Tell me about credential stamps/sellos

[sjf]

I’m in transit and will arrive in Lugo tonight to start walking tomorrow. I have my credencial, and am curious about how/where I get the stamps to fill it. Are they obvious? Do I have to go looking or ask? Let’s say I walk into the cathedral in Lugo this evening looking for my first sello: where do I go and what do I do?

 

[Felipe]

Obispado.Delegación de Peregrinaciones.
Plaza de Santa María, 1. 27001 Lugo.
Phone number: 982231143
peregrinaciones@diocesisdelugo.org
Also, albergues. And post offices.

 

[sjf]

Thanks. That’s not quite what I’m asking. I know where the sellos are located but I’m not sure what the process is to get one in my credencial. Are they obviously marked and free for the stamping? Carefully guarded by cathedral/post office/other staff? Or hidden somewhere obscure?

How do I go about actually getting a stamp in my credencial when I’m in a location that has one?

 

[HedaP]

In albergues a sello is part of the check in process because you must show your pilgrim passport to get a bed. In other accommodations you will generally need to ask for a sello. In some churches and cathedrals there may be a volunteer waiting at a table with a donativo box handing out sellos. If the cathedral is one where you have to pay to visit then your pilgrim passport may get you a discount and its usually the person collecting the money who will stamp your pilgrim passport. Some churches have a table with a self service set up of stamp pad and stamp and a donativo box. It is normal to leave a small donation. Many cafes, bars, shops, government departments, museums, etc have their own sello and if no self service sello is set up they will usually stamp your pilgrim passport on request. Some enterprising locals even set up a table outside their houses and offer sellos for donativo though this usually only happens closer to Santiago. Happy sello hunting and buen camino.

 

[sulu]

In Lugo cathedral the stamp is in the sacristy, you have to find someone and ask. It is not a paying cathedral, the Blessed Sacrament is exposed all day and people go in to pray. I found a sacristan without any problem but I may have just been lucky.

 

[Anemone del Camino]

At the Lugo cathedral there often is a volunteer happy to give mini guided tours. Well worth it by the way. That person may also stamp your credencial.

When you arrive in Melide and from then in you will see people going mad for stamps and misbehaving, running in and out of coffee shops to get a stamp and yet not buying a thing, or barging in chapel and churches for the same reason, without any respect for those praying. Please don’t be one of these people. It’s not a treasure hunt. You only need one stamp a day on top of the one from where you will be spending the night.

 

[Juspassinthru]

Almost any Bar, your Albergue, the local church or cathedral and enterprising merchants with pop-up stands along the Camino. Buen Camino!

 

[Kitsambler]

I should add that this is not a phenomenon limited to Spain. One can obtain stamps all along the Way(s) of St James as it (they) cross Europe from as far east as Warsaw and Bratislava. My furthest-east stamp is from the cathedral in Prague, for example. In the Czech Republic and Germany, many times the stamp (Stempel in German) is the local inn's return-address stamp, rather than a fancier or more pilgrim-oriented design. The efficient Swiss have sometimes resorted to self-stick labels (a la return address stickers) with the appropriate legend and sometimes a design. In churches, look near the entry door for a small desk or tabletop. Sometimes there is a pad of paper so you can make sure you you know which side is "up". In France, the stamps with designs are much more common, and one usually gets the stamp (tampon in French) when you pay for the lodging (sometimes that's at night, sometimes in the morning). Stamps never expire - they continue to be valid for years and across several credencials - until you reach Santiago.

 

[Anemone del Camino]

I got a sticker stamp in Porto. Certainly adds some pretty colours to your credencial. I also have two others that are hand drawings, one from the Primitivo, one from from VDLP. And another one Portugal is actually made with two different stamps, two colours and a template to make sure both stamps align well to get the final product.

Ah, and also one from Hungarian pilgrim who had her own made. I decided to copy her but addd my email address to it. Easier than dicatating it to people while they try to put it in their smart phone.

 

[Felipe]

Btw, there is a webpage, Los sellos del camino dedicated to sellos/stamps/tampons. It claims to have the images of a staggering 2673 stamps. Some of them are curious and beautiful. And you can add your own little collection!

 

[HedaP]

I got a sticker stamp in Porto. Certainly adds some pretty colours to your credencial. I also have two others that are hand drawings, one from the Primitivo, one from from VDLP. And another one Portugal is actually made with two different stamps, two colours and a template to make sure both stamps align well to get the final product.

Ah, and also one from Hungarian pilgrim who had her own made. I decided to copy her but addd my email address to it. Easier than dicatating it to people while they try to put it in their smart phone.

I once met an enterprising young couple with a donkey camping within the last 100 kms to Santiago. Their donativo stamp was cut out of a potato.
And PS I hope I didn’t imply that getting sellos is like treasure hunting. It certainly does need to be done with respect and consideration for those who are providing the sellos.

 

[marianna niebauer]

We got one that was a wax stamp w/a charm of your choice attached. It's pretty special