One or Two Stamps?

[Brisbanegee]

Hi all,

A question as have received mixed messages.

When we get to Sarria, do we need one or two stamps per day until we reach Santiago?

Cheers

G

 

[CaptBuddy]

From the APOC web site.
http://www.americanpilgrims.com/camino/faqs.html#sellos

 

[Brisbanegee]

Looks like two from Sarria as been on foot since SJPDP and received one each day. Thanks heaps !

Two it is from Sarria..... WooHoo

G

 

[CaptBuddy]

My experience last year was much different than 2 years before. When we went to the pilgrim office in the morning, late October, our credentials were barely glanced at. (There were only 6 people in line at the time.)
I had purposely left a blank spot on the last sellos page for the Santiago sello, but the office worker opened the front page and stamped it across other stamps. I had to ask him to do another stamp in our passports where I had made room.
Point is that there was no way he knew where we had been nor how many sellos we had.

It is not a gripe, but the experience was very anti-climatic to our Camino.

Two years earlier, we were fortunate to have met Johnnie Walker at the desk in the old office.
He made the experience special for us and one of our best Camino moments.

So, for my take, get 2 stamps a day in the last 100 km. It is not difficult, every place you pass has sellos. And you'll be ready no matter what.
Buen Viaje, Buen Camino. Galicia is my favorite, enjoy yourselves.

 

[hampshire!tim]

"every place you pass has sellos" : they may have them, but may not be open, e.g. on the Camino Ingles and in December.
We managed to get one a day and that was accepted
But on Sarria to SdC you should be ok to get 2 p/d I guess

 

[Mark Lee]

On either of my Caminos I don't remember if I got two stamps a day after Sarria or not and never bothered to look in my credentials to see if I had. Didn't even notice if the volunteer at the pilgrim's office really checked or not and got my compostela both times, no problem.
I'd say go ahead and do it. Easy enough to pick up a second sello daily those last few days. I made it a point to get one at the tourist offices if I passed by one.

 

[diverdan]

Hmm. Did not even think about it. In the Fall of 2013 I went from Triacastela through Sarria about breakfast time all the way to Portomarin where I got a stamp. The next day to Aruza where I got a stamp and then to Santiago. There were no issues at the Pilgrim office except for some comments about how much ground I covered in a short time

 

[anniethenurse]

~~~two stamps~~~

 

[MichaelSG]

If you start in Sarria, I would get at least two per day. My experience has been, if you walk from SJPdP or Lisbon, they really don't count the stamps and one per day was enough. That said, the Pilgrim Office Amigo at the end of my Camino Frances did ask, in a non-accusatory manner, "....and you walked the whole way?" I think the way that I burst into tears was answer enough for him and I probably didn't need any stamps!

 

[diverdan]

Hmm. Did not even think about it. In the Fall of 2013 I went from Triacastela through Sarria about breakfast time all the way to Portomarin where I got a stamp. The next day to Aruza where I got a stamp and then to Santiago. There were no issues at the Pilgrim office except for some comments about how much ground I covered in a short time

If you start in Sarria, I would get at least two per day. My experience has been, if you walk from SJPdP or Lisbon, they really don't count the stamps and one per day was enough. That said, the Pilgrim Office Amigo at the end of my Camino Frances did ask, in a non-accusatory manner, "....and you walked the whole way?" I think the way that I burst into tears was answer enough for him and I probably didn't need any stamps!

Nice! They looked at my limp and knew I actually did do it in 20 days from St. Jean also-- I did have stamps from each stop.

 

[Peter Fransiscus]

From Sarria to SdC you need two stamps a day , Peter .

 

[tpmchugh]

I asked at the info day run by the Irish Society of the friends of St James last week. There answer was that if you walk from St Jean one stamp per day is all you need and of course if you start from Sarria you need two. I started from Pamplona two years ago and that was all they asked, 'where did you start'. I know I did not have two per day but my Irish credencials were full with just enough room for the last stamp so I reckon that was all they needed. I had been getting stamps here there and everywhere in the first couple of weeks and had to stop as my passport was getting filled up

 

[cher99840]

This comes up periodically and I don't understand why. The credential says TWO daily for the last hundred k. Many have stated they got away with one, but their experience has nothing to do with the requirement as stated on the credential. Stamps are everywhere. Why anyone would ignore the instructions on the credential and neglect to get a second stamp just because someone else did is beyond my comprehension. I'm sorry if this sounds snarky as I don't mean it to be. It just seriously baffles my mind.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

I'm baffled why a pilgrim would need two stamps for the last 100km.

Three packless Spaniards asked me to take their photo at the 100km marker. Then they hopped back into the taxi they had taken from Sarria, and presumably rode to a next point for a sello or photo. I suppose the two sello requirement is to make it a bit more difficult for this type of pilgrim to get a certificate.

Also, I walked with a lady who did pretty well from SJPdP until about Ponferrada, when her feet had become really bad. She took a taxi each day to her destination, probably stopping for a sello along the way. We were still in sync having covered the same distance each day, and she proudly shared her compostela with me in Santiago. The two-stamp requirement may not be accomplishing its objective.

 

[Mark Lee]

Actually, I'm baffled why a pilgrim would need two stamps for the last 100km. Does that prove that they walked better than having one stamp per day?

Yeah, when you think about it, it is a rather silly and pointless requirement and I have to wonder if the volunteers at the pilgrim's office in Santiago really check all that closely. I mean, if you look at pilgrim's credential and it's obvious that they have at least one sello daily from Sarria to Santiago, would there be a point in nitpicking if one day there wasn't two?

 

[Mark Lee]

Three packless Spaniards asked me to take their photo at the 100km marker. Then they hopped back into the taxi they had taken from Sarria, and presumably rode to a next point for a sello or photo. I suppose the two sello requirement is to make it a bit more difficult for this type of pilgrim to get a certificate.

Also, I walked with a lady who did pretty well from SJPdP until about Ponferrada, when her feet had become really bad. She took a taxi each day to her destination, probably stopping for a sello along the way. We were still in sync having covered the same distance each day, and she proudly shared her compostela with me in Santiago. The two-stamp requirement may not be accomplishing its objective.

Reminds me of something I saw on my first Camino.
Somewhere between Sarrio and Santiago, I stopped to take a break at a water fountain just outside of a town. It was just me there and I was sitting in the shade. I saw a taxi pull-up and stop. I saw a young lady exit the taxi. She was dressed in textbook modern pilgrim attire. The tech shirt and shorts, boots, etc. She looked very fit and I'm sure quite capable of walking long distances. The driver exited the taxi, opened the trunk (boot) of the taxi and removed a backpack and handed it to the young lady. She put on the pack, looked around as if to check if she was being observed and then walked the 400 or so meters into town. I later saw her at the albergue I was staying at.
I've always figured she was from Spain and was walking the Camino simply for the compostela. From what I understand it can be a big deal in social circles there.

 

[thomryng]

Why limit yourself to just two a day? Collect them all!

Seriously, I personally got a lot of enjoyment out of getting a sello at each place I stopped: breakfast, second breakfast, lunch, churches along the way... Now when I look at my passports, I can trace the entire route in my head and remember.

It's fun!

 

[Mark Lee]

Why limit yourself to just two a day? Collect them all!

Seriously, I personally got a lot of enjoyment out of getting a sello at each place I stopped: breakfast, second breakfast, lunch, churches along the way... Now when I look at my passports, I can trace the entire route in my head and remember.

It's fun!

Yeah, it is. I was a bit of a "sello geek" on my second Camino. Filled up two sets of credentials on that one. I think they are cool. Each so unique in their own way and some obviously designed with a lot of thought.

 

[tploomis]

We had one stamp a day from Sarria on, just as there was one stamp a day from SJPP. Nobody in the pilgrims' office in Santiago questioned that. They did ask me about my request for a secular Compostela. The very kind lady asked me what my motivations were for walking the Camino, and I said they were both philosophical and psychological. She then suggested that there might be some overlap between those motivations and spirituality. I thought about it a bit and agreed that there was probably, in a very general sense, some spirituality involved, and I ended up with that compostela. I appreciated the office volunteer's willingness to discuss it all with me. Fortunately, on that rainy day in November there were not many pilgrims in the office, and we could take our time.