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Actually the rows are reserved for pilgrims with credencial, not with compostela. So it is not necessary to have received acompostela before attending.
and any decent statistics primer!!For example, the famous bell curve, aka the 'normal distribution', is defined by a non-trivial function you can read about in Google.
I suspect that such feelings exist independent of the Compostela! I spent an evening with a group of four through-hikers of the Appalachian Trail. Everything came back to how easy hiking the Camino was, and how the AT was so much more challenging. I suspect they had spent three weeks in the same conversation, and arrived in Santiago without bothering to appreciate what they had just done. I can visualize their Compostelas hanging on the wall with Post-It notes saying, "Too Easy." Attitude is almost the only thing we can control, yet so often we don't.I find it interesting (mind you, not for better or for worse, just interesting) how so many of us feel (a bit) more entitled just because we have walked further, or longer, or have slept with less comfort.
True, my mistake.Actually the rows are reserved for pilgrims with credencial, not with compostela. So it is not necessary to have received acompostela before attending.
Of cause the Compostella means something, but the meaning depends on the pilgrims. The Compostella I got after walking from Ferrol (Camino Inglés) means more for me, than the walk from Saint Jean Pied de Port (Camino Francés) because the route from Ferrol was harder to walk (badly marked, I only meet one pilgrim and some loose aggressive dogs).let me ask this, do the people that say that the Compostella is just a piece of paper already have one, ?
Yup, and 10 days ago there was noone honouring the tomb of Saint-James. I remember when you had to be quick in your prayer by respect for others in line behind you to kneel down for their own prayer. It is not about St-James anymore I'm afraid. At least from the actions I see taken.
When I have walked the CDT I would simply never compare them. One is wilderness to cross, the Camino is much more personal, spiritual. The only thing that relates is the knowledge that the early pilgrims were crossing wilderness back then as well. I think it can definitely make one appreciate the early souls who left us such a gift.I suspect that such feelings exist independent of the Compostela! I spent an evening with a group of four through-hikers of the Appalachian Trail. Everything came back to how easy hiking the Camino was, and how the AT was so much more challenging. I suspect they had spent three weeks in the same conversation, and arrived in Santiago without bothering to appreciate what they had just done. I can visualize their Compostelas hanging on the wall with Post-It notes saying, "Too Easy." Attitude is almost the only thing we can control, yet so often we don't.
A few weeks ago my wife and I where there and we where the only ones.We where there at the end of the day.I am not sure when you where there or when you have been there but I have never been alone or been where I can say rosery at the tomb of Saint James. I am curtious and move to the side as pilgrims and tourists pay respect to Saint James. Four caminos and a dozen plus visits to the cathedral and I have never had the peace or time to pay homage at the remains of Saint James without feeling hurried ,my prayers are said in front of the alter. I was there ten days ago and it was a busy place, very uncomfortable and hurried as always.
I think that this is not a matter of democratic debate ... we accept, as will be specified. Those who walked 100km still be able to do just that will not get a Compostela. My first thought was, that they can be older or less powerful physically disadvantaged in some way. But - there is no prescribed time walking! and perhaps from the race we will go back on a pilgrimageI don't think the Cathedral thinks it is open for debate!!
Yes, it's just a piece of paper and I have 3 however this year I will be walking from Oloron to Santiago to get one for my daughter who commited suicide in 2010. She is the inspiration behind my doing the Camino since 2011. I am one who firmly believes the credentials are a much more treasured possession.let me ask this, do the people that say that the Compostella is just a piece of paper already have one, ?
Blessings on you Biarritzdon. You carry much more than your pack, and I hope your load will be lightened by your Caminos. My credential sits by my front door, waiting to receive its first stamp, and holding so much promise. It is a reminder that my journey begins soon, and is already a treasured possession.Yes, it's just a piece of paper and I have 3 however this year I will be walking from Oloron to Santiago to get one for my daughter who commited suicide in 2010. She is the inspiration behind my doing the Camino since 2011. I am one who firmly believes the credentials are a much more treasured possession.
Same with me. I think I have the compostelas folded up somewhere, but just the other day I was looking through the credentiales and remembering where they came from.I am one who firmly believes the credentials are a much more treasured possession.
Front seats in the nave and both transepts have notices on and are roped off.
Hi Mendi, I got my first stamp at our local hospital. The hospitals name was " St. Jacobus " , they stil have a room where a pilgrim can sleep.Nire lagun, I shall add your daughter to my back pack on my Camino this year.
I always say the Camino begins on your doorstep. Don´t miss this opportunity, go to your local church and get your first stamp from it.
Ondo Ibili !
I suspect that such feelings exist independent of the Compostela! I spent an evening with a group of four through-hikers of the Appalachian Trail. Everything came back to how easy hiking the Camino was, and how the AT was so much more challenging. I suspect they had spent three weeks in the same conversation, and arrived in Santiago without bothering to appreciate what they had just done. I can visualize their Compostelas hanging on the wall with Post-It notes saying, "Too Easy." Attitude is almost the only thing we can control, yet so often we don't.
Thank you MendiWalker, she has already filled the first side of her credential from Oloron to Logrono this month and her first stamp was from the cathedral in Bayonne, the last church she visited before her passing. She has done the Camino sitting on my shoulder for over 2000 km and has another 300 to go later this summer.Nire lagun, I shall add your daughter to my back pack on my Camino this year.
I always say the Camino begins on your doorstep. Don´t miss this opportunity, go to your local church and get your first stamp from it.
Ondo Ibili !
I already have one, and may soon have a second and to me they are just pieces of paper,nice to look at if need be,and nice to keep,but thats all,let me ask this, do the people that say that the Compostella is just a piece of paper already have one, ?
Hi Stuart, one thing and that is, you walk from SJPdP and you do not walk all the way. That's my opinion, Peter.Personally, I think all the talk of "real pilgrims" and "tourists" a bit sad and somewhat snobbish.
If you're a "real" pilgrim then surely you don't give a damn how far anyone else has walked to get the same recognition?
If you aren't a "real" pilgrim then surely you don't give a damn about the certificate?
I don't care if someone walked 5km from Monte de Gozo or all the way from SJDPP. They chose to walk, they did what they wanted and probably what they thought they were capable of.
The handful of people that set out on foot from their doorsteps are the only ones that have any real claim to an authentic pilgrimage.
Or they could just eliminate the compostela and/or certificate
yes, yes, yesCan someone qualify traffic on the CF? i.e. Does the number of pilgrims / bed races / crowded cheap eateries and so on, increase sharply at the 100k mark?
I think it would be a great idea. Last year my two friends and I had a tough time finding accommodation due to the influx of people we had to literally fight for a place and stay in the middle of no where just for a bed. That is why I refused to get a Compostela or visit the Cathedral last year.The 28 international Camino associations that met last week in Santiago have proposed to the Cathedral Chapter to extend the minimum required distance to 300 km. According to them, this would reduce the Summer pilgrim crowds allowing for a more fulfilling experience.
Apparently the Cathedral Chapter did not receive thus proposal with much enthusiasm.
Question, why you walk the Camino in the first place. ? What has the Compostela to do whit not having a place to sleep, Peter.I think it would be a great idea. Last year my two friends and I had a tough time finding accommodation due to the influx of people we had to literally fight for a place and stay in the middle of no where just for a bed. That is why I refused to get a Compostela or visit the Cathedral last year.
The 28 international Camino associations that met last week in Santiago have proposed to the Cathedral Chapter to extend the minimum required distance to 300 km. According to them, this would reduce the Summer pilgrim crowds allowing for a more fulfilling experience.
Apparently the Cathedral Chapter did not receive thus proposal with much enthusiasm.
There's already a Distance Certificate, I believe that the debate has to do more with entitlement and who to blame for the crowding: foreign pilgrims, Spanish pilgrims, professional pilgrims, 5-day pilgrims, cruise ship pilgrims, tour pilgrims, Catholic pilgrims, atheist pilgrims, vegetarian pilgrims, 5-euro-bed pilgrims, i-have-walked-from-france-and-barefoot pilgrims...The three hundred mark would be just about in Leon, I think. What about giving out different compostellas. One for the 100 mark, and one for further?
What about giving out different compostellas. One for the 100 mark, and one for further?
That may be possible because it looks like there is one person in charge of issuing the Testimonium:In Rome you can only get 1.
We just finished walking the Camino Frances - and while a little leery upon reaching Sarria, we ended up meeting the most devout and spiritual pilgrims who only had time to do the final segment. They inspired us all over! NingThe 28 international Camino associations that met last week in Santiago have proposed to the Cathedral Chapter to extend the minimum required distance to 300 km. According to them, this would reduce the Summer pilgrim crowds allowing for a more fulfilling experience.
Apparently the Cathedral Chapter did not receive thus proposal with much enthusiasm.
The 28 international Camino associations that met last week in Santiago have proposed to the Cathedral Chapter to extend the minimum required distance to 300 km. According to them, this would reduce the Summer pilgrim crowds allowing for a more fulfilling experience.
Apparently the Cathedral Chapter did not receive thus proposal with much enthusiasm.
1) This proposal isn't going to go through (or at least not anytime soon)I have wanted to walk the Camino for a long time. Finally, by next year we will have saved up enough to let us do it. Since neither my wife nor I have ever done even a 5km hike, yet, we are working to build up our condition and ability! We are 76 years and have led sedentary lives -- so we are getting ready for the Camino Ingles -- about 118 km, starting from the landing-steps in Ferrol. But, if the requirement is changed to 300 km -- well, even in the best condition we can possibly hope for by mid-next-year -- neither of us could then be able to complete it! If 300km becomes the new rule the Camino will be out of reach for us. What is the motive behind this proposal? Is there an idea that if you cannot do at least 300 km you are not deserving or worthy of the Camino?
Oh right! I remember that if we paid, we could have had where we started written down. I completely forgot! Thanks.They have one:
-- on my knees the whole way pilgrims.There's already a Distance Certificate, I believe that the debate has to do more with entitlement and who to blame for the crowding: foreign pilgrims, Spanish pilgrims, professional pilgrims, 5-day pilgrims, cruise ship pilgrims, tour pilgrims, Catholic pilgrims, atheist pilgrims, vegetarian pilgrims, 5-euro-bed pilgrims, i-have-walked-from-france-and-barefoot pilgrims...
I am not Catholic, but it still represents my Christian beliefs. If my Compostela were burned up in a house fire, & not my family who cares, but it does represent/remind of a very personal journey.I say one credencial and one Compostela per Camino, like we have for the Salvador. More money to be made if not more converts. You want a short Camino head for the Englis or Salvador, a longer one, take your pick.
And BTW, if you read the certificate of distance, it is FAR from secular. Not sure it would mean anything to me if I wasn't Catholic. What I like about is that it's money for the cathedral ( someone has to pay for all those renovations) and that it says I walked from Oviedo to Santiago via tue Primitivo, so it is specific to this path.
So true . Peter .I am not Catholic, but it still represents my Christian beliefs. If my Compostela were burned up in a house fire, & not my family who cares, but it does represent/remind of a very personal journey.
I was more than happy to pay. As it is a magnificent church, it represents a very good soul, & a very large amount of new souls.
To the young & old 100k is the distance but only you can make it a personal pilgrimage.
I was talkinf about the certificate of distance, not the Compostela as there are those who see it as a non religious alterntive to the Compostela. It's,worth reading it.I am not Catholic, but it still represents my Christian beliefs. If my Compostela were burned up in a house fire, & not my family who cares, but it does represent/remind of a very personal journey.
I was more than happy to pay. As it is a magnificent church, it represents a very good soul, & a very large amount of new souls.
To the young & old 100k is the distance but only you can make it a personal pilgrimage.
The 28 international Camino associations that met last week in Santiago have proposed to the Cathedral Chapter to extend the minimum required distance to 300 km. According to them, this would reduce the Summer pilgrim crowds allowing for a more fulfilling experience.
Apparently the Cathedral Chapter did not receive thus proposal with much enthusiasm.
The 28 international Camino associations that met last week in Santiago have proposed to the Cathedral Chapter to extend the minimum required distance to 300 km. According to them, this would reduce the Summer pilgrim crowds allowing for a more fulfilling experience.
Apparently the Cathedral Chapter did not receive thus proposal with much enthusiasm.
Hi Pam , wish you well and a Buen Camino , Peter.I hope the distance does not change before I get to do the walk, I've just turned 70 and want to do the walk from Sarria,
I probably could walk a longer distance but won't have the time. I will be coming from Australia.
But 300k? Where would that be?
Any 100 km will do. I clarified that quite some time ago when I first ran across comments about Sarria onward. One could start at Santiago de Compostela, walk to Fisterra and then to Muxía [or reverse order] and back to the Cathedral and you would qualify for a Compostela. Perhaps the answer for those concerned about the congestion is to suggest a number of alternative routes that satisfy the rule, though it might take a lot of persuasion for the transportation companies who drop the peregrinos at Sarria to change their offerings.A solution could be any 100 km's other than from Sarria would qualify, thus spreading the economic wealth in Galicia and easing congestion.
Ultreya, Joe
Any 100 km will do. I clarified that quite some time ago when I first ran across comments about Sarria onward. One could start at Santiago de Compostela, walk to Fisterra and then to Muxía [or reverse order] and back to the Cathedral and you would qualify for a Compostela. Perhaps the answer for those concerned about the congestion is to suggest a number of alternative routes that satisfy the rule, though it might take a lot of persuasion for the transportation companies who drop the peregrinos at Sarria to change their offerings.
Sorry Brian , that is not correct,Peter.Any 100 km will do. I clarified that quite some time ago when I first ran across comments about Sarria onward. One could start at Santiago de Compostela, walk to Fisterra and then to Muxía [or reverse order] and back to the Cathedral and you would qualify for a Compostela. Perhaps the answer for those concerned about the congestion is to suggest a number of alternative routes that satisfy the rule, though it might take a lot of persuasion for the transportation companies who drop the peregrinos at Sarria to change their offerings.
I find it interesting (mind you, not for better or for worse, just interesting) how so many of us feel (a bit) more entitled just because we have walked further, or longer, or have slept with less comfort.
In any case, I can understand the concern by those of us that love the Camino regarding pilgrim numbers (ie. more pilgrims means more toilet paper in the bushes, and used, ugh!), specially on the last 112 km of the CF; however, on the other hand, I can understand the Chapter's response as well as this could lead to exclusion and/or a drop in pilgrim numbers.
I am assuming the answer lies somewhere in between and would involve all parties involved, the Church/Chapter by promoting the Catholic and religious meaning of the Camino for those that are on a pilgrimage, the Xunta de Galicia by doing their part regarding services along the way (arguably, they are not), and us pilgrims by not forgetting that we are just guests passing through and that we are really not entitled to anything (not even the bushes) but a bed at the albergue municipal if we have our Credencial de Peregrino and a Compostela if we complete the 100 km.
I think travel companies have picked Sarria because it is 100km and on the Camino Frances; I don't think Sarria was created by travel companies. It is only in the last four or five years that tour groups were being sold by a large number of travel agencies. The pilgrimage is so self-revealing that a tour group had no appeal until "everyone" wanted to walk it. Large numbers of Spanish have always started in Sarria, and they do not use tour companies. There are no statistics that I know of, but tours starting in Sarria probably do not provide a large percentage of the pilgrims. I have never met a tour group, actually, though I have seen bicycle chase vehicles, and the occasional van picking up stragglers, who probably were a "tour group". I have a friend who was part of a tour group, but conceals the fact from most who inquire about her walk!!Sarria seems to be only one pushed by travel companies.
Well, I specifically worded my question to clarify that and was informed it was acceptable. What is the difference between walking 1oo km TO Santiago from Fisterra via Muxía, and walking 100 km TO Santiago from Sarria, as long as it ends at the Cathedral?Careful Brian - this is not correct and is a mistake some pilgrims make and are then disappointed when the Compostela is refused. To qualify for the Compostela pilgrims need to walk the last 100 kms (or cycle 200kms) TO Santiago.
I would like to see it at 200km, from Ponfrada not Sarria. I think 300 km is too much but 100 km not enough. IMHO.The 28 international Camino associations that met last week in Santiago have proposed to the Cathedral Chapter to extend the minimum required distance to 300 km. According to them, this would reduce the Summer pilgrim crowds allowing for a more fulfilling experience.
Apparently the Cathedral Chapter did not receive thus proposal with much enthusiasm.
As has been said elsewhere on this thread this would cut out the Camino Inglés and affect less able pilgrims. What is seen as working for the Camino Francés is not right for all (Caminos or pilgrims). Our Camino(s) this year came to a total of 280kms and we had a central 'gap' which would have been impossible for us to walk as there is neither food nor accomodation for at least 40kms. We are glad that the Cathedral is not receptive to the idea, the only other solution would seem to be to stop having any minimum distance (as @JohnnieWalker posted). No doubt some 'long distance' walkers will feel that is not 'fair' either but if there is a qualifying distance, measured outwards from Santiago itself, then 100kms seems to be fair to all.I would like to see it at 200km, from Ponfrada not Sarria. I think 300 km is too much but 100 km not enough. IMHO.
Hello Pam, you don’t have to worry it stay's like it is. Wish you well and a Buen Camino, Peter.I hope the distance does not change before I get to do the walk, I've just turned 70 and want to do the walk from Sarria,
I probably could walk a longer distance but won't have the time. I will be coming from Australia.
@mvanert, it is entirely a personal decision how far to walk or ride on one's individual pilgrimage in order to achieve your personal goals. I am sure people walk quite happily from A Coruna on the Camino Ingles, and accept that they will not get a compostela when they reach Santiago. If you feel you personally need to walk at least 200km, that is not a particularly good reason others who feel they can achieve their goals in 100 km should be excluded from getting the recognition of the compostela.I would like to see it at 200km, from Ponfrada not Sarria. I think 300 km is too much but 100 km not enough. IMHO.
I have no interest in the the Compostela or the rules related to who gets one and who doesn't. My walk was my walk for my reasons. Nobody else's opinion about it, including that reflected by an awarding of a Compostela or not, matters to me at all.
My thoughts exactly. . Although I'm not in my 70ies yet..300km would've dissuaded me from the idea of the Ingles in March , which will be my only pilgrimage .I have wanted to walk the Camino for a long time. Finally, by next year we will have saved up enough to let us do it. Since neither my wife nor I have ever done even a 5km hike, yet, we are working to build up our condition and ability! We are 76 years and have led sedentary lives -- so we are getting ready for the Camino Ingles -- about 118 km, starting from the landing-steps in Ferrol. But, if the requirement is changed to 300 km -- well, even in the best condition we can possibly hope for by mid-next-year -- neither of us could then be able to complete it! If 300km becomes the new rule the Camino will be out of reach for us. What is the motive behind this proposal? Is there an idea that if you cannot do at least 300 km you are not deserving or worthy of the Camino?
100km is just as arbitrary as 300km . To follow your line of thinking, why not give compestellas to people who walk 5 km?
Charge 10E for it!! That will weed out the posers and the insincere.Give it to everybody or give it to nobody.
Charge 10E for it!! That will weed out the posers and the insincere.
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