further.

 

[GunnarW]

To come back to the list of 100km alternatives posted by Annie (14 Mar 2013, 07:58)

If you would walk the triangle Santiago-Finisterre-Muxia-Santiago or Santiago-Muxia-Finisterre-Santiago
that should also work to get a compostela?

I guess this is at least 80km + 40km + 80km = 200km, so biking would also be OK to get it?

 

[Deleted member 3000]

In 2010, the last Holy Year, the percentage of Spanish pilgrims rose from the "normal" 50% to 69%. In 2004, also a Holy Year, the Spanish were 74% of the pilgrims. The Spanish take St. James quiet seriously. The number reporting that they made the pilgrimage for religious, meaning Catholic, reasons rose to as high as 75% in 2004. The Camino at its core is a Spanish, Catholic pilgrimage. A rule, such as the 100 km rule, effects the Spanish to a much greater degree than any other group of pilgrims. If they thought it was a bad rule, they would get it changed. The 30% extranjeros, particularly the non-Catholics, are intruders in some ways on this national cultural activity. To me it seems very ungracious to make the pilgrimage about oneself by criticizing the host country. Quite frankly, if you want a certificate for walking any 100 km, go to your computer. There are a lot of templates there that are quite pretty.

 

[Al the optimist]

One day you will pierce your cheek with that tongue Pices!

 

[Susannafromsweden]

This made me think of something that happened when I was walking vdlp 2010, the holy year.
It was somewhere at the end, the last 200 km or something.
And I was lucky to have some company for a few days, a very nice man from Spain. And we stopped at an albergue, and started to pack up our things etc. After a while more pilgrims arrived, most of them Spanish. And also an older man, not Spanish. I have forgotten where he was from.
My Spanish friend went out to talk to him for a while, and then came back. And the others asked: who was that man? Then he said: "I don't know, but he said he got 50 compostelas!"
And another spanish guy said: "Fifty!? Did he walk the Camino fifty times?" And we looked at each other, in silence. Then he smiled and continued "Did it help him?"
And they all laughed.

 

[Tia Valeria]

Has anyone skipped Saria onwards and just arrived at the Cathedral,. Having walked say 700 k already? I wouldn't blame them if they did. That section looks like a football match crowd exiting.

We heard of one young man who had walked for weeks and ran out of time so had to bus into Santiago or miss his plane. He could not therefore receive his Compostela. However due to volcanic eruptions and cancelled flights he was able to get the bus back to Sarria and complete his pilgrimage to St James' tomb and receive his Compostela too.

 

[JohnnieWalker]

I have the solution to this.

If you want to obtain a Compostela walk/use a horse/cycle at least the last 100 kms or cycle the last 200 kms, to Santiago then come to the Pilgrims' Office with your credencial.

If you want to walk/cycle/use a horse any distance you wish, anywhere in the world or indeed make a pilgrimage to your computer at home simply go here:

http://www.catedraldesantiago.es/ing/webcatedral.html

Click on the "Pilgrimage" tab - fill in the e compostela, select whether you want it in Latin or in English, print it off, frame it...then tell your friends!

 

[tyrrek]

You know what you've done and why you've done it, no matter what you achieve and where. You don't need a piece of paper, although I admit I treasure mine! I've been on the Camino 6 times in the last 2 years, with 3 resulting in a Compostela. The others were for different routes or reasons. All of them were valid pilgrimages in my view. Buen Camino!

 

[William Marques]

John

That seems a neat solution to dubbydub's problem.

My thoughts are, that each 100k or more, not necessarily the last lap should be recognised.
If that is what walkers of the Way would like.

Why leave it at 100km?

What the walkers on the Camino would like is pretty irrelevant, as Pieces has said there are many things we would like not to have to do but cannot avoid.

 

[newfydog]

My first trip we didn't bother to pick up a compostelle. I have one now, but the passports are far more important to me.

 

[Dubbydub]

I have the solution to this.

If you want to obtain a Compostela walk/use a horse/cycle at least the last 100 kms or cycle the last 200 kms, to Santiago then come to the Pilgrims' Office with your credencial.

If you want to walk/cycle/use a horse any distance you wish, anywhere in the world or indeed make a pilgrimage to your computer at home simply go here:

http://www.catedraldesantiago.es/ing/webcatedral.html

Click on the "Pilgrimage" tab - fill in the e compostela, select whether you want it in Latin or in English, print it off, frame it...then tell your friends!

I am not speaking about myself. As newfydog says, the passports are far more worthy of the journey made, however long or short.

My point is that the whole Compostela business has made the Sarria-Santiago route into a "must do" for those who WANT a Compostela, not necessarily myself. Therefore that leg is totally overcrowded, and albergues are full, leading to a middle of the night departure and a desperate race for a bed.

That happens whether one wants a Compostela or not! And is due to the great number of people who just do the last stage for the Compostela. If they don't they won't get one.

I'm not being critical of them for that, just aware that this causes crowds and bottlenecks on that part of the route.

Even if one were to be so shallow as to print off a Compostela from the internet, (or not bother at all), one STILL has to battle with the crowds. And it only seems to be a problem on the final sector.

I was positing a possible solution to spread the crowds out. And I hear those who say this would be logistically difficult. But it is not impossible either.

However I cannot see the city of Santiago agreeing to any change due to the commerce brought in by Compostela seeking pilgrims!

 

[JohnnieWalker]

Or indeed by pilgrims who want to make a pilgrimage to the Tomb of Saint James which is the whole point!

 

[Deleted member 3000]

My point is that the whole Compostela business has made the Sarria-Santiago route into a "must do" for those who WANT a Compostela

Yes. That is the point of the pilgrimage to the bones of St. James, particularly to the Spanish pilgrims who represent 3/4 of the pilgrims in a holy year. No offense, but you seem to be willfully ignoring the facts and focusing only on your opinion. It is a pilgrimage for the holy, not a hike for foreigners. If their holy intent is an inconvenience to you, there are hundreds of thousands of kilometers of GR hikes in France for your enjoyment.

There are 488 albergue beds in Sarria, and hundreds more hotel/hostal beds, so it is not really crowded. Arzua has about 320 albergue beds. Monte do Gozo alone in Santiago has 600+. The facts on the ground do not support overcrowding assertions. It is mostly in the mind. Tokyo subways, now there is some overcrowding! We are blessed that St. James bones are not there...

 

[Freedrik]

it should not be relegated to "Been there Done That."

spot on

 

[oursonpolaire]

Falcon269 has a point. It's not that crowded, aside from around the Feast of St James or in a holy year. I've done a number of Caminos, with extended solitary stretches (e.g, one other spotted between Montserrat and Jaca) and the Sarria onward stages are different in feeling with a lot more people. But it's fun to see the mainly Spanish groups enjoying each other's company and there's a good feel of the mediaeval pilgrimage there. But to quote a Danish/Brazilian pilgrim who said one of the most sensible things to me on Day 3 of my first pilgrimage: "Don't worry. There'll be somewhere to stay, and there'll be enough to eat."

 

[Sheffield James]

I have to confess I worried a little about the last 100kms, thinking it would be overcrowded, lacking the reverence I associate with a pilgrimage and making it hard for me to find a bed. All selfish considerations.
I will worry no more thanks to the wisdom and myth-busting of several posters here. From now on, I will continue to view my camino as a pilgrim journey to the burial place of St James the Apostle, but with a bit of cognitive reframing I am sure I'll be able to embrace the fact that I will be joined in the final stages by people who may have the same motivation as me but whose culture causes them to express it in a less overtly pious way. And if I can find a bed and something to eat (which I now believe to be the case) then I'll restrict my grumbles to the state of my sore, shredded feet.

Buen Camino,

Sheffield James

 

[tyrrek]

Hi James.

I'm sure a lot of people disagree with me, but the last 100kms - although busy (and sometimes a bit of a circus) has its place in the whole Camino. It gradually brings you back to the world you'll be returning to.

Buen Camino!

 

[fraluchi]

more facts on the Compostela and Credencial:

http://www.archicompostela.org/peregrinos/Espanol/La Compostela.htm

 

[Sansthing]

There is also the point that some pilgrims either don´t have enough time or are not physically able to walk more than 100k, so naturally the numbers will increase from Sarria. They are still pilgrims however far they have walked.
Sandra :arrow:

 

[annakappa]

My point is that the whole Compostela business has made the Sarria-Santiago route into a "must do" for those who WANT a Compostela, Therefore that leg is totally overcrowded, and albergues are full, leading to a middle of the night departure and a desperate race for a bed.
I was positing a possible solution to spread the crowds out.

However I cannot see the city of Santiago agreeing to any change due to the commerce brought in by Compostela seeking pilgrims!

When actually did you walk Dubbydub, because I really don't think that there are many Pilgrims that get up in the middle of the night! Most Albergues ask that Pilgrims leave only after dawn, so as to give those who DO want to rest, can do so, without having to be woken up by a small unconsiderate few, who, yes, just go ahead and do their own thing - regardless!

It's not the City of Santiago who makes up the rules - those come from the Cathedral of Santiago!
The idea for a Pilgrim walking the Pilgrimage to Santiago is to visit the tomb of the Apostol. Note, I mean as a Pilgrimage!
There are many other ways to enter Santiago, the way from Ourense, the Camino Sanabres is one, a 4/5 day walk and is delightful and not at all busy.
Back to Sarria: we have met groups of Prisoners walking as a group from Sarria. They obviously can't take off more than a week behind bars! We have met the father of the Dutch young man who died of hypothermia, on his way from SJPP to Roncesvalles. The father walked from the spot that his son tragically died, but his whole family intended to meet up with him and walk "only" from Sarria with him from there to Santiago. Obviously NOT everyone can take off extended time!
In May, My husband Adriaan will be joining Sillydoll to assist with her group of invalid or aging people, who really wish to walk the Camino AND obtain their Compostella.they will start at the 100 km mark and walk very, very slowly. They will take 10 days. They can't manage quicker than that. It's their limit. ( they will, by the way, be staying in pensions and not in Albergues, because it has been necessary to book for them ahead of time). Then take so many Spaniards who either walk part of the Camino each year, often taking many years to complete, or choose a location nearer Santiago to start their Pilgrimage. Santiago is Spain's Patron Saint.
So you see, Dubbydub, that there are many reasons, that people choose "only" to walk from Sarria. Obviously it's crowded. Obviously for those of us who have been walking for more than a month, it can be a bit annoying at times, but this part of the Journey has as much importance as walking the beautiful Meseta, thought by many best to be avoided!
Coming back to the point. To receive your Compostella, you just have to follow the conditions set up by the Cathedral of Santiago. Anne

 

[Deleted member 3000]

From the Pilgrim Office:

Marzo terminó con lluvia y abril comenzó igual pero sabemos de la alegría de cada uno de vosotros que habéis terminado el Camino. Felicidades por vuestro esfuerzo y perseveranza en medio de las dificultades!!
El lunes 25 de marzo habéis llegado 176 peregrinos
El martes 26 de marzo habéis llegado 464 peregrinos
El miércoles 27 de marzo habéis llegado 632 peregrinos
El jueves 28 de marzo habéis llegado 669 peregrinos
El viernes 29 de marzo habéis llegado 834
El sábado 30 de marzo habéis llegado 946
El domingo 21 [sic] de marzo habéis llegado 777

Feliz Pascua de Resurrección de la que fue Testigo nuestro Santiago Apóstol!!!!

The sudden increase in the number of pilgrims is almost certainly solely Spanish pilgrims on pilgrimage from Sarria for Easter. We "tourist" pilgrims just get in their way! Who is making it inconvenient for whom? A Compostela is a "must do" (pejorative assumed) for these devoted Pilgrims?

 

[vicrev]

Woweee !!! Question. the Camino in any way certainly gets people fired up !!!!

 

[jastrace]

I have the solution to this.

If you want to obtain a Compostela walk/use a horse/cycle at least the last 100 kms or cycle the last 200 kms, to Santiago then come to the Pilgrims' Office with your credencial.

If you want to walk/cycle/use a horse any distance you wish, anywhere in the world or indeed make a pilgrimage to your computer at home simply go here:

http://www.catedraldesantiago.es/ing/webcatedral.html

Click on the "Pilgrimage" tab - fill in the e compostela, select whether you want it in Latin or in English, print it off, frame it...then tell your friends!

Awesome!

You just saved me 5 weeks and $10,000. Thanks! :wink:

 

[TravelBug19]

So I am very confused and feel silly about it. If I would like to receive a compostela may I walk any 100Km route along the camino (frances, norte, etc) and then arrive in Santiago and expect to receive a compostela?
Or must it be the LAST 100km?

For example Irun to Bilbao. Then lets say Arzua to Santiago. Is that compostela worthy?

Thank you all kindly!

 

[Deleted member 3000]

It must it be the LAST 100km.

 

[TravelBug19]

Thank you Thank you

 

[Lydia Gillen]

As many people seem to be confused about what they must do to receive a compostela it might be worth mentioning that on the last 100 klm before Santiago de Compostela you need to get at least two stamps per day on your credential.

This is stated clearly on the Spanish credentials (al menos dos por dia), but often not stated on those credentials issued by other countries, which is a pity.

 

[Lydia Gillen]

Reading through this thread again it strikes me that maybe I should also say that the 'Compostela ' is awarded only to those (quien hace la peregrination con sentido cristiano; devotionis affectu, voti vel pietatis causa) which can roughly be translated as 'making the pilgrimage for a religious or spiritual reason'

The 'Compostela' is awarded free of charge by the Cathedral to those who make this Christian pilgrimage to the tomb of St. James which is in the Cathedral in Santiago de Compostela.

It seems to me that at times there is a lack of appreciation of this by some who seem to think that they have a 'right' to it, when perhaps 'Thank you' would be a more appropriate sentiment.

 

[mralisn]

It seems to me that at times there is a lack of appreciation of this by some who seem to think that they have a 'right' to it, when perhaps 'Thank you' would be a more appropriate sentiment.

Wow, I love this statement Lydia!

 

[scruffy1]

If one is walking the Camino in order to receive the Compostela, perhaps a rethink is in order. We all walk the Camino for our own reasons, reasons which often change even as we walk. All are personally valid whether mundane, spiritual, or religious not necessarily Christian in nature, all will be tested along the way. The Compostela, I think, should remain a side note, public recognition of your efforts, a sign of personal achievement, but not a goal. Thus spake Mr Natural