What's your favorite sello (stamp) from the Camino?

[Olivia Covarrubias]

Hi, I was looking at my stamps from last year and love them all, but the one from Logrono is my favorite so far.
Returning this year in May to complete my journey.

What's your favorite sello (stamp)?

Olivia

 

[Anamiri]

I got that one too. I got one of a donkey and a pilgrim on the way out of Logrono as well its also pretty cool. Hostal Coruna in Astorga also has a nice one.

 

[trecile]

My favorite wasn't actually a stamp, but a hand drawn sello from Albergue Lamas on the alternate route after Villafranca del Bierzo. I didn't stay there, but had a wonderful sandwich there made with veggies from their garden.
I'm not at home now, so can't take a picture of the sello, but it looks like their sign.

 

[jungleboy]

Great thread idea! I’m currently on the other side of the world from my credential, but when we’re reunited next month I’ll go through it and pick a favourite.

 

[Kurt5280]

Albergue Villatuerta...AKA...Albergue La Casa Mágica...sounds cool and size matters!

 

[VNwalking]

Thanks, Olivia, such a fun topic! I posted a thread about this a while ago and it'll be fun to see if people have any now ones to show. (I don't have my credencials on me so can't add new favorites - but here are the ones circa 2015, and I have to say the winner then is still the all-time favorite now...)

What are your favorite sellos? (And had anyone noticed, or is is just me? At albergues, the quality and creativity of the sello is often proportional to the quality of the experience...)
My favorite:

And 2 runners-up:

 

[Theatregal]

A couple of my favourites

 

[RENSHAW]

The Roncesvalles sello on my first camino in 2003 - I seem to remember it double the size of others and what a place to start an epic adventure and spiritual experience?! From that day on , Spain , the camino and cothido was to become part of my life forever.

 

[guidance]

On the del norte, was invited by an artist to see some of his work, then asked if i wanted a stamp,gave him my Pass,he then took out a small blowtorch,and a stick of wax,which started to get me worried,he heated the wax dropping a big lump onto my pass, then heated the wax once more with this blowtorch,which gave me visions of the same pass going up in flames,he then used a seal to given me a image of the cross in this red wax,great stamp,on a day never to be forgotten.

 

[RENSHAW]

Wait guys , I have it , here it is San Bol still in it's day of Mystic Legend - I was there!!

 

[oursonpolaire]

From the Guardia Civil in a small Catalan village, who picked me up on a country road because it was too hot to walk and the death of a pilgrim from heat stroke would cause them far too much paperwork.

 

[Pingüigrino]

My favorite one is that "secret stamp" some pilgrims can get at the parish albergue in Grañon.

 

[Olivia Covarrubias]

My favorite wasn't actually a stamp, but a hand drawn sello from Albergue Lamas on the alternate route after Villafranca del Bierzo. I didn't stay there, but had a wonderful sandwich there made with veggies from their garden.
I'm not at home now, so can't take a picture of the sello, but it looks like their sign.
View attachment 40329

That is adorable!!!

 

[Olivia Covarrubias]

Albergue Villatuerta...AKA...Albergue La Casa Mágica...sounds cool and size matters!

View attachment 40330

Wow- you are right, that is a beautiful stamp!!!

 

[Purky]

and size matters!

Size does matter: check out this huge and beautiful sello from Lier, just after Antwerpen on the Via Brabantica in Belgium.

 

[Olivia Covarrubias]

Size does matter: check out this huge and beautiful sello from Lier, just after Antwerpen on the Via Brabantica in Belgium.

View attachment 40345

That is huge!

 

[Olivia Covarrubias]

I love reading the memories attached to the stamps. They are very meaningful.

I'm looking forward to new stamps and making new memories this summer while continuing my journey on the Camino Frances.

 

[RJM]

From the Guardia Civil in a small Catalan village, who picked me up on a country road because it was too hot to walk and the death of a pilgrim from heat stroke would cause them far too much paperwork.

View attachment 40343

Very nice. I like that. One passes by a number of smaller police stations along the Francais. I wonder how many of them would stamp credentials?

 

[RJM]

Albergue el Alfar in Hornillos del Camino.
Great homemade paella dinner that night at the albergue, good wine and a nice dessert.
Albergue is owned and run by a really nice couple who live there.

 

[oursonpolaire]

Very nice. I like that. One passes by a number of smaller police stations along the Francais. I wonder how many of them would stamp credentials?

I suppose that it depends how busy they are and the sense of humour of the guard on desk duty-- they might be less likely inclined on the Camino Francese, which is quite busy-- I neglected to mention that they hand-squeezed orange juice for me sitting in a room full of assault rifles, a tale which never ceases to delight my Spanish friends. I have, as well, sellos from the Guardia Civil in Uterbo, near Saragossa in Aragon, and the local police in Tarazona in the same province, as well as the Police Nationale in Clisson on the Camino from Mont Saint Michel.

 

[RJM]

I suppose that it depends how busy they are and the sense of humour of the guard on desk duty-- they might be less likely inclined on the Camino Francese, which is quite busy-- I neglected to mention that they hand-squeezed orange juice for me sitting in a room full of assault rifles, a tale which never ceases to delight my Spanish friends. I have, as well, sellos from the Guardia Civil in Uterbo, near Saragossa in Aragon, and the local police in Tarazona in the same province, as well as the Police Nationale in Clisson on the Camino from Mont Saint Michel.

Hmmm...I may have to throw a few uniform patches from my old agency into my pack next time to exchange for sello stamps.

 

[gollygolly]

From the Guardia Civil in a small Catalan village, who picked me up on a country road because it was too hot to walk and the death of a pilgrim from heat stroke would cause them far too much paperwork.

View attachment 40343

Apologies for being a pedant, but Tamarite de Litera is in Huesca, and not in Catalunya !

 

[MichelleElynHogan]

Still trying to find, "El Ramon," Albergue in Torres del Rio..... Some may know what I am talking about.

 

[Peregrinopaul]

Still trying to find, "El Ramon," Albergue in Torres del Rio..... Some may know what I am talking about.

The "El Ramon" would have to be the Penny Black of Camino stamps! Imagine if one of those four credentials turned up on Ebay.

 

[Purky]

Still trying to find, "El Ramon," Albergue in Torres del Rio..... Some may know what I am talking about.

The "El Ramon" would have to be the Penny Black of Camino stamps! Imagine if one of those four credentials turned up on Ebay.

 

[Kathor1]

Still trying to find, "El Ramon," Albergue in Torres del Rio..... Some may know what I am talking about.

What are you looking for? Ramón's house in Torres del Rio or the location where the scenes with a crazy albergue owner were filmed for the movie The Way? Ramon's place doesn't exist anymore. Google for Ramón Sostres and Casa Santa Bárbara or search the forum as there's some info in older threads. You can look up his actual stamp in this online sellos database. They didn't have that many fancy sellos in those days:

In Road of Stars to Santiago, Edward F. Stanton describes his encounter with Ramón and his stay at his house. This must have been before 1994 or so. It sounds all rather sad. It wasn't an albergue as such. He was one of a few individuals who opened their house to Santiago pilgrims in those days. You can read about it online through the Google Books option.

 

[JabbaPapa]

The one from my godfather's antiquities shop in Monte-Carlo, that he stamped onto I think page 1 of my credencial in my last days of prep before starting my second "from home" Camino in 2005, after my Baptism that year at Easter, and my Confirmation at Pentecost.

The fact that he completely muffed the stamp and ruined a couple of others to boot only adds to its charm ...

 

[MichelleElynHogan]

What are you looking for? Ramón's house in Torres del Rio or the location where the scenes with a crazy albergue owner were filmed for the movie The Way? Ramon's place doesn't exist anymore. Google for Ramón Sostres and Casa Santa Bárbara or search the forum as there's some info in older threads. You can look up his actual stamp in this online sellos database. They didn't have that many fancy sellos in those days:
View attachment 40582
In Road of Stars to Santiago, Edward F. Stanton describes his encounter with Ramón and his stay at his house. This must have been before 1994 or so. It sounds all rather sad. It wasn't an albergue as such. He was one of a few individuals who opened their house to Santiago pilgrims in those days. You can read about it online through the Google Books option.

Sounds like it would have been a lot of fun back in those days.

 

[MichelleElynHogan]

View attachment 40564

Love IT!!!

Before this, I had heard that el Ramon was a composite character, which seems to not be completely true now. However, in the movie, "The Way," I had thought that the name, "Ramon," was being used as it is Martin Sheen's given name at birth. In fact, the Internal Revenue Service has allowed Martin to use either or both his real name, "Ramon Estevez," or, "Martin Sheen." The story behind the stage name is that he chose the names of two people he admired when joining the Actors' Guild. They were Martin Luther King and Bishop Sheen of New York.

 

[Kathor1]

Before this, I had heard that el Ramon was a composite character, which seems to not be completely true now.

See this interview: https://thefilmstage.com/features/interview-writerdirector-emilio-estevez-on-the-way/ - Jack Hitt is another 90s author who describes his encounter with Ramón Sostres in his book, too. Movie director Emilio Estevez says in the interview that the movie character is taken from Jack Hitt's book. I'm surprised that they didn't change the name for this movie. It seems that Ramón Sostres had no family and had moved from Barcelona to Torres del Rio.

 

[t2andreo]

My "best" or favorite sello is the first one I receive when I start any Camino. It does not matter where that is. Sometimes, it is the local Cathedral or church stamp. Like the Church of San Juan Baptista y Santiago in Madrid, or the Porto Cathedral. Sometimes it is a local pilgrim office, as in Saint Jean Pied de Port.

This year, starting from Ponferrada on the Invierno, I am thinking of opening the credencial at, either the Albergue San Nicholas, or perhaps the Basílica Nuestra Señora de la Encina, the large, Templar-built church. If anyone else has a better idea for a sello to open this short Camino from Ponferrada, let me know.

My least favorite sello is always the one from the Pilgrim Office at Santiago. This is simply because it closes that credencial, and signifies the end of a Camino...sigh...

 

[Mario Hussein]

This is my favourite sello
Unique with Jesus offering a helping hand to pilgrims. It is a sello of the real crucifix in the church in FURELOS, just before reaching MELIDE.

 

[oursonpolaire]

Apologies for being a pedant, but Tamarite de Litera is in Huesca, and not in Catalunya !

You're quite right and thank you for the correction. It seemed like Catalonia in retrospect, but that may have been on account of the sun.

 

[Olivia Covarrubias]

Very nice. I like that. One passes by a number of smaller police stations along the Francais. I wonder how many of them would stamp credentials?

That's a great idea too

 

[gollygolly]

Slightly behind with putting out this post, but just getting back into my stride following being in Japan where we walked the Nakehechi route of the Kumano Kodo.

While approaching 11000kms of distance from Santiago de Compestela, the Kumano Kodo is the 'twinned' pilgrimage route to the Camino de Santiago, and for those who can show that they have walked both, there awaits the 'dual pilgrim' certificate, and when time allows I plan to write about our walk, which will be a different post.

For today, this is about the stamps that are 'collected' along the way while walking the Kumano Kodo. In significant contrast to the Camino in Spain, in Japan the stamps are applied at specific points all along the way. The stamps are 'housed' in especially built 'huts' (see image) and the pilgrim opens the little hatch-way, takes out the stamp and the ink pad and applies the stamp to the credencial. There is no possibility of cheating - the stamps can only be applied while on the route, and access is only by foot.

Finding the little 'huts' can be a challenge, as some are quite well hidden, but slowly over the course of the walk the credencial becomes filled with the inked impression of each of the distinct stamps. They are large and bold with no two stamps being the same, and each image being related and pertinent to the place.

Hopefully the attached will give an idea of the beauty of some of the stamps.

Bon Camino - or perhaps Bon Kumano !

 

[BeatriceKarjalainen]

This one is my favourite från Albergue Pinheiros in Alvaiázere, Portugal he melted wax and then used and old sigill stamp. It took several minutes to get it and we got great stories while he did it.

 

[salmburg]

Favorite sello on the Camino Frances was a melted red wax sello, with a ribbon and a dangling pair of feet. Somewhere between Palas de Rei and Melide - La Huell Don't remember the exact location.

 

[simply B]

For me? No question... this from the Santa Cruz Parish in Najera after the Pilgrim Mass. We were escorted to the Sacristy whereupon the Pastor handcrafted each sello to pilgrim appearance and country of origin...

B

 

[dougfitz]

Two from my pilgrimage with my wife in 2016. It took a little time for her to understand why I was so keen to get both stamps:


These hand crafted drawings are among my favourites from walking the S:t Olavsleden in 2018:

 

[Seamus68]

On the del norte, was invited by an artist to see some of his work, then asked if i wanted a stamp,gave him my Pass,he then took out a small blowtorch,and a stick of wax,which started to get me worried,he heated the wax dropping a big lump onto my pass, then heated the wax once more with this blowtorch,which gave me visions of the same pass going up in flames,he then used a seal to given me a image of the cross in this red wax,great stamp,on a day never to be forgotten.

yep got same one

 

[trecile]

My favorite wasn't actually a stamp, but a hand drawn sello from Albergue Lamas on the alternate route after Villafranca del Bierzo. I didn't stay there, but had a wonderful sandwich there made with veggies from their garden.
I'm not at home now, so can't take a picture of the sello, but it looks like their sign.
View attachment 40329

Sorry for bumping up this old thread, but I thought that I'd post a picture of the hand drawn "sello" that I mentioned. As you can see, the peregrina making her way up the hill looks just like me.

 

[Icacos]

For me? No question... this from the Santa Cruz Parish in Najera after the Pilgrim Mass. We were escorted to the Sacristy whereupon the Pastor handcrafted each sello to pilgrim appearance and country of origin...

B

i have a similar handcrafted sello from the same parish church in Najera, and seems to be by the same priest. And it’s my favourite too!

 

[pilgrim b]

This sello in wax I receive from a man on the Way. He had prosthetic legs and was trying to raise money to go to the Paralympic Games the following year. it was my first camino and well, I will let his seal speak for him!

 

[David Tallan]

This sello in wax I receive from a man on the Way. He had prosthetic legs and was trying to raise money to go to the Paralympic Games the following year. it was my first camino and well, View attachment 99651I will let his seal speak for him!

I got the same seal in 2016 but I didn't remember the prosthetic legs. Maybe they were hidden by the table.