I have been on 7 Caminos now ranging from 100-800km long. I have 7 Compostelas (6 of the old design, 1of tge new), 1 Finisterre and 1 of the Francisten's special certificates. All sit in their cardboard tubes on the top shelf in my wardrobe. They aren't framed and hung up, I rarely look at them (I look at my credentials with their sellos much more often).
It is not that they have no value in them, I cried when I received my first and again for last year's and I am proud but not of them so much as what they represent - the effort of the walk yes, the difficult path walked yes, but their main joy comes from the memory of each Camino, the joys from each and the friends made, the sites seen and every step taken. Maybe then that is why my credentials recieve more attention (although they aren't framed either but sit in a small pile on my shelf) because I can look at them and remember the particular albergues I stayed in, the bars I drank at and the Churches I visited. No my Compostela s sit there and remind me of the Camino by being in their tubes safe from damage.
Maybe one day I will frame them (when hearing of the Francisten's new certificate this year we joked that they were something else to cover up any damp patches at home!), some day they probably will hang proud on a wall, and a part of me looks forward to the day when I have the wall space to do that, but that piece of paper is not why I walk - it marks the end of that walk but is not the reason for my journey, it id just a piece of paper, precious for what it marks yes but not inherently valuable to me.
So why do I walk? To collect my precious sellos? To pin more badges to my back? Like many repeat Caminoers I'm not entirely sure - I love the Camino, the people and the sights and the time alone woth myself, my family and with God. Something will always draw me back and when I reach Santiago I will always stand in front of the Cathedral in wonder before racing off to the Pilgrim Office for my Compostela, queuing for however long it takes to be told my name in latin as the sheet is handee over. The reason for my Camino? No, but I wouldn't be without my Compostelas and the memories and experiences they mark.
It is not that they have no value in them, I cried when I received my first and again for last year's and I am proud but not of them so much as what they represent - the effort of the walk yes, the difficult path walked yes, but their main joy comes from the memory of each Camino, the joys from each and the friends made, the sites seen and every step taken. Maybe then that is why my credentials recieve more attention (although they aren't framed either but sit in a small pile on my shelf) because I can look at them and remember the particular albergues I stayed in, the bars I drank at and the Churches I visited. No my Compostela s sit there and remind me of the Camino by being in their tubes safe from damage.
Maybe one day I will frame them (when hearing of the Francisten's new certificate this year we joked that they were something else to cover up any damp patches at home!), some day they probably will hang proud on a wall, and a part of me looks forward to the day when I have the wall space to do that, but that piece of paper is not why I walk - it marks the end of that walk but is not the reason for my journey, it id just a piece of paper, precious for what it marks yes but not inherently valuable to me.
So why do I walk? To collect my precious sellos? To pin more badges to my back? Like many repeat Caminoers I'm not entirely sure - I love the Camino, the people and the sights and the time alone woth myself, my family and with God. Something will always draw me back and when I reach Santiago I will always stand in front of the Cathedral in wonder before racing off to the Pilgrim Office for my Compostela, queuing for however long it takes to be told my name in latin as the sheet is handee over. The reason for my Camino? No, but I wouldn't be without my Compostelas and the memories and experiences they mark.
Receiving my Compostela in the Pilgrim Office 2014
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