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What did you do with your Pilgrim Passport and Compostella?

Older Guy

Active Member
Time of past OR future Camino
Camino Francis -May 2016 by bike---Loved it
So what do most people do with your Pilgrim Passport, Compostela and Certificate of Distance after you return home?

I left mine in a drawer for several months. Every now and then I pulled them out to look mostly at the passport and all the stamps from the different places I stayed and stopped at. Then decided I needed to do something special with them.

I took mine to a local framing shop and had them arranged into a Collage. I tried to have them include my shell, but they suggested a separate shadow box. I am looking forward to getting them and hanging them on my wall to help me remember my Camino.

Still I am curious what most folks do? To me the passport with the stamps is the biggest memory jogger.
 
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Train for your next Camino on California's Santa Catalina Island March 16-19
My compostelas are still in their tubes I only opened one a few months ago because I was giving a talk and people wanted to see it...
My credentiales are on a shelf with my Camino books and I do look at them I can't really have them framed as they're not the 'accordeon' type but a booklet form so half of it would be hidden.
Of course I don't have any such records for the pilgrimage to Jerusalem, it just lives in my memory.
Your 'collage' sounds great and I hope it gives you a lot of pleasure.
 
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All mine is in a drawer in the study, I think I've looked at them twice since I got back. You are right about the credential, it is the most important document of the journey.
I do like your idea of a collage, I'll have to give it some thought.
 
Get a Spanish mobil number + data while on the Camino
Get a spanish phone number with Airalo. eSim, so no physical SIM card. Easy to use app to add more funds if needed.
I also keep them safely stored away and take them only out for talks etc. BUT I plan to get them all laminated when I am too old to walk (around age 99) and hang them on a wall so that I am remembered of the good times ;-) Buen Camino de la Vida, SY
 
My camino was 6 months ago and the tube is still at the living room coffee table It is quite difficult to get the compostela from the tube without causing damage. My credential is in some safe place I don't remember right now... New one for the next camino is on its way from Ivar's Camino Shop.
 
Camino wristwatch
Perfect memento/gift in a presentation box. Engraving available, 25 character max.
My sweet hubby asked for my 1000plus picture file. He surprised me with two printed volumes using My Publisher. I opted to daily journal on Facebook while I traveled. When I returned home I utilized the my social book on Facebook. You choose the dates,pictures and comments for that time period. Facebook compiles it all into a printed bound book. I love it as it captured my actual dialog of the experience. This all may seem a bit much....but as we say...we all choose our way.
 
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How do you access the my story service from Facebook?
 
I'm going to frame mine as a group. I'll include a head shot of myself at the top with my well-worn, studded-rubber-knob pole tips glued onto the pic, sticking out of my eye sockets, mantis-style. My granddaughters will love it. It's right near the top of my todo list. He said delusionally.
 
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A selection of Camino Jewellery
Camino Jewellery
A selection of Camino Jewellery
I got mine framed and I used a spare passport and cut the two pictures from it and added them to either end of the passport for added effect.I look at it nearly every day and each stamp brings back great memories
 
Get a Spanish mobil number + data while on the Camino
Get a spanish phone number with Airalo. eSim, so no physical SIM card. Easy to use app to add more funds if needed.
Hi, we framed two of our Compostela's
the ones we framed are from the Camino Frances.
We walked this route alone, my wife in 2013 and I last year.
The pilgrim passports are all lie in a drawer .
And we have all sort of Camino stuff around our house.
Wish you well, Peter.
 

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I framed my compostela in an antique/old looking frame. My credentials are in those two sided frames so I can still look at both sides. I also made books with some of my pictures.

Denise
 
Camino Preparation Guide
The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
Not sure about the pole tips, but I like the idea of a headshot photo. I wish I had thought of that. I have a picture of me at Alto del Perdon in front of the metal Pilgrim silhouettes. It is probably the most "Camino" of all my pictures. I may do that as a separate framed picture along with the shell shadow Box.
 
I do have a suggestion for Ivar and that is maybe he can work with a local frame shop that can make custom frames with non-acid matting all cut and sized for the Passport and the Compostella either together or separately. I would wager that he would sell a few of them to the same folks that purchased their Passport through him.
 
Wow, really impressed with ALL the displays above!
 
Camino Preparation Guide
The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
There is only one problem, the size of the passport is not always the same.
Wish you well , Peter.
 
Peter Fransiscus said:
There is only one problem, the size of the passport is not always the same.
Wish you well , Peter.
Click to expand...
I was talking about the ones that he sells. Yes, they are different when you get them from different places, but if he passes along the pilgrim passport from the Cathedral that should be pretty much one-size unless they change the design. The idea would be to a a pre-cut mat in a oversized frame that would hole the passport and/or the Compostela.
 
Let us pick up your suitcase once you arrive in Europe....
...and ship it to Santiago for storage. You pick it up once in Santiago. Service offered by Casa Ivar (we use DHL for transportation).
The other problem with a standard credencial frame is the number of stamps, the distance walked. If you walk the ladt 100km you will need two pages, if you walk from SJPP you will need two booklets. I don't think anyone will want to frame empty pages...
 
Reach into the centre of the rolled-up certificate with 2 fingers. Maybe moisten your fingers slightly. From the edge of the certificate, gently twist it a bit tighter so the outside of the rolled up certificate loosens from the tube.

When you roll it back up, lay it face down on a spare clean piece of paper and roll both up. Next time you reach into the tube you'll touch the spare sheet of paper, not the certificate. If you do touch the certificate, you'll be touching the back. The spare piece of paper will help keep the certificate clean because it won't rub against itself when it's rolled up. You could buy a larger diameter tube from a stationery store so the certificate is easier to remove - it won't be rolled up so tight.

Sometimes, to open a jar or twist a lid off of a bottle, as a last resort with a locked-on lid, I'll try wearing rubber dishwashing-type gloves. It really adds traction, grabs like crazy. The first time you get that certificate out of the tube, you could try the rubber glove trick to add friction and to keep the certificate from marking.

Please send 5 bucks for this advice to...just kidding!
 
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I now have several. The first one from 2012 is rolled up in a box in my storage unit. The other 4 or 5 I picked up in 2014 for Santiago, The year of Saint Francis, the walk to Muxia, the walk to Finisterre and one other are rolled up in another box in my storage unit. I visit them once a year or once every two years when I'm in the neighborhood.
 
Camino Way markers in Bronze
The one from Galicia (the round) and the one from Castilla & Leon. Individually numbered and made by the same people that make the ones you see on your walk.

Funny you posted this as I wanted to do exactly the same.

Buen Camino in life.
 
I framed mine and my partner's credencials (it's quite convenient having two, as it means you can display one side of each and still see the entire journey). Our compostelas we've simply stored away in their tubes. Those we only bring out for special occasions!

But I love having the credencial framed and hanging in our living room. So many happy memories, plus it's always a nice talking point with guests. Just a shame about the six empty boxes at the end!
 

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The Compostela is framed - have to look into doing something with the passport; hopefully will have one more of each next June.
 
More 2024 Camino Guides available
The 2024 Camino guides will be coming out little by little. Here is a collection of the ones that are out so far.
I miss mine! I put it in my pack when I left SdC, and the pack didn't make it home with me. I asked for my luggage at the airport, but the airline's handler was not very helpful. The insurance company gave me my money back for the different items in my pack, except for these priceless ones. At least I learnt something from the experience - keep priceless stuff nextto your heart!
 
So sorry to hear this.
Maybe this is a good excuus to walk the Camino again.
Wish you well and maybe a Buen Camino for next time , Peter.
 
Let us pick up your suitcase once you arrive in Europe....
...and ship it to Santiago for storage. You pick it up once in Santiago. Service offered by Casa Ivar (we use DHL for transportation).
Jeff Crawley said:
Be careful about framing them, the old style ones fade. My 2001 Compostela is almost unreadable and no, it's not in a sun lit position.
Click to expand...
thanks for that tip! I was planning on having the reverse side of my credentials (I went through a few) copied so all the sellos could be seen when I framed them...in fact was going next week to do that, but now maybe I will do that with both sides, and leave my credentials in the box where they are at present
 
So sad to read this
 
Get a Spanish mobil number + data while on the Camino
Get a spanish phone number with Airalo. eSim, so no physical SIM card. Easy to use app to add more funds if needed.
Jeff Crawley said:
Be careful about framing them, the old style ones fade. My 2001 Compostela is almost unreadable and no, it's not in a sun lit position.
Click to expand...
Hi Jeff,

You can use UV-resistant glass for light-sensitive items. Even indirect , bounced sunlight will fade vulnerable things. Art galleries almost always use artificial light. UV glass is a little bit more expensive than plain glass but framers use it frequently. It looks same as ordinary glass. Still, as you say I wouldn't hang anything so that full sunlight hits it.
 
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This is what I have done with my first 3 years but unfortunately after my 5th year I've now got 15 Compostela and 5 credentials.
If I go through with what I've planed for next year, which will be Rome - Santiago - Finiste.. - Muxia. In the end I will have 18 Compostela and 6 credentials of which 2 of them will be about 1 and a half meters long because of the amount of Km involved.

 
Camino Preparation Guide
The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
Think you're going to need a bigger house . . . .
 
I find to get the paper out of the tube without damage, get a hold of the innermost edge and tighten the roll. It should come out easier then.
 
Camino Preparation Guide
The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
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