When Walking the Camino, Make Sure You Get Your “Passport” Stamped

In 2014, we walked a 200 kilometer portion of the 800 kilometer Camino de Santiago in northwestern Spain. This longer portion, starting in St. Jean Pied de Port in France, takes about 30 to 35 days to complete. Our shorter portion started in Ponferrada and took 11 days before ending in the city of Santiago de Compostela.

Over the centuries, hundreds of thousands of people have made the pilgrimage from points all over Europe to Santiago where, under the cathedral, it is said lay the remains of St. James, the Apostle.

The credencial is the pilgrim's passport. While walking the Camino, you can get it stamped by your hotel or at any restaurant or church you may come across. It is recommended that you should get it stamped at least three times a day.

Once you arrive in Santiago, you are to present it to the passport office as proof that you walked the trail. You do not have to walk the full 800 kilometers to be recognized.  Walking only the last 100 kilometers is good enough. If you arrive by bicycle or donkey (yes, there are a few who arrive by donkey), you have to complete the final 200 kilometers.

In return for presenting your credencial, you will receive your official Compostella, a document recognized by the Church that you are a "true pilgrim". But, be prepared wait for awhile before you receive your Compostella. Hundreds of pilgrims are in line waiting for the same thing. We had to wait for over an hour, standing in the rain, before we received our official documents.

And if the walk isn’t enough an accomplishment, you get to see you name written in Latin. When was the last time you got to see that?