Simple maths

Hi Andy. The simple answers are: Yes, Yes, and Yes.

You could claim a Fisterra and a Muxiana provided you have secured the Sacred Stamp of Lires.

All that said some of the lovely volunteers in the Pilgrims Office have been known to take the view that the Pilgrimage is to Santiago - therefore nipping about Galicia on a triangular tour is seen as frivolity. A steady gaze and a firm assertion of your spiritual intent should get you over that hillock.

As to the Certificate - if you can; by credencial(s), wikilog or blisters, evidence the distance you have walked then that is what the Scribe will record.

If you are really fancying a ramble try: StJdP, Leon, Oviedo, Lugo, Sobrasado de los Monxes, Santiago, Muxia, Lires, Fisterra, Santiago. All to Santiago, just not quite in a straight line

Technically, that could count as two pilgrimages.

To claim a Compostela from the Cathedral at Santiago, you MUST have walked the FINAL 100 km of any accepted Camino route into Santiago. Explained another way, your proposed "loop" does not qualify as it is not 100 Km from Muxia to Santiago via the accepted pilgrimage route.

So, I recommend you find another route that is a minimum of 100 km in a direct line from some point on an established route, INTO Santiago. You might walk the Camino Ingles from Ferrol, Primitivo from Oviedo, Frances from Sarria, Portugues from Tui, Invierno from Monforte de Lemos, etc.

This said, and IIRC, I believe some folks have walked from Muxia to Finisterre to A Coruna and thence into Santiago. This IS more than 100 Km. But you need to ask around. Don't take this sketchy recollection as a hard and fast rule. Remember, the pilgrimage must be TO SANTIAGO to be eligible for a Compostela.

The Compostela is not a participation prize, like the Finterreana and Muciana. It is a religious document that has been awarded to pilgrims by the Catholic Church (via the Pilgrim Office) for more than 1,000 years.

Each of these pilgrims has completed a pilgrimage to venerate the remains of the Apostle Saint entombed beneath the main altar in the Cathedral. There are alternative certificates awarded to pilgrims who do not make the pilgrimage for religious or spiritual motivations. However, the same 100 km INTO Santiago rule applies to all who arrive on foot.

Hope this helps.

@t2andreo there are past threads that debate this lovely concept but, if you have walked from Muxia via Fisterra to Santiago, or Fisterra, Muxia, Santiago you will have walked 100km to Santiago and will qualify for a Compostella. It doesn't matter that you have walked from Santiago on the Galician Triangle because the final 100km is to. I appreciate both the work done by the Pilgrims Office volunteers and the challenges they face. My last "long route" took in the Camino Vasco del Interior, Frances, Salvador, Primitivo, Verde, Norte and Frances again. All of it to Santiago, just not all of it on the Autopista Peregrino from St Jean.

Your assertions on the religious / spiritual significance of the Compostella are, of course, correct. I would not seek to suggest that any pilgrim approach the Camino as some frivolous hike through pretty country-side with loads of subsidised lodging houses or the Compostella as some evidence of bragging rights. Pilgrimage is pilgrimage, not a Wots-up opportunity.

@andywild is proposing to walk 1000km, not 100, and, from what we know of Andy from here, he is most likely as much a Pilgrim as I am. Or as any of us.

Tinker, you are correct that as long as the final 100 km is into Santiago, you should be okay. However, there was a recent thread that discussed yet ANOTHER new version of the CAthedral issued credencial containing a clear statement that the final 100 km must be on "a recognized Camino route."

This is still foggy to me. So far, I have not yet seen a new credencial myself or spoken to my friends at the office. The thread did contain a photo of the new credencial. It DID say that. So, we shall see...

If correct, it means that the former policy of walking ANY 100 km as long as it ends at Santiago is replaced by a more 'parochial' (pardon the pun) and somewhat restrictive rule requiring the final 100 km to be on a route recognized by the Pilgrim Office. We are back to Caveat Emptor...

Also, I only interjected the religious aspect to the Compostela because an increasing number of folks showing up at the P/O seem to think this religious blessing document is some sort of a completion chit or a participation award. We must try to retain the original purpose of the Compostela whenever possible. I support not lessening standards...

This said, I fully respect the right of all people to participate in the Camino for whatever the reason. But that motivation and reason might not meet the requirement for the Compostela.

That is why they have Certificates of Visitation, Welcome Certificates, and Distance Certificates. There is certainly something for everyone, whatever their motivation. Plus, all the documents are similarly attractive and suitable for framing if you wish.

Hope this helps.