Credencial vending machine in Pamplona

[SioCamino]

A friend sent me this photo from Pamplona this week... Handy if you arrive and need to get a credential outside of office hours! Great idea.

 

[Bradypus]

A few scattered around Santiago to dispense Compostelas would be very useful too.

 

[Bradypus]

On my first Camino I was refused a credencial in SJPDP because the woman who issued them reckoned I wasn't proper pilgrim material. The canons in Roncesvalles were less picky. I wonder what questions the machine asks you before it hands one over?

 

[trecile]

A friend sent me this photo from Pamplona this week... Handy if you arrive and need to get a credential outside of office hours! Great idea.

An often asked question here is "where can I get a credential," especially from those arriving outside of normal business hours. This will be helpful for many.

 

[mspath]

Without offence to you @SioCamino as ‘the messenger’ - I almost couldn’t believe this headline! I thought it must have been a joke. Silly me. Seeing that photo - my first reaction, I feel sad. Obtaining my credenciale has always been one of the special rituals of each of my Caminos.

I haven’t walked the Frances since 2013. I’d like to walk that path again one day and I know - from what I read on this forum - that a lot has changed since then. But a vending machine for credenciales!

Maybe it’s a small thing and some will value the convenience. But, for me, even on reflection, it still makes me feel sad.

Walking in 2004 on the CF to Trinidad de Arre the path was a rich mix; medieval bridges criss-crossed the famous Arga River where Hemingway had liked to fish and Coke machines were installed to serve thristy pilgrims! Those machines were a shock!

 

[J Willhaus]

Honestly, as a nurse, the bigger shock for me were the vending machines outside the pharmacia selling compeed and a variety of braces and supports!

 

[Mananath]

A friend sent me this photo from Pamplona this week... Handy if you arrive and need to get a credential outside of office hours! Great idea.

Where in Pamplona was this located?

 

[Bradypus]

Compeed pretty harmless. But braces from a vending machine. Yikes.

"Two nations divided by a common language". I had a puzzled moment wondering who would wear braces on a Camino anyway. Wouldn't they chafe with the rucksack straps? Wouldn't a belt be simpler? Dawned on me eventually

 

[Bradypus]

Walking in 2004 on the CF to Trinidad de Arre the path was a rich mix; medieval bridges criss-crossed the famous Arga River where Hemingway had liked to fish and Coke machines were installed to serve thristy pilgrims! Those machines were a shock!

Almost every temple on the Shikoku circuit has at least one drinks vending machine. They do seem a little incongruous to my western eyes at first when set against the religious architecture and atmosphere. But they are ubiquitous in Japan and I was grateful for them many times!

 

[mspath]

Almost every temple on the Shikoku circuit has at least one drinks vending machine. They do seem a little incongruous to my western eyes at first when set against the religious architecture and atmosphere. But they are ubiquitous in Japan and I was grateful for them many times!

Ditto for me. Half a lifetime ago hiking alone in rural Japan and knowing no Japanese I could only order by pointing (!!) and thus ate/drank only what I could see. Sweets were almost impossible to spot but containers of chocolate milk were often sold from small self-service kiosks which resembled mail boxes. Thus I happily 'had a few too many' chocolate milks every day to calm my craving for sugar.

 

[Kathar1na]

Where in Pamplona was this located?

It says Libreria Diocesana de Pamplona on the vending machine. It is a bookstore for religious books and other articles. They appear to have the same address as the Cathedral ...

 

[Kathar1na]

On my first Camino I was refused a credencial in SJPDP because the woman who issued them reckoned I wasn't proper pilgrim material. The canons in Roncesvalles were less picky. I wonder what questions the machine asks you before it hands one over?

If it could talk, the vending machine would probably ask: "Have you got two €'s in coins?"

Nowadays we can order our credentials online from @ivar's forum store but when I got my first credencial this was not yet possible, I think. As I started from further away than Pamplona and SJPP, I tried to get it from a pilgrim association near me and, at least at the time, credencials were only available for members of an association, and you had to join and pay a membership fee first. Which was a lot more than 2 €. The credencial itself was free.

 

[J Willhaus]

American Pilgrims on the Camino asks for a $2 donation, but will issue one without the donation if requested.

 

[MikeyC]

Without offence to you @SioCamino as ‘the messenger’ - I almost couldn’t believe this headline! I thought it must have been a joke. Silly me. Seeing that photo - my first reaction, I feel sad. Obtaining my credenciale has always been one of the special rituals of each of my Caminos.

I haven’t walked the Frances since 2013. I’d like to walk that path again one day and I know - from what I read on this forum - that a lot has changed since then. But a vending machine for credenciales! Maybe it’s a small thing and some will value the convenience. But, it still makes me feel sad.

I'll admit to some excitement on our first Camino as we waited in line outside the Pilgrims Office in SJPP for credenciales. A feeling shared by many if the buzz of conversation was any indicator. Not exactly matched by ordering on line or picking up in SdeC but I appreciate the convenience of vending machines.

I sincerely hope that there are no plans for an e-credencial. Download an app and scan QR codes in every bar and albergue. Not for me thank you but I can be quite a luddite at times.

 

[trecile]

I sincerely hope that there are no plans for an e-credencial. Download an app and scan QR codes in every bar and albergue.

It already exists. But no one is compelled to use it, nor the vending machine credential.

Digital credential for the Holy Year

Digital Credential is ready. Pilgrims can get their stamps through the capture of QR codes.

www.elcaminoconcorreos.com

 

[Bradypus]

It already exists. But no one is compelled to use it, nor the vending machine credential.

I am one of the "Luddite" faction on this business. Although I am usually a fairly keen user of technical gadgetry I do have trouble squaring my old fashioned notions of pilgrimage with e-credencials & virtual sellos, credencial vending machines, Compostela numbered tickets and pre-registering online with the Pilgrim Office. I can see the convenience benefits there might be but my aesthetic sense revolts at the idea. Pilgrims may not actually be "compelled" to use such things yet but I sense a movement in that direction. A recent angry post from a pilgrim office volunteer was deeply offensive when referring to pilgrims who had not pre-registered online.

 

[bullingtonce]

A friend sent me this photo from Pamplona this week... Handy if you arrive and need to get a credential outside of office hours! Great idea.

Hooray. We beat the Japanese.
There hold the world record for i

A friend sent me this photo from Pamplona this week... Handy if you arrive and need to get a credential outside of office hours! Great idea.

Oops. Prematurely sent.
Hooray. We beat the Japanese.
They hold the world record for different items in a vending machine, but we have God in a vending machine.
This is supposed to be a joke.

 

[C clearly]

It is my understanding that until recently (a few years ago), there was no requirement for a standardized credencial at all - you could make your own. So now the Luddites are holding up the mailing-process as the gold standard for getting a credencial, but why not go back further? Maybe we should criticize the standardization of the booklet and the fact that we can conveniently get one by mail. Each of us defines our traditions and they are rather arbitrary.

 

[Kathar1na]

Today, I filled out the questionnaire for the survey that is done by the University of Santiago in collaboration with the Diocese of Santiago and currently available on the forum. One statement was: "The route [in my case: Camino Francés] had reached its capacity for pilgrims." I ticked: Strongly agree. One may wonder what this has to do with a vending machine in Pamplona. Quite a bit, imho. We have become too many.

The credencial as we know it was invented in 1987 by a conference of international and Spanish Camino associations. No Internet forum existed at the time so we don't know how pilgrims in those days reacted to something so new-fangled.

It was only in 1993 or so that the Cathedral got involved and elevated an appropriately stamped credencial to a condition for getting a Compostela. At least that's my understanding of recent history.

 

[lt56ny]

It already exists. But no one is compelled to use it, nor the vending machine credential.

Digital credential for the Holy Year

Digital Credential is ready. Pilgrims can get their stamps through the capture of QR codes.

www.elcaminoconcorreos.com

I'll admit to some excitement on our first Camino as we waited in line outside the Pilgrims Office in SJPP for credenciales. A feeling shared by many if the buzz of conversation was any indicator. Not exactly matched by ordering on line or picking up in SdeC but I appreciate the convenience of vending machines.

I sincerely hope that there are no plans for an e-credencial. Download an app and scan QR codes in every bar and albergue. Not for me thank you but I can be quite a luddite at times.

I bet for lots of young people who are not sure what paper is and if it isn't an app it doesn't exist (for some others too, who have their own reasons, an online credential is the option they would choose. I always get a paper credential. I have kept a few and have given the others to friends and my kids. Look at it like this, especially if you walk when there are lots of pilgrims arriving in Santiago, more e-credentials, less wait time for people like us who want a credential issued the old fashioned way. If you arrive in Santiago in December or January no need to worry , no hurry, no fuss to get a credential!

 

[Bradypus]

One statement was: "The route [in my case: Camino Francés] had reached its capacity for pilgrims." I ticked: Strongly agree

I remember thinking much the same at the end of my second Camino in 2002. There had been such a massive explosion in numbers since my first Camino that I wondered how much further the trend could go without everything falling apart. There were just under 69,000 Compostelas issued that year. Seems I might have been mistaken.

 

[JabbaPapa]

On my first Camino I was refused a credencial in SJPDP because the woman who issued them reckoned I wasn't proper pilgrim material. The canons in Roncesvalles were less picky. I wonder what questions the machine asks you before it hands one over?

Mme Debril was wonderful.

She half-grudgingly provided me with one as I had walked from Paris, and had a recommendation letter from the canon of Notre Dame, plus all of the stamps along the way, most from parishes, abbeys, monasteries, etc.

She could obviously tell that I wasn't a Catholic (that happened later), hence some hesitation, but she also clearly saw that something was going on inside, and took precedence, particularly as I had all of the formal boxes ticked.

She was a good Catholic, struggling to provide from a supply of credenciales IIRC about 20-25% of the number that she actually needed to be able to provide for all, hence her pickiness. Which she explained to me, in explanation that to obtain one from her as a non-Catholic was a privilege, and not a right.

She was definitely more kindly towards those who came to see her with respect, humility, and when necessary apology, instead of with expectation of services.

 

[JabbaPapa]

It is my understanding that until recently (a few years ago), there was no requirement for a standardized credencial at all - you could make your own.

No, that's not true - - in that for an "unofficial" credencial to be valid, it needed and needs to follow some basic rules, the most important of which is a recommendation letter from a recognised Catholic (and conditionally other Christian) ecclesial Authority, and preferentially either one's Parish Priest or one's Bishop/Abbot/Superior/etc.

The issue after a certain point in the 2000s was that the number of commercially produced unofficial ones obeying the basic rules not in the slightest, and yet profiting financially from the Camino whilst providing nothing in return, as well as being often quite aggressively outside of the Church had exploded ; at the same time as the issuing of Compostelas by the Cathedral had started to become financially burdensome.

Hence the decision to require only the officially recognised ones, which provide 2€ each towards the upkeep of the pilgrims office.

 

[MikeyC]

The credencial now serves us mainly as a record of where we stayed, visited etc..... This has to be on as paper to be part of the experience. The wine stain, the upside down stamp (me), coffee mug ring mark, etc.... can never be replaced by pixels.
In any case after our first Camino and compostela we never troubled the Pilgrims Office in SdeC again. Just as well as we have been known to skip the final 30 or 40 kms after Sarria if it is crowded.

 

[Rmarkob]

I bought a Credencial from a pilgrim shop just down the street from the Cathedral in Pamplona.

 

[JabbaPapa]

The credencial as we know it was invented in 1987

The first version of it was produced for a Holy Year in the 1950s, but you're perfectly right about when the document started to be generalised in the mass produced version with which we are familiar nowadays.

 

[Gerard Griffin]

Speaking of machines on the Camino, there's no doubt that the 24-hour vending machines in towns and the coke-dispensers on the trail can be a godsend.

The strangest machine I've seen was in Najera, where just down from the austere Christian albergue and across the street from the church (closed, if course) there was a group of machines selling everything, including an object which I can't specify on this forum, but which might in some circumstances have provided welcome relief to a stressed pilgrim.

With virtual Caminos on the rise, and advancing age, I plan soon to send a robot avatar on the Camino, and would be delighted if he could get his credential from a machine, receive a digital Compostela in Santiago and even collect the plenary indulgence on my behalf in the Cathedral. To simulate as closely as possible the real peregrini, he'll be programmed to say "buen Camino", snore in albergues, talk about feet and complain about bicycles and young people. The future looks bright, we've got to wear shades.

 

[Jeff Crawley]

A few scattered around Santiago to dispense Compostelas would be very useful too.

Well I remember a shop in Sto Domingo that sold doctored versions of the old Credential with the Latin removed and a suitable text in Spanish/French/German or English.
It reminded me of the time I bought my wife a handbag in a Spanish market: "What logo would you like" he asked opening a tray with CC, YSL, La Coste badges!

 

[Bradypus]

With virtual Caminos on the rise, and advancing age, I plan soon to send a robot avatar on the Camino, and would be delighted if he could get his credential from a machine, receive a digital Compostela in Santiago and even collect the plenary indulgence on my behalf in the Cathedral.

You should talk to these people - you sound just who they need!

Santi, el robot vigués que permite hacer el Camino de Santiago a una persona con movilidad reducida - Metropolitano

Santi, un robot 5G, permite que personas con movilidad reducida "telecaminen" el Camino de Santiago hasta entrar en la Praza do Obradoiro

metropolitano.gal

 

[Jeff Crawley]

On my first Camino I was refused a credencial in SJPDP because the woman who issued them reckoned I wasn't proper pilgrim material. The canons in Roncesvalles were less picky. I wonder what questions the machine asks you before it hands one over?

"Will that be cash or card?"

 

[Jeff Crawley]

"Two nations divided by a common language". I had a puzzled moment wondering who would wear braces on a Camino anyway. Wouldn't they chafe with the rucksack straps? Wouldn't a belt be simpler? Dawned on me eventually

I did, one year. The button inside the waistband type and no, they didn't chafe.

 

[Jeff Crawley]

Compeed pretty harmless. But braces from a vending machine. Yikes.

I recall seeing a vending machine in, I think Burgos or Leon, which sold contraceptives . . . Spain's come a long way since the Caudillo, baby!

 

[Mananath]

Speaking of machines on the Camino, there's no doubt that the 24-hour vending machines in towns and the coke-dispensers on the trail can be a godsend.

The strangest machine I've seen was in Najera, where just down from the austere Christian albergue and across the street from the church (closed, if course) there was a group of machines selling everything, including an object which I can't specify on this forum, but which might in some circumstances have provided welcome relief to a stressed pilgrim.

With virtual Caminos on the rise, and advancing age, I plan soon to send a robot avatar on the Camino, and would be delighted if he could get his credential from a machine, receive a digital Compostela in Santiago and even collect the plenary indulgence on my behalf in the Cathedral. To simulate as closely as possible the real peregrini, he'll be programmed to say "buen Camino", snore in albergues, talk about feet and complain about bicycles and young people. The future looks bright, we've got to wear shades.

A few years ago, in Cadiz Spain, I came across a vending machine selling sex toys. Right next to a candy and soda vending machine!

 

[J Willhaus]

With virtual Caminos on the rise, and advancing age, I plan soon to send a robot avatar on the Camino, and would be delighted if he could get his credential from a machine, receive a digital Compostela in Santiago and even collect the plenary indulgence on my behalf in the Cathedral. To simulate as closely as possible the real peregrini, he'll be programmed to say "buen Camino", snore in albergues, talk about feet and complain about bicycles and young people. The future looks bright, we've got to wear shades.

You should talk to these people - you sound just who they need!

Santi, el robot vigués que permite hacer el Camino de Santiago a una persona con movilidad reducida - Metropolitano

Santi, un robot 5G, permite que personas con movilidad reducida "telecaminen" el Camino de Santiago hasta entrar en la Praza do Obradoiro

metropolitano.gal

@Gerard Griffin so sorry, it appears your idea has already being realized, but as @Bradypus notes, perhaps you should get in touch!

 

[Gerard Griffin]

@Gerard Griffin so sorry, it appears your idea has already being realized, but as @Bradypus notes, perhaps you should get in touch!

Too late, I've been out of touch and out of time for years now

 

[CWBuff]

Honestly, as a nurse, the bigger shock for me were the vending machines outside the pharmacia selling compeed and a variety of braces and supports!
View attachment 127591

With a very hefty markup may I add

 

[Gerard Griffin]

I regret to say that the device in the machine in Najera wasn't the relatively innocuous ones anamcara spotted in Burgos, but the more reprehensible type noticed by mananath in Cadiz.

For a long while I wondered whether the pious and respectable locals could have been so depraved. But then I realised that in their wisdom and compassion they had made provision for poor peregrinos driven to the point of madness by the remorselessly chaste peregrinas they were forced to share dorms with on the Camino.

The Camino provides, as they say.

 

[Former member 99290]

I regret to say that the device in the machine in Najera wasn't the relatively innocuous ones anamcara spotted in Burgos, but the more reprehensible type noticed by mananath in Cadiz.

For a long while I wondered whether the pious and respectable locals could have been so depraved. But then I realised that in their wisdom and compassion they had made provision for poor peregrinos driven to the point of madness by the remorselessly chaste peregrinas they were forced to share dorms with on the Camino.

The Camino provides, as they say.

Was not me who spotted any devices in Burgos.

 

[Gerard Griffin]

Sorry, it was in fact Jeff Crawley who made that deeply disturbing discovery. Where is El Caudillo now that we really need him?

 

[Keikochan]

The most interesting discussion I've ever found on the Forum! Enjoyed it enormously. Vending machines are so ubiquitous in Japan (mostly drink), that we even notice their existence till we need them.
I wish there's one for credential in Oviedo, so that I don't have to hustle round when I arrive there in the afternoon. Do they provide it at Cathedral? Or at the tourist information? I hope I never end up using e-credentials. I would love "wine stains and coffee mug ring mark" on my credential.

 

[J Willhaus]

The most interesting discussion I've ever found on the Forum! Enjoyed it enormously. Vending machines are so ubiquitous in Japan (mostly drink), that we even notice their existence till we need them.
I wish there's one for credential in Oviedo, so that I don't have to hustle round when I arrive there in the afternoon. Do they provide it at Cathedral? Or at the tourist information? I hope I never end up using e-credentials. I would love "wine stains and coffee mug ring mark" on my credential.

This albergue says they issue credentials in Oviedo.

Albergue de peregrinos de El Salvador | Albergue de Peregrinos en Oviedo | Gronze.com

Información del albergue de peregrinos Albergue de peregrinos de El Salvador, en Oviedo: Precio, plazas, características, etc...

www.gronze.com

 

[C clearly]

Here is an interesting article from the Guardian it is also available as a podcast.

 

[nycwalking]

Mme Debril was wonderful.

She half-grudgingly provided me with one as I had walked from Paris, and had a recommendation letter from the canon of Notre Dame, plus all of the stamps along the way, most from parishes, abbeys, monasteries, etc.

She could obviously tell that I wasn't a Catholic (that happened later), hence some hesitation, but she also clearly saw that something was going on inside, and took precedence, particularly as I had all of the formal boxes ticked.

She was a good Catholic, struggling to provide from a supply of credenciales IIRC about 20-25% of the number that she actually needed to be able to provide for all, hence her pickiness. Which she explained to me, in explanation that to obtain one from her as a non-Catholic was a privilege, and not a right.

She was definitely more kindly towards those who came to see her with respect, humility, and when necessary apology, instead of with expectation of services.

She’s a legend with whom you interacted.

My, my.

 

[Keikochan]

Thank you for the information of credentials in Oviedo. I immediately sent e-mail to the albergue.
Correction: We are even unaware of the existence of vending machines until we need them.
The photos of Guardian are so interesting. We now have ones for masks, mainly located in medical institutions.

 

[MikeyC]

On a hot afternoon we were passing through Santo Domingo and in need of topping up our water bottles.
We either failed to notice suitable places but I think it was just that time of day. No shops and no bars and suddenly we were out of the town and had crossed the Rio Oja which was about as dry as our mouths now felt.
I spotted an industrial building on our left. Blue and red facade and a huge sign for a vehicle testing centre. They must have a tap where I can cadge some water I said to myself. I headed over and there was an open door. In I went, lots of vehicles but no signs of anyone. There was, however, a life saving vending machine full of chilled water and soft drinks.
The Camino does indeed provide although you do have to make an effort sometimes.
...and I make sure we always carry some loose change.

 

[Robertb345]

Hence the decision to require only the officially recognised ones, which provide 2€ each towards the upkeep of the pilgrims office.

Very interesting that on the digital credential page it now is only 1.5 euros. I also love that YOU MUST MAKE THE DONATION. That could just be a translation issue, but you can now save money going digital.

"4. Donation. As in the physical Credential, you must make the donation indicated by the Cathedral of Santiago, which is 1.5 euros." - from https://www.elcaminoconcorreos.com/en/blog/digital-credential-holy-year

 

[Tigger]

It is my understanding that until recently (a few years ago), there was no requirement for a standardized credencial at all - you could make your own. So now the Luddites are holding up the mailing-process as the gold standard for getting a credencial, but why not go back further? Maybe we should criticize the standardization of the booklet and the fact that we can conveniently get one by mail. Each of us defines our traditions and they are rather arbitrary.

Are you saying pilgrims collecting stamps in a credential along the Camino is an arbitrary tradition?

 

[C clearly]

Are you saying pilgrims collecting stamps in a credential along the Camino is an arbitrary tradition?

No, I didn't say anything about the tradition of collecting stamps. I was referring to the standardization of the cardboard credencials and whether it mattered if you get it from a vending machine or by mail.

I meant that we tend to select certain traditional elements and follow those ones, but not others. For example I make turkey stuffing just like my mother did, but have rejected the Christmas baking tradition. That can seem rather arbitrary, when my sister does the opposite. I choose to follow the tradition of collecting stamps in a credencial, but I don't mind receiving a new one in the mail, or even from a vending machine if necessary. Other people really want to collect their credencial i person from a church or pilgrim association. Those choices can seem "rather arbitrary".