The purpose of the "Credencial" is twofold:
- Permission to sleep in albergues (hostels) during the pilgrimage
- Verification via stamps along the way that one has walked, cycled or been riding on horseback the required distance. The completion of stamps entitles the owner to receive a "Compostela", a diploma of sorts, once arrived in Santiago de Compostela.
I wanted to have a look at the "Credencial", see its size and format and have a read of what is in there.
Of course, the "Credencial" is written in Spanish as you would expect. I think that I interpreted most of it pretty well, confirmed after translating key sections online.
The front cover of the "Credencial del Peregrino" looks like this:
Page 2 has space for entering the pilgrim's details and page 3 sort of "terms of conditions":
There are 48 boxes for stamps and dates over 6 pages.
Interesting enough, the "Credencial" states a requirement of minimum 2 stamps per day.
The standard length of time to walk Camino Frances is roughly 35 days. That means more than 1 stamp in some of the boxes.
Of course, if you start your Camino even further away from Santiago de Compostela...
On the flip side of the "Credencial", there are maps of the different routes to Santiago.
I will walk Camino Frances from St Jean Pied de Port which interestingly is not marked on the map.
SJPdP in France is the major starting point for pilgrims doing Camino Frances and is located one to two days of walking before Roncesvalles in Spain.
The back page shows a picture of where your journey will end. It will finish with a mass at the lovely cathedral in Santiago de Compostela and, as noted earlier, accepting the "Compostela" as proof that you have completed the pilgrimage.
I aim to get to Santiago de Compostela some time mid to end October...
Well, that's the broad plan...
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