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Search 69,459 Camino Questions

Help about passport stamps and Compostela

roamingpaddy

Active Member
Time of past OR future Camino
2020
I have walked the camino francais in sections these last few years and hope to do the last section,O Cebrieo to Santiago d.c. possibly this autumn or next spring. Will I qualify for the compostela? I think I will but just checking. Also,my Brierley guide book mentions that you need 2 passport stamps from Sarria on. Would this condition apply to me too?
 
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The requirement for Compostela is that you walk the final 100 km into Santiago. You need two stamps per day for the last 100 km.
Thank you ,what do I do if I dont have enough room on my passport for the two stamps per day?
 
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Thank you ,what do I do if I dont have enough room on my passport for the two stamps per day?
Hi roamingpaddy,
You can get another credencial and submit both when you arrive for your Compostela, or you can add paper to your existing credencial.
Just make sure that during the last 100k you get two a day, as noted above.
Buen Camino.

All the best,
Paul
 
Hi roamingpaddy,
You can get another credencial and submit both when you arrive for your Compostela, or you can add paper to your existing credencial.
Just make sure that during the last 100k you get two a day, as noted above.
Buen Camino.

All the best,
Paul
And present both/all credentials to the clerk in the Pilgrim's Office - I saw as many as four neatly stapled together.
 
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And present both/all credentials to the clerk in the Pilgrim's Office - I saw as many as four neatly stapled together.
Presenting all your credentials, showing a continuous line of walking, will qualify you for a distance certificate. As noted above, the final two stamps per day from Sarria are what qualify you for the Compostela. No charge for the Compostela, small fee for the distance certificate.
 
Presenting all your credentials, showing a continuous line of walking, will qualify you for a distance certificate. As noted above, the final two stamps per day from Sarria are what qualify you for the Compostela. No charge for the Compostela, small fee for the distance certificate.
I know, I've worked in the office :)
 
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I have walked the camino francais in sections these last few years and hope to do the last section,O Cebrieo to Santiago d.c. possibly this autumn or next spring. Will I qualify for the compostela? I think I will but just checking. Also,my Brierley guide book mentions that you need 2 passport stamps from Sarria on. Would this condition apply to me too?
The rule is 2 stamps per day in last 100k. Dont know how strict they are these days but on my first camino from Pamplona (2013) I did not have two per day and no one made any comment about it, just gave me my compostela. Same in 2015 but in 2016 I did have lots of stamps. Seems a bit of a silly rule as it is easy to beat. I met a couple who walked to the first place they could get a stamp then where possible they got a taxi to their destination for the day. They were only walking half the distance.
 
The rule is 2 stamps per day in last 100k. Dont know how strict they are these days but on my first camino from Pamplona (2013) I did not have two per day and no one made any comment about it, just gave me my compostela. Same in 2015 but in 2016 I did have lots of stamps. Seems a bit of a silly rule as it is easy to beat. I met a couple who walked to the first place they could get a stamp then where possible they got a taxi to their destination for the day. They were only walking half the distance.
They are very strict.Make sure to get 2 stamps per day for the last 100 Kms by foot and 200 Kms by cycle.
 
Thank you all for your helpful replies. Would i get a continues cert for in my case walking the camino in 4 stages in the last 4 years?
 
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Thank you all for your helpful replies. Would i get a continues cert for in my case walking the camino in 4 stages in the last 4 years?
If you have walked a continuous line in multiple stints, the office will issue a distance certificate for the whole.

At each place where you pause and re-start, I'm told that you should get the credential stamped and dated on arrival and stamped and dated again when you restart. Therefore, if you reached O Cebrieo last year you probably have an O Cebrieo stamp wth last year's date. When you set off anew from there, you should get another O Cebrieo stamp with the date that you restart. Don't sweat if you haven't been following this practice so far. As far as the distance certificate is concerned, I believe the pilgrim's office is likely to give you the benefit of the doubt.
 
If you have walked a continuous line in multiple stints, the office will issue a distance certificate for the whole.

At each place where you pause and re-start, I'm told that you should get the credential stamped and dated on arrival and stamped and dated again when you restart. Therefore, if you reached O Cebrieo last year you probably have an O Cebrieo stamp wth last year's date. When you set off anew from there, you should get another O Cebrieo stamp with the date that you restart. Don't sweat if you haven't been following this practice so far. As far as the distance certificate is concerned, I believe the pilgrim's office is likely to give you the benefit of the doubt.
It' s only the last 100 Kms that count for the Compostela.It doesn't matter how many Kms you have walked before that they don't count as far as the Pilgrim Office is concerned.
 
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Hi roamingpaddy,
Your Compostela will not say how far you came in total, but you can buy a certificate of distance for a few euros at the Pilgrim’s Office so long as you produced evidence in the form of a stamped credencial.
My first Camino I finished the Frances in stages over six years and had no issues with getting a Compostela nor a certificate of distance traveled for that Camino, once I arrived at Santiago.
I hope. this helps answer your question.

All the best,
Paul
 
Hi roamingpaddy,
Your Compostela will not say how far you came in total, but you can buy a certificate of distance for a few euros at the Pilgrim’s Office so long as you produced evidence in the form of a stamped credencial.
My first Camino I finished the Frances in stages over six years and had no issues with getting a Compostela nor a certificate of distance traveled for that Camino, once I arrived at Santiago.
I hope. this helps answer your question.

All the best,
Paul
Thank you for your clarification,much appreciated.
 
I worked in the Pilgrim Office and this gentleman was collecting stamps on his shirt as well as in his credential.

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Although, since the shirt stamps don't seem to be dated, I don't know if they would count towards the Compostela. Probably best to stick to extra pages or another credencial if yours runs out of room. :)
 
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Although, since the shirt stamps don't seem to be dated, I don't know if they would count towards the Compostela. Probably best to stick to extra pages or another credencial if yours runs out of room. :)
In looking more closely at those stamps, they don’t even appear to be anything more than random designs and not official stamps of any kind. But I know he was given the completion stamp on the shirt. It has always amused me that there is so much discussion on getting two stamps a day for the last 100kms. I am a stamp-a-holic and have filled multiple credentials each time, so getting ONLY two on any given day would have qualified as a MAJOR BUMMER.

And when I was in Santiago for two weeks as a volunteer, I filled an entire credential with stamps from around the city.
 

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What a fun idea! I had not thought to collect sellos from around Santiago while I was volunteering there. I'll do that next May, hopefully, while volunteering at the Pilgrim House. I'm a National Park Stamper also. Those stamps are more of a challenge to collect.
 
The first time I came across the practice of collecting stamps as evidence of travel was on Dartmoor in the 1970s, a practice known as ‘letterboxing’. A quick google suggests that this has been ongoing since 1854 and, whilst it is most similar to the relatively modern pastime of ‘geocaching’ is along the same lines as stamping a credential.

I know I could google this, but it’s more interesting to have the conversation on here - when did the credential take its current form as evidence of travel justifying a compostella?

I assume that if you turned up in SdC in the Middle Ages with a Yorkshire accent it would be presumed that you had put the requisite effort in without the need to have your paperwork inspected ...
 
A selection of Camino Jewellery
It has always amused me that there is so much discussion on getting two stamps a day for the last 100kms. I am a stamp-a-holic and have filled multiple credentials each time, so getting ONLY two on any given day would have qualified as a MAJOR BUMMER.

I, too, am a bit of a stamp-a-holic. On my first Camino Frances, I filled two credentials. When I presented them at the pilgrim's office, the lady said to me, "it appears you like the stamps." Yes, I love the stamps, as has been said by many on this forum, the stamps are a memory of where I stayed, where I had a meal, where I prayed, etc. On my second Camino Frances, I filled three credentials, averaging 4 per day and 6 per day after Sarria. I do love the stamps.

Buen Camino!
--james--
 
The first time I came across the practice of collecting stamps as evidence of travel was on Dartmoor in the 1970s, a practice known as ‘letterboxing’. A quick google suggests that this has been ongoing since 1854 and, whilst it is most similar to the relatively modern pastime of ‘geocaching’ is along the same lines as stamping a credential.

I know I could google this, but it’s more interesting to have the conversation on here - when did the credential take its current form as evidence of travel justifying a compostella?

I assume that if you turned up in SdC in the Middle Ages with a Yorkshire accent it would be presumed that you had put the requisite effort in without the need to have your paperwork inspected ...
The requirement to walk (or ride a horse or a bicycle) is relatively recent in the history of the Camino. In the Middle Ages the presumed spiritual benefit was from the proximity to the relics of the saint, not from how one made the voyage to them. Much as today in Lourdes or Fatima it is the destination not the voyage that counts.

Which isn't to say that in the Middle Ages there weren't people that took extra vows or placed extra rigour on the task (fasting from meat on the way, walking barefoot, etc.) But those vows were between the pilgrim and God, not between the pilgrim and cathedral authorities in Santiago de Compostela.

Credencials are descendants of "letters of safe passage" given to pilgrims in the Middle Ages, much as modern passports are descendants of similar letters of safe passage (read what's in your passport sometime).
 
The requirement for Compostela is that you walk the final 100 km into Santiago. You need two stamps per day for the last 100 km.
Hi, im a newbie here, can you tell me, if for some reason i dont use public albergues, eg, i stay at a private pension or room, who/where do i get my passport stamped?And, for the final 100 kms, how does the 2 stamps a day work? Thank you.
 
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Hi, im a newbie here, can you tell me, if for some reason i dont use public albergues, eg, i stay at a private pension or room, who/where do i get my passport stamped?And, for the final 100 kms, how does the 2 stamps a day work? Thank you.
Quite easily - bars, cafes, shops and even the post office and churches all have sellos!
 
Hi, im a newbie here, can you tell me, if for some reason i dont use public albergues, eg, i stay at a private pension or room, who/where do i get my passport stamped?And, for the final 100 kms, how does the 2 stamps a day work? Thank you.
Any accommodation that you stay in will stamp your credential (Pilgrim's passport), and most businesses along the way will have a sello (stamp).
 
Quite easily - bars, cafes, shops and even the post office and churches all have sellos!
And as regards needing 2 per day for the final 100kms, how does that work, 1 in 2 different towns on the daily trek?
 
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And as regards needing 2 per day for the final 100kms, how does that work, 1 in 2 different towns on the daily trek?
Just two different sellos on the same day: you could have one from where you stay the night, another from the bar where you have breakfast, a third from shopping for lunch - it's really quite relaxed, you need not worry too much. You can also get more than two a day just to make sure!
You'll be fine :)
 
Just two different sellos on the same day - it's really quite relaxed, you need not worry too much. You can also get more than two a day just to make sure!
You'll be fine :)
That's great, thank you. Im in the very earky stages of planning my camino (next Oct), and want to get everything just right. This group is fantastic.
 
The first edition came out in 2003 and has become the go-to-guide for many pilgrims over the years. It is shipping with a Pilgrim Passport (Credential) from the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela.
That's great, thank you. Im in the very earky stages of planning my camino (next Oct), and want to get everything just right. This group is fantastic.
In the last 100k, pretty much everyone has a stamp. The very few who do not, typically put a ‘no sello!’ sign out.
 
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Hi, im a newbie here, can you tell me, if for some reason i dont use public albergues, eg, i stay at a private pension or room, who/where do i get my passport stamped?And, for the final 100 kms, how does the 2 stamps a day work? Thank you.
On my two walks on the Camino Frances, I mostly stayed in private accommodations, and as has been said, every accommodation will have a sello for your credential. Then I got a sello where I had my second breakfast or cafe con leche stop, a sello at churches, a sello where I had lunch, dinner, etc. I love the sellos - they are a reminder of where I stopped, where I ate, where I prayed, a better reminder of the details of the journey than the compostela at the end. On my last walk on the Camino Frances, I filled three credentials, averaged 4 sellos per day, and 6 per day after Sarria.
Buen Camino!
--james--
 
That's great, thank you. Im in the very earky stages of planning my camino (next Oct), and want to get everything just right. This group is fantastic.
Nooooooo - you don't want to get everything "just right", where's the fun in that? :)
Get the basics right - footwear, pack and pack weight, protective clothing and some idea of where you'll spend the nights and then just go and have fun.

I may never do another "full" Camino Frances so am quite envious of you!

Buen Camino!
 
Nooooooo - you don't want to get everything "just right", where's the fun in that? :)
Get the basics right - footwear, pack and pack weight, protective clothing and some idea of where you'll spend the nights and then just go and have fun.

I may never do another "full" Camino Frances so am quite envious of you!

Buen Camino!
When i say get everything just right, i mean the things you've mentioned, the rest, well, part of the adventure. Thank you.
 
A selection of Camino Jewellery
On my two walks on the Camino Frances, I mostly stayed in private accommodations, and as has been said, every accommodation will have a sello for your credential. Then I got a sello where I had my second breakfast or cafe con leche stop, a sello at churches, a sello where I had lunch, dinner, etc. I love the sellos - they are a reminder of where I stopped, where I ate, where I prayed, a better reminder of the details of the journey than the compostela at the end. On my last walk on the Camino Frances, I filled three credentials, averaged 4 sellos per day, and 6 per day after Sarria.
Buen Camino!
--james--
That's great. Ive promised myself for many years i would do it, so next year, as long as things have settled Covid wise, it's full steam ahead. Im starting in Pamplona and doing the whole thing. I live in the southvof Spain, so im looking forward to experiencing different landscapes/views etc. Thanks for replying.
 

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