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Starting stamp

Vaughan

Member
Time of past OR future Camino
Camino Francais April/May 2019
Norte Aug/Sept 2022
I am planning on starting my Camino in Hondaribbia since it is convenient for the airport. Are there any recommendations for where to get a starting stamp in my credential?
 
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There is a Santiago hermitage a couple of kilometers from the airport. It will almost certainly be closed and you probably won't find a stamp there but you might like to drop by to mark the start of your camino.
Since I have doubts that you will find a stamp at the hermitage, I think you had better get the first one at the airport information desk.
 
A couple of times my husband and I have asked for a stamp in a local pharmacy. After a few questions, they were able to supply a dated stamp in both instances.
 
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As well as @grayland's excellent advice, which is both the most traditional and the most accurate--- the pilgrimage begins at your front door when you leave-- ayuntamientos and police stations are great sources of sellos. Or your first bar. The Spanish love sellos and almost everything gets stamped there for one reason or the other, so the request for a sello for the credencial de peregrino is nothing out of the ordinary for them.
 
At Asturias Airport I go my stamp from the Guardia Civil. They were really helpful and friendly, and I think they do it there a lot. I guess other airports would be the same.
 
In 2017 I took the train to Irun, just south of Hondarribia. I arrived in the afternoon, left my possessions in my room, and crossed the Bidasoa River into France, hoping to get a French dinner. I was too early, so while walking around I saw the church,
Église Sainte-Anne, on 15-25 rue des Aubépines. They were just starting the evening vigil Mass, so I stayed for it, and then asked the priest for a stamp. He took me to his rectory and happily gave me my first stamp on the east side of the Atlantic, as my first stamp was from my parish church back home, before I left. To cross the Bidasoa River, by the way, you take the Santiago Bridge.
 
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I got my first stamp at the Cathedral in Bayonne. If your airport is Biarritz, Bayonne is very convenient. It's a fine cathedral and it will only add an extra day or two to your camino. I found the camino not very well signposted from the post by the river. I walked to Ustaritz, found no signs for any camino, so I walked back to Bayonne. You might have better luck if you are better prepared than I was.
 

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