el Camino de las Cafe-Bars

On my recent Camino walk I was really frustrated by our inability to get stamps -´sellos´ - from churches. The majority of churches we passed by were closed. Of those that were open, there were very few with a pilgrim stamp on offer. I recall only three churches on this trip that had someone sitting in the church offering a stamp to passing pilgrims.
I remember reading somewhere that the pilgrim office doesn´t really like to find a credencial filled with stamps from bars and restaurants but if you do not stay in the albergues the only other places you can get a stamp is in cafe-bars, restaurants, hotels, tourism offices etc.
In some towns we read a notice on a church door directing us to another church in the town for the ´sello´ When we got there that church was also closed.
In Melide the other day we walked an extra few hundred meters to the Parish Church to get a stamp in our passport. We couldn´t find one but a rather irritated gentleman sitting in the pews told us to go to the door on the right of the altar. I knocked on the door and when I opened it, two angry men told us to go away in no uncertain terms. "Sello?" I asked. "No! No! No!" said one, shooing us away with his hands. So, no church sello in Melide - but we did get three from different bars on the way out of town.
Many cafe-bars have a stamp or stamp and pad on their counters so that pilgrims can just walk in and stamp their passports without disturbing the bar owner. Surely churches can do the same thing? If a church is open to visitors, they could chain a stamp to the table at the entrance that has their notices and booklets on it. Even if the church is closed it would be possible to have a small table outside somewhere with a stamp on the table for passing peregrinos.
The church in Lavacolla was open last week but when we asked for a stamp we were told that they don't have one and that we should get one at Monte de Gozo.
If a pilgrim presents their credencial at the pilgrims office in Santiago the staff should be forgiven for thinking that they have made a pilgrimage to the bars and cafes of Spain from St Jean pied de Port to Santiago. They should also forgive the pilgrim for not having more sellos from churches as there are few opportunities to get church stamps on the Camino Frances.

The statement on the inside page of the CSJ Pilgrim Record stating that sellos should not all be from bars and restaurants is completely erroneous. This is simply a myth.

Thanks John - I knew I'd read it somewhere.

stamps can be obtained from churches, cathedrals, refugios, town halls (ayuntamientos) or hotels. A Record full of stamps from bars should be avoided.

Churches, cathedrals and most refuges are closed during the time many pilgrims walk. We got stamps from the pensions, hostales, casa rurals and posadas that we stayed in as well as many from cafe-bars.

stamps can be obtained from churches, cathedrals, refugios, town halls (ayuntamientos) or hotels. A Record full of stamps from bars should be avoided.

Churches, cathedrals and most refuges are closed during the time many pilgrims walk. We got stamps from the pensions, hostales, casa rurals and posadas that we stayed in as well as many from cafe-bars.