Home from Camino

[ShellsG]

I just returned home from walking the Camino Frances. I was all I expected and none of what I expected! Happy to be home after 24 hours of travel I know I will mull over my experience and it will change from day to day as I return to my pre-Camino life. I actually missed the snoring last night !! There is however, one small thing, that maybe in time I will move on from but I will say, for now, that my interaction at the Pilgrims office was a disappointment. To the left and to the right the staff were interacting with the pilgrims, how was the Camino, where did they start from, chatting and listening to excited pilgrims who has just finished a tremendous walk. They had their names written in Latin script on their compostela, they had their credentials stamped with a special stamp saying how many kilometres they had walked. At supper they pulled out their credentials to look at the beautiful script. I left mine in the tube that I purchased. I had no beautiful script, I had my name really just scrawled onto the compostela and spelled wrong at that. I had no knowledge of the ability to pay for the stamp of how many kilometres, I had, intact, other than passing my credential to the young man at the desk, no interaction at all. I tried, I said hello, hola, bonjour ...nada. I had to ask if there were tubes as I saw others with them. I know that I was not the only one disappointed because at that supper, along with looking at the beautiful script and listening to how wonderful their interaction was, were the stories of the exact opposite ( and the description appears to be of the same young man) and disappointment. Just my own thoughts on it .....

 

[Deleted member 3000]

looking at the beautiful script and listening to how wonderful their interaction was, were the stories of the exact opposite

It comes down to the handwriting skill of the desk person, a bit of a sad reality. Perhaps they all should be trained in calligraphy. The misspelling comes from trying to render the name in Latin, so the spelling changes from your normal spelling. A friend with the last name "Kay" was translated as Catherine! He noticed, and they did another Compostela with "Kay." Some clerks are chattier, particularly if they are proficient in your language. Others have worked a long day when you get there, and may have lost their zest. I suppose that, like everything on the Camino, you are best served by acceptance.

 

[Seabird]

So sorry. I have yet to walk, and even though I'm sure the motivation is not the certificate itself, I'm also sure anyone would want a pleasant final experience.

 

[ShellsG]

It comes down to the handwriting skill of the desk person, a bit of a sad reality. Perhaps they all should be trained in calligraphy. The misspelling comes from trying to render the name in Latin, so the spelling changes from your normal spelling. A friend with the last name "Kay" was translated as Catherine! He noticed, and they did another Compostela with "Kay." Some clerks are chattier, particularly if they are proficient in your language. Others have worked a long day when you get there, and may have lost their zest. I suppose that, like everything on the Camino, you are best served by acceptance.

There was no attempt to translate it into Latin, the mis-spelling came as he copied my name off my passport but copied it wrong. It was 900 am, hopefully his day didn't get any busier, there were only about 15 in line at that point. I will accept it, but it doesn't make the final moments of my Camino any less disappointing at the time.

 

[Wokabaut_Meri]

There was no attempt to translate it into Latin, the mis-spelling came as he copied my name off my passport but copied it wrong. It was 900 am, hopefully his day didn't get any busier, there were only about 15 in line at that point. I will accept it, but it doesn't make the final moments of my Camino any less disappointing at the time.

So sorry for your disappointment. My husband and I went to 2 different staff members when we got our Compostelas in May this year. He got a chatty one and came out with tube, distance certificate as well as his certificate and was really thrilled. My experience was very similar to yours - I also had to ask for the tube, wasn't told about the option of the distance certificate and felt as though I was intruding and needed to move out quickly. Language wasn't an issue. I guess that this last part of the Camino is very much like the rest of the Way. All different types of experience and, being a trained calligrapher (perhaps I should volunteer!), I just added my name to the distance certificate.

That said, the Pilgrim Office was well organised and the volunteers wonderful. We had a young man faint and they took excellent care of him.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

I will accept it

You don't have to. They keep all the daily logs, and will send a replacement Compostela if you ask. Write them a letter with your arrival date explaining the problem, and they will send you another one.

 

[ShellsG]

But it doesn't change the experience does it.

 

[Wokabaut_Meri]

But it doesn't change the experience does it.

No but... it is only one 'off' experience from your Camino. Don't let it overshadow all the good ones.

 

[susanawee]

Hi Shells G......sorry to read that you were not happy with the service at the Pilgrim Office but, please, don't let this, in the overall scheme of things, overshadow your memories of the walk you did and of all t you achieved and learnt along the way.....after all, when all is said and done, the Compostela is only a piece of paper.....The Camino journey is what I remember most and what I think about the most.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

But it doesn't change the experience does it.

No, it doesn't. That would take a time machine. However, knowing that you can change the outcome means you can change the attitude toward the experience. I urge you to get a replacement Compostela so that the spelling errors and calligraphy are corrected. It may just be a piece of paper, but it has importance to you.

 

[Wokabaut_Meri]

No, it doesn't. That would take a time machine. However, knowing that you can change the outcome means you can change the attitude toward the experience. I urge you to get a replacement Compostela so that the spelling errors and calligraphy are corrected. It may just be a piece of paper, but it has importance to you.

Well said. Better than constantly looking at the spelling errors and recalling a negative experience.

The fact that @ShellsG raised this issue means that it IS important. The offer of a replacement Compostela is gracious.

 

[jpflavin1]

I just returned home from walking the Camino Frances. I was all I expected and none of what I expected! Happy to be home after 24 hours of travel I know I will mull over my experience and it will change from day to day as I return to my pre-Camino life. I actually missed the snoring last night !! There is however, one small thing, that maybe in time I will move on from but I will say, for now, that my interaction at the Pilgrims office was a disappointment. To the left and to the right the staff were interacting with the pilgrims, how was the Camino, where did they start from, chatting and listening to excited pilgrims who has just finished a tremendous walk. They had their names written in Latin script on their compostela, they had their credentials stamped with a special stamp saying how many kilometres they had walked. At supper they pulled out their credentials to look at the beautiful script. I left mine in the tube that I purchased. I had no beautiful script, I had my name really just scrawled onto the compostela and spelled wrong at that. I had no knowledge of the ability to pay for the stamp of how many kilometres, I had, intact, other than passing my credential to the young man at the desk, no interaction at all. I tried, I said hello, hola, bonjour ...nada. I had to ask if there were tubes as I saw others with them. I know that I was not the only one disappointed because at that supper, along with looking at the beautiful script and listening to how wonderful their interaction was, were the stories of the exact opposite ( and the description appears to be of the same young man) and disappointment. Just my own thoughts on it .....

ShellsG:

Every interaction we have with another human being is potentially wonderful, a disappointment or somewhere in between. There is our expectation versus the result. There is the comparison of our results with others. The skills or personal traits of the individual with whom we are interacting. Our approach to that individual. Someone is having a bad day etc. etc. etc. All that said, your personal interaction with one person at a particular time should not be considered reflective of the Pilgrim staff. These volunteer folks are performing a service to provide us with a memorial to our individual journeys.

While the staff can not perform a do-over on you personal interaction, someone can correct the document errors. If this is important, follow the suggestion recommended by Falcon269 and just accept the interaction as another human error we all encounter and even perform frequently.

Hope this does not come off as preachy.

Ultreya,
Joe