1. The scallop shell: the Camino's guiding symbol
Before starting, let's first start with another, very important subject: the shell. The scallop shell is the symbol of the Camino to Santiago. Images of it can be found on all the Camino and in all kinds of forms. Whether painted on rocks, placed on the pavement or made of real shells, they lead you to Santiago de Compostela.
Legend has it that after his execution in Jerusalem, the body of St James (Santiago in Spanish) was transported to Spain in a ship guided by an angel. On arrival at the Spanish coast, a rider and his horse entered the water. The power of Saint James miraculously lifted horse and rider, covered in scallops, out of the water and put them safely on shore. Thus, this shell became the official symbol of Camino de Santiago.
Before the Compostela existed as a document, pilgrims who reached all the way to Santiago de Compostela received a badge in the form of the scallop shell. This was proof of completing the route to Santiago de Compostela. But it was also very easy to fake. This is why officials in Santiago de Compostela and the pope devised the cartas probatoria, or 'proof letters', as early as the Middle Ages. The precursor of today's Compostela.
2. What is the Pilgrim Pass (credencial)?
Even today, and perhaps more than ever, getting to the Compostela is a strictly controlled process, and the most important part of that process is the pilgrim's pass. This is also called: the Credencial.
The pilgrim pass (or pilgrim's passport) is the successor to the letters of safe passage issued to pilgrims in the Middle Ages. These letters were a kind of proof of identity for pilgrims, which they could show when they crossed borders or wanted to enter a city, among other things.
The pilgrim pass is taken very seriously. Without it, pilgrims en route cannot enter some albergues or pilgrim hostels and cannot receive the Compostela.
If you book a Camino with WAW.travel, you will always receive a pilgrim's pass at home, or we will make sure it is ready for you at the first accommodation. Do you set off on your own? You can buy the pilgrim's pass in most 'major' towns on the pilgrim's route and also along the way.
From 2021, pilgrims can obtain stamps using a QR code along the various pilgrim routes. All this will be recorded in a digital pilgrim passport. Santiago Cathedral and the Xunta de Galicia recently presented the digital document. It is a new functionality appropriate to these times. The digital pilgrim passport, to be managed via a mobile application, aims to provide greater convenience for pilgrims. In addition, a digital pilgrim passport contributes to a more secure Camino de Santiago by limiting physical contact between hospitaleros and pilgrims. You can read more about it here.
