Stamping process

[cbeckham]

Hello all! I am starting my Camino tomorrow from Leon. I arrived in Leon tonite and am staying at a hotel before I begin my walk. Question is, when do I get my first stamp? At my accommodation after my first day of walking? Before I begin my walk?
Also, I have decided to just go with it and not make any accommodation reservations but I am finding I am getting a bit anxious as it is/will be raining for a few days.

 

[Bradypus]

I would ask your hotel for a stamp - almost all Spanish businesses will have one. There isn't really a formal stamping process. Albergues and most hotels on the Caminos will routinely stamp your credencial anyway. You may collect more if you wish. On the Frances there will be many opportunities to receive a sello. As far as receiving a Compostela is concerned the only requirement is that you have at least two stamps per day for the last 100km of your route. Anything else is up to you.

 

[cbeckham]

Than

I would ask your hotel for a stamp - almost all Spanish businesses will have one. There isn't really a formal stamping process. Albergues and most hotels on the Caminos will routinely stamp your credencial anyway. You may collect more if you wish. On the Frances there will be many opportunities to receive a sello. As far as receiving a Compostela is concerned the only requirement is that you have at least two stamps per day for the last 100km of your route. Anything else is up to you.

Thank you.. I wasn’t sure how this works and I’m sure it’s an easy process.. thanks for the response!

 

[trecile]

When I check on to my accommodation, whether it's an albergue or a hotel I ask for a stamp. I keep my national passport and my credential together because you always have to show your passport when you check in, so it's easy when they are both together.

 

[DoughnutANZ]

Hello all! I am starting my Camino tomorrow from Leon. I arrived in Leon tonite and am staying at a hotel before I begin my walk. Question is, when do I get my first stamp? At my accommodation after my first day of walking? Before I begin my walk?
Also, I have decided to just go with it and not make any accommodation reservations but I am finding I am getting a bit anxious as it is/will be raining for a few days.

If you get your first stamp at the cathedral in Leon then you will get an extra big smile once you get to Santiago de Compostela and receive your final stamp from the cathedral in Santiago. Very nice bookends but it isn't essential to get your first stamp from the León cathedral.

You don't have to get a stamp from your accommodation provider, you can get a stamp from lots of other places. Most churches will offer a stamp.

I started in St. Jean on my first Camino and got my first stamp from the cathedral/church in St. Jean. When I got to Santiago and presented my credential for the final stamp the person giving me the final stamp pointed out the first stamp from the St. Jean cathedral, gave me an especially big smile and thanked me.

When I started from Madrid on another Camino I did the same thing and got my first stamp from the church in Madrid that is associated with St. James and the Camino.

It isn't compulsory to do this but I think that it is a nice thing to do and, for me, is in keeping with the spirit of pilgrimage.

If you are religious then it is also possible to ask your local church to give you your first stamp before you leave.

 

[ELHS220]

Anywhere and anytime. I am a unapologetic stamp addict and can easily amass a dozen in a day. My favorite is going to a post office, buying a stamp, pasting it in my credential, and getting the local postmark with the date. This one is from León, but the name LEÓN is nearly hidden. I also got one the the ayuntamiento (city hall), and the police (Guardia Civil). Getting these can be challenging and time consuming due to limited opening hours, but it’s my obsession.

 

[cbeckham]

When I check on to my accommodation, whether it's an albergue or a hotel I ask for a stamp. I keep my national passport and my credential together because you always have to show your passport when you check in, so it's easy when they are both together.

That’s a good idea..thx!

 

[cbeckham]

If you get your first stamp at the cathedral in Leon then you will get an extra big smile once you get to Santiago de Compostela and receive your final stamp from the cathedral in Santiago. Very nice bookends but it isn't essential to get your first stamp from the León cathedral.

You don't have to get a stamp from your accommodation provider, you can get a stamp from lots of other places. Most churches will offer a stamp.

I started in St. Jean on my first Camino and got my first stamp from the cathedral/church in St. Jean. When I got to Santiago and presented my credential for the final stamp the person giving me the final stamp pointed out the first stamp from the St. Jean cathedral, gave me an especially big smile and thanked me.

When I started from Madrid on another Camino I did the same thing and got my first stamp from the church in Madrid that is associated with St. James and the Camino.

It isn't compulsory to do this but I think that it is a nice thing to do and, for me, is in keeping with the spirit of pilgrimage.

If you are religious then it is also possible to ask your local church to give you your first stamp before you leave.

Thank you for the recommendation. I will try to get a stamp from the Cathedral. However, tomorrow being Easter may be a bit tough but I like the idea so I will give it a try.

 

[David Tallan]

I would definitely get my first stamp in the place I start walking, rather than wait until my first stop in the day's walking. It shows you (and the people in the Pilgrim Office) where you started walking. In Leon, I'm with Doug, I would get my first stamp at the cathedral. That's what I did in Porto. When I walked from Madrid, though, I didn't get my first stamp from the cathedral but the Church of Santiago and San Juan Bautista, where the Camino de Madrid "officially" starts (I and, both of the pilgrims I saw more than once on that Camino, were actually doing front-door Caminos).

 

[SarahTheKiwi]

Hopefully this is allowed, but I intend to approach my local basilica or maybe the City Council, and ask them for a stamp, ie my camino starts from my home town which is Invercargill, New Zealand (which is 19,100km away as the bird flies).

 

[DoughnutANZ]

Hopefully this is allowed, but I intend to approach my local basilica or maybe the City Council, and ask them for a stamp, ie my camino starts from my home town which is Invercargill, New Zealand (which is 19,100km away as the bird flies).

Yes, of course it is allowed.

 

[OZAJ]

Does anyone know if you can get a stamp at St James in Sydney?

I asked this years ago and they didn't have one.

You can light a candle there, which I like to do at the end of my journey. I have lit candles along the way whenever I can since my third Camino. A friend had asked me to light a candle for his father, recently taken on his longest journey. I now light them for all my friends.

 

[SabsP]

Hopefully this is allowed, but I intend to approach my local basilica or maybe the City Council, and ask them for a stamp, ie my camino starts from my home town which is Invercargill, New Zealand (which is 19,100km away as the bird flies).

Perfectly ok. I asked for a sello at a St James church here in the area before I went on a specific Camino.

Happy planing and Buen Camino!

 

[MassNative]

We splurged in Logrono and stayed in an AC Marriott, outside the old city, for two nights. I asked the Front Desk for a stamp. They said all they had was a stamp with their name and address on it (I think for mail return address).

They apologized for not having an "official" Camino stamp.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

We splurged in Logrono and stayed in an AC Marriott, outside the old city, for two nights. I asked the Front Desk for a stamp. They said all they had was a stamp with their name and address on it (I think for mail return address).

They apologized for not having an "official" Camino stamp.

I have quite a few of those generic stamps from various Caminos on a few of the less popular routes. They are soulless, but better than nothing.

 

[jas11]

Hi! Im an avid sello collector I tried to get as much as I could. Besides cafes and albergues, you can also get them from “ayutamiento” municipal and tourist office, some church also have them.
I stayed at “Casa Batallon” in Sarria and they have the coolest stamp. Sello from Post office in Santiago is also preety.

 

[JerryStroebele]

I am not religious but the Camino is a pilgrimage. I try to respect the pilgrimage by getting a stamp at the cathedral or church where I start the Camino, at the end and at any open church along the way. Parish priests always seem delighted to take the time to give us one. Sellos on my credencial are the only souvenirs I collect. And they are nice and light to carry. Buen Camino

 

[Vancouver Rose]

When I check on to my accommodation, whether it's an albergue or a hotel I ask for a stamp. I keep my national passport and my credential together because you always have to show your passport when you check in, so it's easy when they are both together.

I kept these two together as well. Then you aren’t searching your pack at check-in. AND I frequently got stamps on the inside of my hat. I’d usually ask if I could do it myself because I was trying to get a lot of ink transfer and get the stamps close too e another so I could fill the brim with stamps by the time I’d reached Santiago.

 

[Philtration]

(I and, both of the pilgrims I saw more than once on that Camino, were actually doing front-door Caminos).

What is a front-door Camino?

 

[David Tallan]

What is a front-door Camino?

When you start your Camino at your front door. The two pilgrims I met more than once on the Camino de Madrid were Madrileños, walking from their homes. I cheated a bit on my front-door Camino. Living in Canada, it would be a challenge. But I used to live in Madrid. So I went to the front door of my old apartment building and walked from there. As it had to be, that put me on the opposite side, in the southern neighborhood of Carabanchel. So I walked 20 km on the day my plane landed, north from my front door, and didn't get out of the city.

 

[SabsP]

What is a front-door Camino?

Last week I met a gentleman from the neighbouring village (here in Belgium) who walked from his house to Santiago.
The part from home till the French border he was picked up by his wife and driven home every day. From France on he stayed in gîtes and other acceuils / guesthouses..

 

[Bradypus]

Living in Canada, it would be a challenge.

I walked from my front door in Wales - with a little help from ferries across the Channel and the Gironde. On my second day near Bridgend in very quick succession I met an English former member of the French Foreign Legion (carrying a Legionnaire's distinctive square pack) and a walking evangelist carrying a 12 foot long cross with a wheel on the base and a sports bag of gear strapped to it. Both heading west as I headed east. Some very eccentric people out there walking....

 

[BetteHarris]

Hello all! I am starting my Camino tomorrow from Leon. I arrived in Leon tonite and am staying at a hotel before I begin my walk. Question is, when do I get my first stamp? At my accommodation after my first day of walking? Before I begin my walk?
Also, I have decided to just go with it and not make any accommodation reservations but I am finding I am getting a bit anxious as it is/will be raining for a few days.

Good to get stamps at accommodations and cafes, at least 1 a day.. Last 100 km you need 2 stamps each day.Buen Camino App makes it easy to find albergues and make reservations too. Also Wise Pilgrim app. Buen Camino! I'll be arriving in SJPdP on April 9 and start on April 10.

 

[valjohnson2]

I would definitely get my first stamp in the place I start walking, rather than wait until my first stop in the day's walking. It shows you (and the people in the Pilgrim Office) where you started walking. In Leon, I'm with Doug, I would get my first stamp at the cathedral. That's what I did in Porto. When I walked from Madrid, though, I didn't get my first stamp from the cathedral but the Church of Santiago and San Juan Bautista, where the Camino de Madrid "officially" starts (I and, both of the pilgrims I saw more than once on that Camino, were actually doing front-door Caminos).

I will be staying a night in pamplona in order to take the bus next day to St Jean. I do have reservations for that night and in St Jean. I’m thinking I wait to get my passport until the pilgrims office in St Jean, correct? I’m wanting to start my first few days prepared as possible to set myself up! Doing this alone and still no big anxiety..yet!

 

[Pafayac]

They apologized for not having an "official" Camino stamp.

I do not believe there are "official" stamps for Camino. The stamps aim at showing that you have walked enough to get a Compostela.
On the sample below you will find stamps from churches, albergues, bars...

 

[Camino Chrissy]

I do not believe there are "official" stamps for Camino.

Although there are no official stamps, I'm sure the hotel was only referring to theirs not being a "Camino inspired" novelty stamp, which are naturally my favorite ones.

 

[Varekai]

We splurged in Logrono and stayed in an AC Marriott, outside the old city, for two nights. I asked the Front Desk for a stamp. They said all they had was a stamp with their name and address on it (I think for mail return address).

They apologized for not having an "official" Camino stamp.

LOL. You would think Marriott could afford to get a nice Camino stamp commissioned for pilgrims staying at their property.

 

[cbeckham]

Thank you all for your responses. I worried for no apparent reason. Getting a stamp has been easy except I am finding that a lot of the churches are closed. The weather has been rough also. Walking into Foncebadon was awful. Rain and high wind. Although today in Villafranca del Bierzo the weather is beautiful.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Although today in Villafranca del Bierzo the weather is beautiful.

I love Villafranca del Bierzo. My one regret was taking the main path along the road heading out of town, instead of choosing the Pradela variant. Pictures posted from up there are amazing! Are you thinking of going that way?

 

[cbeckham]

I love Villafranca del Bierzo. My one regret was taking the main path along the road heading out of town, instead of choosing the Pradela variant. Pictures posted from up there are amazing! Are you thinking of going that way?

We will be walking any alternate route that takes us away from the highway. I just have a difficult time walking in busy streets/highways..

 

[trecile]

Although there are no official stamps, I'm sure the hotel was only referring to theirs not being a "Camino inspired" novelty stamp, which are naturally my favorite ones.

Last year on the Norte I stayed in a pensión in Portugalete that was accessed by a code, and I never saw an employee there. Unlike other unstaffed places they also didn't have a stamp left out for pilgrims to use. so I decided to get a stamp at the Vizcaya Bridge, where I thought that I could probably get a really cool stamp, maybe with a picture of the bridge.

The stamp that I got is "Camino inspired," but a bit disappointing - especially its size!

 

[Camino Chrissy]

We will be walking any alternate route that takes us away from the highway. I just have a difficult time walking in busy streets/highways..

Then you will enjoy the Pradela, but it is a jaunt uphill from what I saw looking upward from the road.

 

[Gekkosan]

I would add something that struck me, and no-one else seems to have remarked: beware of the tourist/souvenir shops that loudly offer stamps, particularly as yo get within the 100km range. They pretty much demand that you buy something before they’ll stamp your credential. Understandably, I suppose, as that’s how they make their living.
Personally, I prefer to get my stamp at one of the many churches, and leave a small donation, or from any of the cafes , inns or bars along the way, which usually just leave their stamp on the bar or by a table, for anyone to use. I usually buy at least a coffee or a beer, or a shot of the excellent local liquors in exchange.

 

[cbeckham]

I would add something that struck me, and no-one else seems to have remarked: beware of the tourist/souvenir shops that loudly offer stamps, particularly as yo get within the 100km range. They pretty much demand that you buy something before they’ll stamp your credential. Understandably, I suppose, as that’s how they make their living.
Personally, I prefer to get my stamp at one of the many churches, and leave a small donation, or from any of the cafes , inns or bars along the way, which usually just leave their stamp on the bar or by a table, for anyone to use. I usually buy at least a coffee or a beer, or a shot of the excellent local liquors in exchange.

I agree! That’s what I have been doing. I would have loved to get more stamps from churches but a lot of them are closed.

 

[Simperegrina]

I walked from my front door in Wales - with a little help from ferries across the Channel and the Gironde. On my second day near Bridgend in very quick succession I met an English former member of the French Foreign Legion (carrying a Legionnaire's distinctive square pack) and a walking evangelist carrying a 12 foot long cross with a wheel on the base and a sports bag of gear strapped to it. Both heading west as I headed east. Some very eccentric people out there walking....

View attachment 167076

assuming it’s the same guy (could there be more than one guy going around Britain on pilgrimage, lugging a massive cross with a base wheel?) he was interviewed by Simon Reeve on his programme about pilgrimage to Canterbury. It’s on YouTube, might still be on iPlayer…

 

[Bradypus]

assuming it’s the same guy (could there be more than one guy going around Britain on pilgrimage, lugging a massive cross with a base wheel?)

In fact there have been more than one! The man interviewed by Simon Reeve was called Lindsay Hammond. The gentleman I met was Clive Cornish.

Evangelist carrying cross reaches Pembrokeshire

AN EVANGELIST has been hauling a cross on his back around all of Wales, and stopped in Pembroke to speak to a Baptist Pastor. Clive Cornish, of Cardiff, started his 500-mile long journey around Wales on June 18, bearing a 50lb cross on his back in his walk of faith. When stopping in Pembroke, Mr […]

pembrokeshire-herald.com

 

[Simperegrina]

In fact there have been more than one! The man interviewed by Simon Reeve was called Lindsay Hammond. The gentleman I met was Clive Cornish.

Evangelist carrying cross reaches Pembrokeshire

AN EVANGELIST has been hauling a cross on his back around all of Wales, and stopped in Pembroke to speak to a Baptist Pastor. Clive Cornish, of Cardiff, started his 500-mile long journey around Wales on June 18, bearing a 50lb cross on his back in his walk of faith. When stopping in Pembroke, Mr […]

pembrokeshire-herald.com

Blimey!

 

[CA_Pilgrim]

when do I get my first stamp? At my accommodation after my first day of walking?

I almost always got mine at check in. During the last 100 Km, I tried to get two per day (e.g., at a bar along the way) as required for the Compostella, but there was at least one day when I didn't get the second stamp. They don't seem to enforce that rule too closely.

 

[WGroleau]

My favorite is going to a post office, buying a stamp, pasting it in my credential, and getting the local postmark with the date.

I share your hobby, though I might not want to pay for a stamp. Would the Correos folks postmark the credencial (or diary, in my case) without a purchased stamp? I have stamps from albergues, cafés, turismo offices, and other shops, but Correos never occurred to me. I also got a nice sello from the blacksmith near the Irache wine fountain.