Question about Sellos

[Fearless0]

I'm wondering and haven't seen the answer to this question anywhere, so I'll go ahead and ask: To get a sello at an albergue etc. do you have to actually have stayed there?

 

[mspath]

I'm wondering and haven't seen the answer to this question anywhere, so I'll go ahead and ask: To get a sello at an albergue etc. do you have to actually have stayed there?

No you need not stay in an albergue in order to ask for their sello. Furthermore you can obtain sellos from any accommodation, bar, resto, church, etc. all along the way. Just ask!

Buen camino!

 

[Fearless0]

Great! Thank You MsPath. I didn't quite know the correct sello etiquette.

 

[Bradypus]

I would not be anxious about finding enough sellos. The more difficult problem is usually how to gracefully refuse the many offers to stamp your credencial as you pass by.

 

[Fearless0]

Really? I've never even considered this angle. Interesting!

 

[Bradypus]

Really? I've never even considered this angle. Interesting!

As @mspath said there are many different places which have sellos. The owners or staff are often so used to people asking for a sello that they cut to the chase and make the offer first! There is a limited amount of space for sellos on the credencial. Some people go overboard and try to collect as many as possible - filling up all the spaces and then using a second or even third credencial or a notebook. I generally stick with two or three a day and I prefer them to be from albergues, churches, monasteries and the like. Too many sellos from bars is just too much hard evidence of my own loose living

 

[Felipe]

Also in post offices (in Spain). See here
I am somewhat reluctant about bars' stamps in my credential -for no reason, really.
In my first pilgrimage, I used to carry a little notebook for notes, thoughts, and used it for additional stamps. At the end, it looked good and interesting -a kind of logbook of my journeys and feelings. My relatives liked it.

 

[Kelownagurl]

I made sure to get one in a Farmacia as well since they were such an integral part of our walk. The pharmacist was quite intrigued with our credencial which had stamps all the way from St Jean and she called out another employee to take a look at all the stamps.

 

[Mark Lee]

On my second Camino I easily filled up two sets of credentials with sellos. I could have filled up another two if I had been so inclined. I didn't put any in it from albergues I didn't stay at, though. As already said on here, too many other places to get one.

 

[Fearless0]

Interesting strategies that I never considered before. Didn't know about the Farmacies. Never even considered it. Love the idea of stamping the journal too. Thanks so much for these great ideas!

 

[dougfitz]

As @mspath said there are many different places which have sellos. The owners or staff are often so used to people asking for a sello that they cut to the chase and make the offer first! There is a limited amount of space for sellos on the credencial. Some people go overboard and try to collect as many as possible - filling up all the spaces and then using a second or even third credencial or a notebook. I generally stick with two or three a day and I prefer them to be from albergues, churches, monasteries and the like. Too many sellos from bars is just too much hard evidence of my own loose living

Well, I must be going overboard then, as well as collecting evidence of loose living like the regular meals and coffee I consume. On my first CF I was a sparse collector and regretted it. I am now much more inclined to ask at a bar or visit an open church.

As for how many credentials that might take, that seems unimportant to me. I picked up my third for a small donation at the church at Fuentes Nuevas a couple of days ago. It probably won't get filled, but it will be an enduring reminder of this current pilgrimage.

 

[Mark Lee]

If you need to, and want to, you can obtain two different types of official credentials at St Jean Pied de Port. You can get the one from the pilgrim's office there and another set from the tourist's office. They are only 2 euros donation each. The set from the tourist office is the same one you can get from this forum.

 

[mspath]

Interesting strategies that I never considered before. Didn't know about the Farmacies. Never even considered it. Love the idea of stamping the journal too. Thanks so much for these great ideas!

The staff of farmacies are great resources for all sorts of info!

Walking into Molinaseca early on a frosty Sunday morning November 2014 I met another woman pilgrim who was worried since she had run out of funds. Upon arrival in town all appeared closed as we searched high and low for either an ATM or for someone to ask; nada.

Luckily one pharmacy was open 7/7 and the multi lingual pharmacist directed us to the village ATM hidden on the elementary school facade! Her gentle kindness will be long remembered.

 

[Bradypus]

Well, I must be going overboard then, ......As for how many credentials that might take, that seems unimportant to me.

Think of all the trees we could save! And all the extra weight you are lugging around in paper and ink I take your point though: we each have our own ways of recording and reliving our journeys. I hope yours gives you joy for many years to come.

 

[Fearless0]

The staff of farmacies are great resources for all sorts of info!

Walking into Molinaseca early on a frosty Sunday morning November 2014 I met another woman pilgrim who was worried since she had run out of funds. Upon arrival in town all appeared closed as we searched high and low for either an ATM or for someone to ask; nada.

Luckily one pharmacy was open 7/7 and the multi lingual pharmacist directed us to the village ATM hidden on the elementary school facade! Her gentle kindness will be long remembered.

I LOVE that story Ms.Path. Who would think to look to the walls of an elementary school for an ATM! lol I'm solo excited I leave for Madrid first thing in the morning...

 

[Bradypus]

Well, I must be going overboard then, as well as collecting evidence of loose living like the regular meals and coffee I consume.

Bit of a tangent here. The "loose living" bit was because I had just remembered a conversation with a young American woman here in the UK. Her church background was distinctly Protestant and conservative. She told me that she would like to walk the Camino Frances some day. She had never visited Spain or any country outside the USA and the UK. Her religious principles would not allow her to enter any place which served alcohol and she chose her eating places accordingly. Takes a little effort here in the UK. Might be an interesting challenge along the Camino Frances.

 

[Felipe]

Enjoy your credential and stamps while they are still with us...I can foresee a near future where you will slide your "smart something gadget" in face of a codebar, and this will be all.
Ok, this is my weekend rant...I promise this will be the only one.

 

[dougfitz]

Enjoy your credential and stamps while they are still with us...I can foresee a near future where you will slide your "smart something gadget" in face of a codebar, and this will be all.
Ok, this is my weekend rant...I promise this will be the only one.

I had also wondered when it might come to that.

 

[rometimed]

Nope, in fact me an an Irish gent had a day where we tried to see how many sellos we could get. It was the first day out of Pamplona and we ended up getting 10 and 11 respectively from all kinds of places including the University @ Pamplona and a Templar Church.

 

[Rebekah Scott]

there are even fake sellos! There's a local guy who parks his van outside Albergue Monasterio San Anton de Castrojeriz, selling trinkets to passers-by... and stamping their credentials with his own Albergue Monasterio San Anton de Castrojeriz sello. For a special "Ruinas del Monasterio San Anton" model you can pay him a Euro!

(You can get the real thing just inside the gates, and it won't cost you anything..)

 

[williamlittig]

I happily filled one credential and bought and taped together more pages past Astorga. A couple of my favorites were one printed with berry juice when the ink dried out and another on the Portugues Camino that had a truck. They tell a great story and the dates help my fading memory........Ultreya........ Willy/Utah/USA

 

[Urban Trekker]

I'm wondering and haven't seen the answer to this question anywhere, so I'll go ahead and ask: To get a sello at an albergue etc. do you have to actually have stayed there?

No you don't have to stay at a albergue to get a sello. You can get them at bars, stores, churches, hotels, albergues, and road side stands. I filled up 2 and 1/3 Pilgrim Passports walking the French Way. They are my praised possessions of the camino. Buen Camino

Happy Trails

 

[ELHS220]

As @mspath said there are many different places which have sellos. The owners or staff are often so used to people asking for a sello that they cut to the chase and make the offer first! There is a limited amount of space for sellos on the credencial. Some people go overboard and try to collect as many as possible - filling up all the spaces and then using a second or even third credencial or a notebook. I generally stick with two or three a day and I prefer them to be from albergues, churches, monasteries and the like. Too many sellos from bars is just too much hard evidence of my own loose living

I filled seven credentials and had a poster made.

 

[NicMen]

If you need to, and want to, you can obtain two different types of official credentials at St Jean Pied de Port. You can get the one from the pilgrim's office there and another set from the tourist's office. They are only 2 euros donation each. The set from the tourist office is the same one you can get from this forum.

I noticed that the Credential from this forum refers to the need for two selloas a day. Since there are only 48 spaces (from memory), I would probably run out of space, as I'm starting from Lourdes... So, I'll follow your suggestion and get another one from the Pilgrims' office in St Jean. Thank you for the info!

 

[Camino2010]

I filled seven credentials and had a poster made.

That's a beautiful poster, what a lovely creative idea!

Rachel

P.S. I've seen various kinds of extra notebooks and journals that people have used to collect sellos. I think my favourite was one that a German man had (I met him on the way to Fisterra, so his book was quite full by then). He'd dedicated each page to about 4 or 5 sellos, along with information and impressions of that particular day as he was walking. It was a work of art.

 

[Mark Lee]

I noticed that the Credential from this forum refers to the need for two selloas a day. Since there are only 48 spaces (from memory), I would probably run out of space, as I'm starting from Lourdes... So, I'll follow your suggestion and get another one from the Pilgrims' office in St Jean. Thank you for the info!

The two sello a day thing applies to the last 100 km. Basically the section of the CF between Sarria and Santiago. Up until that point, one sello a day is all you need, but still kinda cool to fill up two sets of credentials as there are so many sellos out there and some are very unique.
The top credentials are from the pilgrim's office in SJPdP and the bottom one's are from the tourist office there.
cheers

 

[dougfitz]

The two sello a day thing applies to the last 100 km. Basically the section of the CF between Sarria and Santiago. Up until that point, one sello a day is all you need, but still kinda cool to fill up two sets of credentials as there are so many sellos out there and some are very unique.
The top credentials are from the pilgrim's office in SJPdP and the bottom one's are from the tourist office there.
cheers

In a practical sense, it seems to okay to collect two sellos a day in just the last 100km, but the formal requirement shown on the credencial is to collect at least two per day with no suggestion that only applies to the last 100 km.

 

[Mark Lee]

In a practical sense, it seems to okay to collect two sellos a day in just the last 100km, but the formal requirement shown on the credencial is to collect at least two per day with no suggestion that only applies to the last 100 km.

I can't say I collected two sellos a day all the way to Santiago on any of my three CF's. Quite a few days on my first one I only had a sello from the albergue I stayed in. Nobody nitpicked it at the pilgrim's office in Santiago and they gave me a compostela with no problem.

 

[NicMen]

The two sello a day thing applies to the last 100 km. Basically the section of the CF between Sarria and Santiago. Up until that point, one sello a day is all you need, but still kinda cool to fill up two sets of credentials as there are so many sellos out there and some are very unique.
The top credentials are from the pilgrim's office in SJPdP and the bottom one's are from the tourist office there.
cheers
View attachment 26910

Nice! Thank you!

 

[dougfitz]

I can't say I collected two sellos a day all the way to Santiago on any of my three CF's. Quite a few days on my first one I only had a sello from the albergue I stayed in. Nobody nitpicked it at the pilgrim's office in Santiago and they gave me a compostela with no problem.

I agree. My 2010 credencial does not mention anything about the number of sellos to collect, but this year the cathedral credencial does. In 2010 and 2014 I recollect being told I needed three sellos a day on the last 100km, now its two. It seems a bit of a changing feast. I agree with you that the Pilgrim Office has never nit-picked on this.

 

[Felipe]

I suppose that the "two sellos a day" was a way for discouraging people riding buses or taxis from A to B. This is the only logic I can guess. If it was, it has become completely moot. Camino tour companies are very resourceful and organized -no problem at all for their customers.
I did not care for collecting stamps twice a day. I suppposed that as I had started well before Sarriá, my credencial would be convincing -and, apparently, it was. But anyway, when I was a the queue I was a bit nervous about it - I could for some moments imagine the curious stares and smirky smiles of fellow pilgrims if I had to leave the Pilgrim Office with empty hands...

 

[Felipe]

I was satisfied to get my compostela, but I did not mean too much to me –it is somewhere in my house , still in its tube container (my first credencial is on my wall, over my usual reading place). But coming to think about it, I met in the queue with:
- a middle age French couple whom with I had shared some diners and walks. We talked about restaurants and Spanish wines (did I say they were French?)
- a Spanish girl that I had met the previous day in the albergue, with a case of seriously swollen ankle; she had wisely taken a bus to Santiago.
- A quiet old gentleman that I had known after Astorga; he was always reading a little book by nights, so we mostly respected that and used to let him alone. But he hugged us warmly when he left.
- a young Italian, a cyclist, that was boasting about doing the Camino from Roncesvalles in only ten days. We congratulated him…
* An old lady that seemed lost in her thoughts, in some moments sad, in others happy. She actually kissed her compostela.
So, it was an interesting experience.

 

[vlebe]

Hi everyone!
I was searching for information regarding the need to collect two stamps from the last 100km.
I have never done this on my previous caminos. Is this a new rule?

Could you kindly point me the link to the cathedral that states this rule?

Just wondering if I need to get already 02 Credentials as I'll be leaving from Somport and will go up to Muxia so, one credential + 2 stamps a day from sarria to santiago is a No Go.

I know I could probably find the answer in some other thread but, as I'm already talking about credentials, which one is currently " the official one"?

I must definitely will have to purchase the credentials for me and Claudia beforehand our trip.

Thanks!!!!

 

[vlebe]

Hi everyone!
I was searching for information regarding the need to collect two stamps from the last 100km.
I have never done this on my previous caminos. Is this a new rule?

Could you kindly point me the link to the cathedral that states this rule?

Just wondering if I need to get already 02 Credentials as I'll be leaving from Somport and will go up to Muxia so, one credential + 2 stamps a day from sarria to santiago is a No Go.

I know I could probably find the answer in some other thread but, as I'm already talking about credentials, which one is currently " the official one"?

I must definitely will have to purchase the credentials for me and Claudia beforehand our trip.

Thanks!!!!

Nevermind... I have just found the answer on this thread !

I was curious as I have never bothered to get more than one stamp per day and was never refused a compostela ( apart from the one time there was a queue in the pilgrims office and I decided to get some cana and tapas instead .....)

 

[Anemone del Camino]

Just wondering if I need to get already 02 Credentials as I'll be leaving from Somport and will go up to Muxia so, one credential + 2 stamps a day from sarria to santiago is a No Go.

I think you may have just discovered why the new 2 stamp rule is about: an extra 2€ for the Cathedralfrom long distance walkers who will need 2 credenciales.

Now, the cathedral renos are expensive, so we should all do our share for those unforgatable moments lfemotion when seeing,visiting and touching the walls of that grande dame.

 

[SYates]

... regarding the need to collect two stamps from the last 100km. I have never done this on my previous caminos. Is this a new rule?
Could you kindly point me the link to the cathedral that states this rule?

Just wondering if I need to get already 02 Credentials as I'll be leaving from Somport and will go up to Muxia so, one credential + 2 stamps a day from sarria to santiago is a No Go.
...

That rule is in place since quite a few years, how much it is enforced depends hugely on the volunteer and from where you started. If you start at Somport, most likely nobody will enforce it, in case of doubt, just appeal to one of the supervisors. The relevant link is here https://oficinadelperegrino.com/en/pilgrimage/the-compostela/

As for practicalities, just start with one credencial and pick up/buy a second one along the road - really not a big deal.

Buen Camino, SY

 

[WGroleau]

I would not be anxious about finding enough sellos. The more difficult problem is usually how to gracefully refuse the many offers to stamp your credencial as you pass by.

I've never had anyone offer in five hundred kilometers or more. But I asked at every albergue or café or shop along the way. Everybody had one, even the tobacco shops where I bought postage stamps. (I carried a diary and put every available stamp in it.)

 

[Bradypus]

I've never had anyone offer in five hundred kilometers or more. But I asked at every albergue or café or shop along the way. Everybody had one, even the tobacco shops where I bought postage stamps. (I carried a diary and put every available stamp in it.)

It has been nearly 6 years since I last walked the Camino Frances but my experience there in summer/autumn was that many people made the offer without being asked. Not so on the Via de la Plata earlier this year though! But that wasn't a problem because I have given up the sello collecting business anyway. I didn't want another argument with the Pilgrim Office to sour my arrival in Santiago so I didn't worry about finding my "two per day" and simply asked the Pilgrim Office for a final sello rather than a Compostela.

 

[Viva Terlingua]

I remember one bar that had a table by the door with a sello and inkpad and it was self service for stamping your credencial.