Wandering from the straight and narrow

[MaxHelado]

First camino in May. Variante Espiritual.
Plans are now taking shape with thanks to this forum.
This journey is not all about gaining a Compostela but it would be sad to discover on arrival that I had unknowingly disqualified myself through some terrible act of non-compliance

The official route, so far as I can ascertain, includes a stretch from Armenteira to Vilanova de Arousa. But I want to break that stretch into two and spend a night in Cambados. But Cambados is not on that “official“ route. I would still be walking from Point A (Armenteira) to Point B (Vilanova de Arousa) but vía Point “A and a half”. The distance is almost identical, the hotel in Cambados offers special rates for pilgrims and will stamp my passport, but it is not on what seems to be the official route between A and B.

Q. What will happen in the office in Santiago? Will they tear up my passport and stamp on it?

 

[Desert Bruce]

Hello MaxHelado, I think you are safe from a Pilgrim office meltdown. They are really only concerned that you have a stamp everyday before and two everyday from Tui to Santiago. Stamps are available in bars, alberques, churches, hotels etc.

 

[SYates]

The Variante Espiritual is a recognized route, no matter if you spend one night a bit away from it. What counts at the pilgrim's office is:

A minimum of two stamps a day for the last 100km when walking and doing the pilgrimage for religious/spiritual reasons.

And if you want to be on the very safe side, just get a stamp before you go to Cambados and one after you returned to the official route.

BC SY

 

[MaxHelado]

Thanks for your replies. Helpful as always. This forum has been invaluable in planning my first camino.

SYates is perfectly correct. I could leave the route and return to the route the following morning but if you look at the map this seems to make little sense. (Hasten to say that is not a criticism of your response!! It's a feature of the geography! )

To explain. Imagine two sides of a diamond.
Decision point comes at Barrantes which is on the official route and at the base of my imaginary diamond.
The road to the left takes me off the official route, through Cambados and then, the following morning, I would continue on to Vilanova de Arousa (which is once again on the official route and at the top of my diamond).
The road to the right takes me on the official route through Ribadumia, Ponte Arnelas and then kicks to the left and onto Vilanova de Arousa.
Both routes are approximately 11 km.

Returning to the official route earlier than Vilanova can be done but looking at the map it would be done purely to secure the Compostela. The geography would say continue on to Vilanova from Cambados.

 

[Bradypus]

@MaxHelado As @SYates has said this should not really be a problem especially if you have sellos from before and after your little deviation. I doubt that anyone in the pilgrim office would notice or be overly anxious about it in any case. In the unlikely event of someone being that pedantic in interpreting the Compostela rules I personally would withdraw my request for a Compostela. If I am not a genuine pilgrim in their eyes because of my choice of route why should I value their certificate which they have already implied I am not worthy to receive? If I was in a mellow frame of mind I might even refrain from making certain suggestions about where they could put their Compostela and the packing tube as well...

 

[MaxHelado]

Oh, Bradypus, I do enjoy your humour and I couldn't agree more!
As I said earlier, the camino is not for the sole objective of gaining a Compostela but it is always nice to know the rules even if that only means you know when you have broken them.
My current thinking is to take the detour, get the sellos along the way, enjoy the camino and let greater powers decide if I am worthy

 

[pelerine]

If you do the detour and get lots of stamps you give proof that you have done even more km than the minimum required....

I never found that they check my credential in detail, but then I am a little old lady who would of course never cheat!

Buen Camino, Max!

 

[MaxHelado]

Pelerine, I don’t suppose you’re available early June to meet outside the office in Santiago?
I’ve had an idea.......

 

[pelerine]

Desolee, as they say in French, but if you are around in Santiago on Friday April 17th you may witness the arrival of my tribe - me with my 3 “children” and their wives/husbands/partners and their chidren - ww are 14 in total. Am beginning to feel very excited about this undertaking .....)

PS This is the tribe’s present for my 80 birthday...

 

[MaxHelado]

How wonderful!
Buen camino!

 

[pelerine]

Thank you!

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Remarkable, Pelerine! How exciting!
All the best to you and your family!

 

[Pscarmen]

Desolee, as they say in French, but if you are around in Santiago on Friday April 17th you may witness the arrival of my tribe - me with my 3 “children” and their wives/husbands/partners and their chidren - ww are 14 in total. Am beginning to feel very excited about this undertaking .....)

PS This is the tribe’s present for my 80 birthday...

How fabulous a family trip!!! I’m going for my 51st since last March was surprise after surprise causing the year postponement. I hope to meet you & your tribe! Buen Camino!

 

[pelerine]

Remarkable, Pelerine! How exciting!
All the best to you and your family!

Thank you, Chrissy!

How fabulous a family trip!!! I’m going for my 52st since last March was surprise after surprise causing the year postponement. I hope to meet you & your tribe! Buen Camino!

Yes, Carmen, it would be nice to meet!
Buen camino to you too!

 

[Krista Rogman]

First camino in May. Variante Espiritual.
Plans are now taking shape with thanks to this forum.
This journey is not all about gaining a Compostela but it would be sad to discover on arrival that I had unknowingly disqualified myself through some terrible act of non-compliance

The official route, so far as I can ascertain, includes a stretch from Armenteira to Vilanova de Arousa. But I want to break that stretch into two and spend a night in Cambados. But Cambados is not on that “official“ route. I would still be walking from Point A (Armenteira) to Point B (Vilanova de Arousa) but vía Point “A and a half”. The distance is almost identical, the hotel in Cambados offers special rates for pilgrims and will stamp my passport, but it is not on what seems to be the official route between A and B.

Q. What will happen in the office in Santiago? Will they tear up my passport and stamp on it?

I did the Varient Espiritual way in 2018. The walk is beautiful most of the time. There is a flyer, which you can get in Pontevedra, which gives you a rough map. The distance are much more than stated in the flyer.
At age 67y/o I was still able to make the extra distances.

When you get to Vilanova de Arousa stay in the municipal Albergue. It is housed in the city sports stadium.
You can buy a ticket for the boat ride from Vilanova to Padron when you check in for the night.

In Padron you can get a "Pedronia" cedrtificate for walking the Varient Espiritual.
I enjoyed the walk and am glad that I did it.
I'm sure that you can break up the walk in any way that is right for you.

If you are concerned about if your route will qualify for a "Peronia" you could wite to the pilgrim office in Padron and ask.

 

[MaxHelado]

Krista,
Thank you for your contribution to the thread - interesting and helpful.
Where did you go to claim your Pedronía? I have never heard of this.

 

[Dojo]

I too am interested in where to get the Pedronia.

 

[MaxHelado]

Here's a link I found that offers some useful information on the Pedronía.
https://vivecamino.com/en/the-pilgrimage/the-compostela/
And here is the link to the Ayuntamiento de Padrón where you can download the Carta Pedronía which is their two page equivalent of the Credencial. Go to 'Servicios', 'Descargas' then 'Carta de la Pedronía'
http://padron.gal/es/

 

[kenwilltravel]

Hi Max,
My wife and I both earned one of these Pedronias in 2018. We did that by visiting the three major sites in Padrón related to the story of St. James: the Santiaguino de Monte shrine, the pedron stone in the Santiago de Padrón church, and the St. Mary's church on the site of the old Roman port of Iria Flavia, where the boat carrying St. James' body from Palestine supposedly moored. We were actually alerted to this opportunity by an employee in the tourist office in Padrón who said, hey, if you visit these places we can give you this document.
I would recommend spending some time in Padrón if you're interested in absorbing some of the spiritual ambience of the St. James story, which of course is what got the Camino started in the first place.
I would also mention that by visiting Cambados that you're actually staying true to the spirt of the Spiritual Variant. By that I mean that Cambados was on the itinerary of Father Martin Sarmiento, whose journey around O Salnés in 1745 played a big role in providing the modern rationale for including the Spiritual Variant in the Camino routes. Sarmiento actually never visited Armenteira or the inland places at all but made the coastal circuit of O Salnés from Pontevedra through the towns of Poio, Sanxenxo, O Grove, Meaño, Cambados, A Illa de Arousa, Vilanova de Arousa, Vilagarcía de Arousa, Catoira, Valga and Pontecesures. You can find these details in Roy Uprichard's book Stone and Water: Walking the Spiritual Variant of the Camino de Santiago.

 

[MaxHelado]

Hi, Ken
Many thanks for taking the time to write. This is rich in useful information and the book sounds perfect.

I feel as if my journey has already begun; I am slowly discovering what the Camino can be and what I want it to be. If I enjoy the walk as much as the preparation and planning it will certainly be a voyage of discovery. Thank you.

 

[kenwilltravel]

I'll mention one other thing for your consideration. If you're looking for a place to stay after descending the mountain from Armenteira on the Route of Stone and Water, you might look at this place: https://www.oscastaños.es
This is not a hotel per se but a tavern that has several rooms to rent. We stayed there in 2019 and found it quite comfortable. The tavern itself has a very good food so it's not a bad place to break up the walk from Armenteira to Vilanova de Arousa. And it's literally right on the trail, with a tourist information kiosk across the street!