A pilgrim’s diligence and perseverance over the whole Camino are duly rewarded. For a “successfully” completed pilgrimage you receive an official document issued by the “Oficina de Turismo” a few dozen metres below the cathedral. This document is called the Compostela (in Spanish, the Compostelana).
We deliberately put “successfully” in quotes, because everyone has their own Camino and it can happen that you don’t make it to Santiago (health, personal reasons). That doesn’t mean the Camino wasn’t a success for you. You may have made new friends, discovered a new part of yourself, and so on.
How to earn the Compostela
To earn this document called the COMPOSTELA, you need to meet two conditions. Fill in your credencial properly (more about it here) and walk at least the final 100 km to Santiago, or cycle the final 200 km. After that you’ll receive the certificate shown below.
For a fee (€3) this office will also issue you a certificate stating the distance you covered. There’s a funny story attached to that. Zdeňa, my other half, asked one single thing of me for our Camino: “please, whatever you do, don’t buy that distance certificate, we already have one at home.” A few minutes later I spot Zdeňa holding more papers than were needed, smiling as she tells me she just couldn’t help herself. She does it all the time – when I send her to an electronics shop just to pick up an order, she comes back with batteries, extra insurance or something else entirely.
The Finisterrana
Besides the Compostela, you can earn another certificate from the pilgrimage. If your Camino doesn’t end in Santiago but continues to the fabled “End of the World” at Finisterre and you walk the whole way on foot again, at the end you can earn the Finisterrana. (See image below.)
You can get the Finisterrana at this albergue in Finisterre.
The Muxiana
Besides the Compostela, you can earn yet another certificate from the pilgrimage. If your Camino doesn’t end in Santiago but continues to the fabled “End of the World” at Muxía and you walk the whole way on foot again, at the end you can earn the Muxiana.
You can get the Muxiana at this office in Muxía.
