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SJPDP Credencial Question -

Robo

Veteran Member
Time of past OR future Camino
Frances 15,16,18
VdlP 23, Invierno 23, Fisterra 23
Having bought some stuff from Ivar recently I am in possession of the new style, 'official' Credencials as issued by the Cathedral in Santiago.

Exhibit A.
They have one downside, as others have pointed out. The whole of one side is taken up by mini maps. Which might make a nice souvenir, but serve little real purpose.
So the space for stamps is cut by 50%
Walking from St Jean next year, over 50 days, there won't be enough space for some 60 odd stamps. (2 a day in last 100 kms.)
Of course we could always use two........ But that's not as nice as a momento.

But

To Exhibit B. My Credencial from SJPDP in 2015. A much more practical document, with both sides 'clean' for stamps.
Are these style still available from the Pilgrims office in St Jean?
I would much prefer to use those..... ;)

Exhibit A. - 'New' Credencial

16giYP.jpg


Exhibit B - Old St Jean version

Iv2bLm.jpg
 
Last edited:
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So glad you have raised this issue @Robo; I am in complete agreement with you. I want all my stamps on one credential. On my camino, I rationed my stamps, even once or twice in the last 100 k, to be sure I got them all on the one credential. :)
 
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Hi Robo, you could photocopy the blank stamps’ side, and then glue the photocopy to the other side, so then both sides will be blank for stamps :)
Jill
 
Hi Robo,

I'm under the impression that the 2 a day rule in the last 100kms only applies to those ONLY doing those 100kms. On both my previous trips it hasn't been a problem getting my Compostella.

The credential I got this year in SJPdP is exactly the same as the one I got in 2015, which should be plenty of space for all your stamps as long as you persuade those stamping to do 8 per segment as you've pretty much managed above. My first credential with accompanying picture of my camino family is possibly my most prized possesion and I love that I got all the stamps on one side.

Hope you manage to work something out.

Buen Camino,

Rob.
 

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For my next trip I'm considering having one credential for use at every place I stayed and a second for the rest. If I lose one I've got the other. The one issued by the cathedral might work out okay for the one used for lodging.
 
I'm under the impression that the 2 a day rule in the last 100kms only applies to those ONLY doing those 100kms.
The wording that applies to all pilgrims is the following (from the Pilgrim Office website):
  • You must collect the stamps on the “Credencial del Peregrino” from the places you pass through to certify that you have been there. Stamps from churches, hostels, monasteries, cathedrals and all places related to the Way are preferred, but if not they can also be stamped in other institutions: town halls, cafés, etc. You have to stamp the Credencial twice a day at least on the last 100 km (for pilgrims on foot or on horseback) or on the last 200 km (for cyclists pilgrims).
That does not say that if you start farther away you are exempt from the requirement for 2 stamps/day. The extra miles you may walk simply don't matter for the Compostela. Only proof of walking the last 100 km counts, and they specify 2 stamps per day as being adequate proof. In practice, the person at the Pilgrim Office desk does the assessment and may accept your word, on the basis of your overall evidence, even if you don't have those 2 stamps for each and every day of the last 100 km.

The "requirement" is officially 2 stamps per day for everyone. I'd hate for people to be disappointed or otherwise upset if the Pilgrim Office decides to enforce the official rule.
 
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The wording that applies to all pilgrims is the following (from the Pilgrim Office website):
  • You must collect the stamps on the “Credencial del Peregrino” from the places you pass through to certify that you have been there. Stamps from churches, hostels, monasteries, cathedrals and all places related to the Way are preferred, but if not they can also be stamped in other institutions: town halls, cafés, etc. You have to stamp the Credencial twice a day at least on the last 100 km (for pilgrims on foot or on horseback) or on the last 200 km (for cyclists pilgrims).
That does not say that if you start farther away you are exempt from the requirement for 2 stamps/day. The extra miles you may walk simply don't matter for the Compostela. Only proof of walking the last 100 km counts, and they specify 2 stamps per day as being adequate proof. In practice, the person at the Pilgrim Office desk does the assessment and may accept your word, on the basis of your overall evidence, even if you don't have those 2 stamps for each and every day of the last 100 km.

The "requirement" is officially 2 stamps per day for everyone. I'd hate for people to be disappointed or otherwise upset if the Pilgrim Office decides to enforce the official rule.

Thanks for the clarification. I must have just been lucky.
 
The lovely stamps are part of the joy and adventure of the Camino. When we started from SJPP we were “stamp happy”... ended up with two passports ... but we still cherish the reminders.

When we walked the Via Francigena in Italy, most of our stamps were from churches. We’d often end up in the vestry with the priest as he rooted around in drawers to find it. Also a lovely memory!
 
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Having bought some stuff from Ivar recently I am in possession of the new style, 'official' Credencials as issued by the Cathedral in Santiago.

Exhibit A.
They have one downside, as others have pointed out. The whole of one side is taken up by mini maps. Which might make a nice souvenir, but serve little real purpose.
So the space for stamps is cut by 50%
Walking from St Jean next year, over 50 days, there won't be enough space for some 60 odd stamps. (2 a day in last 100 kms.)
Of course we could always use two........ But that's not as nice as a momento.

But

To Exhibit B. My Credencial from SJPDP in 2015. A much more practical document, with both sides 'clean' for stamps.
Are these style still available from the Pilgrims office in St Jean?
I would much prefer to use those..... ;)

Exhibit A. - 'New' Credencial

16giYP.jpg


Exhibit B - Old St Jean version

Iv2bLm.jpg
On my Camino in 2015, I started with two credenciales from St. Jean, and added five more of the Spanish version along the way. I was not only "stamp happy", I was "stamp gaga." The French version is of much more durable construction and has room for 72 stamps. However, some of the larger stamps will take up two boxes. The Spanish version was made of much thinner paper, had lots of wasted space, and the stamp boxes were much smaller. I forget the number of boxes, but it was no where near 72. In 2017, I got SEVEN credenciales in SJPP (the format is identical to the one shown here in the post. There has been no change at all), and filled every box in every one of them. Attached is a picture of the poster I had made of my stamps from 2015. I scanned every page of every credencial and mixed in those pesky "wasted pages" along with the stamp pages. It really looks nice.
Having bought some stuff from Ivar recently I am in possession of the new style, 'official' Credencials as issued by the Cathedral in Santiago.

Exhibit A.
They have one downside, as others have pointed out. The whole of one side is taken up by mini maps. Which might make a nice souvenir, but serve little real purpose.
So the space for stamps is cut by 50%
Walking from St Jean next year, over 50 days, there won't be enough space for some 60 odd stamps. (2 a day in last 100 kms.)
Of course we could always use two........ But that's not as nice as a momento.

But

To Exhibit B. My Credencial from SJPDP in 2015. A much more practical document, with both sides 'clean' for stamps.
Are these style still available from the Pilgrims office in St Jean?
I would much prefer to use those..... ;)

Exhibit A. - 'New' Credencial

16giYP.jpg


Exhibit B - Old St Jean version

Iv2bLm.jpg
 

Attachments

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    0FFBC28F-EF61-44E6-9A34-C007FCF90F94-15771-00000796E3DA7D84.jpeg
    1.3 MB · Views: 129
On my Camino in 2015, I started with two credenciales from St. Jean, and added five more of the Spanish version along the way. I was not only "stamp happy", I was "stamp gaga." The French version is of much more durable construction and has room for 72 stamps. However, some of the larger stamps will take up two boxes. The Spanish version was made of much thinner paper, had lots of wasted space, and the stamp boxes were much smaller. I forget the number of boxes, but it was no where near 72. In 2017, I got SEVEN credenciales in SJPP (the format is identical to the one shown here in the post. There has been no change at all), and filled every box in every one of them. Attached is a picture of the poster I had made of my stamps from 2015. I scanned every page of every credencial and mixed in those pesky "wasted pages" along with the stamp pages. It really looks nice.

That is really nice. In fact, I think it's the nicest credential framing I've seen. Thanks for sharing.

I'm also somewhat stamp-happy. I almost filled my APOC credential just going SJPP to Burgos. I'm thinking I'll probably need (at least) 2 more to get to Santiago. Each stamp is a slecial memory.
 
I have a credenciel from SJPdP from August 2016. Sorry nothing this year but is is like Exhibit B, both sides are open to Stamping, the preferred version.
 
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I got this one in SJPdP in September (I filled both sides, stamp happy on my truncated camino!)

2017-10-15 12.22.55.jpg

20171226_151805_resized.jpg
 
It became quite clear to us by the time we were in Leon that one credencial was not going to do it for us, so we picked up another for each of us there. Toby's worked out perfectly, getting the last stamp for the last square on the second credencial at the lighthouse in Finisterre. I had a couple of squares left, which I filled back in Santiago. I think the two credencials worked just as nicely as souvenirs as one would have. In fact, with more space for more stamps as reminders of places we visited, people we saw, one might say they proved to be better souvenirs than just one would have been. I have them framed in a single frame on the wall next to the framed Compostela and Finistera, and I quite enjoy looking at them.
 
If you are thinking of displaying your credencial then consider taking a few spares. Once one side of a credencial is filled up then start filling one side of another credencial. That way you can see all the stamps once the credencials are put into a frame.
 
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If you are thinking of displaying your credencial then consider taking a few spares. Once one side of a credencial is filled up then start filling one side of another credencial. That way you can see all the stamps once the credencials are put into a frame.
The new official credencial shown by the OP only collects stamps on one side of the page, as does the credencial we got from the Canadian Friends of the Camino group, so we didn't have that problem when framing our credencials.
 

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