Variante Espiritual: Walking the last 100K - starting point?

[MaxHelado]

My camino plans gather pace but not as fast as my frustration and head scratching
I now have the Wise Pilgrim book covering the Camino Portugues and I've used the distances to map out my route from Baiona to Santiago via the Variante Espiritual.
Excluding the boat trip I now have a total distance of 124 km! Significantly more than the 100k I had been planning.
My maths tells me that I could safely start in Vigo and still walk more than the required minimum of 100km (105.6km to be precise).
Any Variante Espiritual walkers have a view on Vigo as a start point?

 

[MaxHelado]

Amendment: the Wise Pilgrim Guide shows Vigo as 96.7km from Vigo and later says that the Variante Espiritual "adds 8.2km of walking" which gives a total distance of 104.9km

 

[gollygolly]

You may want to read

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/ruta-de-padre-mart%C3%ADn-sarmiento-from-combarro-to-santiago-de-compostela.62590/post-779698

Enjoy the Camino

 

[FLEUR]

thank you@ gollygolly

 

[MaxHelado]

Apologies, gollygolly. I missed your original posting - I have no idea why - and only spotted it when Fleur responded.
The link is super-useful as are the links within the link.
Thank you for sharing this. Great stuff.

 

[SioCamino]

Amendment: the Wise Pilgrim Guide shows Vigo as 96.7km from Vigo and later says that the Variante Espiritual "adds 8.2km of walking" which gives a total distance of 104.9km

To the best of my knowledge the Pilgrim Office does not recognise the Spiritual Variant so any extra kms by the route would not be counted if you are seeking a Compostela. I can’t remember now whether Vigo is classed as a min 100km route to SdC. (I think it is)

 

[MaxHelado]

Hello! Just to reply to my own post, I've been looking at the new Cathedral de Santiago credencial. On the back where it has the Camino Portugues en Epana, Camino Ingles y Camino de Fisterra y Muxia it states that: 'para poser obtainer la "Compostela'" la variante spiritual debe iniciarse, como minima en Porrino o Vigo' This is what I was told by the office managers, but if you meet someone at the desk who tells you that you don't have enough kilometres show them this statement. If you have an old credencial, ask them to drag out a new one (there is a drawer of these next to each station) flip to the page mentioned above and point this out. I did the Portugues by the central route i 2009. I'm looking forward to the coastal route and variante spiritual.

Buen Camino!

Hi, SioCamino
Here is the perhaps the most authoritative statement I've found on the recognition of the Variante Espiritual. It is from someone who has worked in the Pilgrims' Office and even seems to know which drawer the key documents are kept in! It seems quite clear from this that the Variante is recognised and that Vigo and Porrino are accepted as 100K start points.

 

[SioCamino]

Thanks - yeah I couldn’t remember 100% on the Vigo starting point. In terms of providing Certifícate of Distance, the distance is not adjusted for having gone via the spiritual variant.... So for example someone who walked the spiritual variant from whatever starting point will have the same number of kms on the Cert of Distance as if they walked the main route.

 

[LesBrass]

I feel like I have asked this before and it has been answered (thank you) but I heard conflicting advise today and I wondered if someone can clarify... just in case I have misunderstood or maybe there has been a rule change?

We are walking from Porto on the coast and jumping across to Ponte De Lima. We'll walk continuously from Ponte de Lima to Santiago with the exception of the boat from Vilanova to Padron.

My understand was that the boat ride is 28km so we need to be sure that we walk from at least 128km before Santiago... that way we will have still walked 100km+ and qualify for a Compostela.

The Compostela is really important to a couple in my group so I need to be sure that I've got this right. Can anyone confirm? Am I best asking at the Pilgrim Office now for clarity? (or am I being overly cautious)

thanks for any help!

 

[MaxHelado]

That is my understanding.

You must walk 100km excluding the distance travelled on the boat.
Also, you must follow a recognised route (which the Variante is) and have 2 stamps per day during your last 100k.
(I think it’s 2 stamps only on the last 100 but to be safe I would get 2 a day once you hit Galicia)

That said, I think asking the office for an official response is a great idea and wonder why no one seems to do that?

If you do ask the office or if you decide to wait until you get there, could you please post an update on this thread?

 

[koilife]

We are walking from Porto on the coast and jumping across to Ponte De Lima. We'll walk continuously from Ponte de Lima to Santiago with the exception of the boat from Vilanova to Padron.
. . .
The Compostela is really important to a couple in my group so I need to be sure that I've got this right. Can anyone confirm? Am I best asking at the Pilgrim Office now for clarity? (or am I being overly cautious)

Certainly ask, but the question will be whether or not you get an authoritative answer.

I believe the recent common experience of members (and supported by information on the credencial, as noted above) is that because Ponte de Lima is on a recognized route, and because it is further back than Porinno, you should receive the compostela assuming the other requirements are met -- double stamps from Porinno onwards, no other transport used (other than the boat), etc.