I just came across this thread requesting credencial photos. I carried 2 with me when I completed my Camino in 2019. The photos are below, and here is the story that goes with them. Although I am Canadian, I had known about the Camino for many, many years, and dreamed/wondered if I might ever be able to complete it. As a matter of fact, over the more recent years, I even started ordering some backpacking items and I ordered the colorful credencial (photo below) from someplace on-line. I really wanted to walk the Camino! Then, in 2017 my wife and I were visiting Dublin, and we were on a tour bus to visit the Kilmainham Gaol. (an emotional experience that we highly recommend!) The tour bus passed in front of St. James Church (
http://stjamesparish.ie/) and my wife noticed a banner hanging across the front of the church advertising this church as the home of the Camino Society of Ireland. We decided to visit after the Gaol tour, and found our way back. We tried the door, but alas, it was locked despite signs stating that this was a day it was supposed to be open. We turned to go and as we started down the stairs, the door was opened by someone on the inside, who stuck his head out and asked if we were trying to come in. We said yes, and we were warmly welcomed in where there were three gentlemen who apologized profusely for door having been locked. It was locked they said, because they were being interviewed for a story about the Camino and did not want to be interrupted. “What a coincidence” we said “because we came to learn a little more about the Camino since we saw your banner out front.” “Well you're in the right place,” he said, “and with the right people, because this gentleman here is the President of the Camino Society of Ireland!” We had a lovely and very informative visit that solidified my resolve to complete the Camino. I ended up purchasing a credencial from the shop, and they gave me my first 2 stamps that you can see in the photos, dated in August 2017, and then you will see the first stamp from St. Jean Pied de Port in March 2019 when I walked the
Camino Frances. I also discovered that Ireland is one of the few locations (maybe the only?) where a pilgrim can walk the first 25 km of their Camino outside of Spain, i.e. on Irish soil, and then travel to Spain to complete the rest. And to cap off the story, when I walked the Camino, I met a very kind young Irishman on the very first day starting out from SJPP, and we stayed together for the entire 32 days that it took for us to complete the Camino! We keep in touch to this day.
About the credencials: Although I did use both to collect sellos, I only had one 'certified' for my Compostela. I actually preferred the Irish credencial because of its size and convenience, and there was plenty of room for stamps. The larger colorful credencial appealed to me at first because it was made especially for the
Camino Frances, but because I did not stop in the same towns that it featured within the book, I had to skip around through pages to find a place that might work to collect a stamp. However, on the positive side it has some space for a pilgrim to record some notes which might be handy. I kept an on-line blog full of my thoughts and stories and photos, so I personally did not use the notes feature. Several people in the albergues told me they had never seen such a credencial before.
