The Pilgrim Passport and the Compostela

Part of my pilgrim passport from our 2002 pilgrimage

When you start the pilgrimage you must get a pilgrim passport from a refugio (inn where pilgrims can stay overnight along the Camino path) or pilgrim office.  The pilgrim's passport is a small leaflet with spots for stamps.  You can get the stamps (sellos) at refugios, churches, bars, or town halls along the way.  When you arrive in Santiago de Compostela, you must go to the pilgrim's office near the Cathedral and present the stamped passport as proof that you actually completed the pilgrimage. 

If the proof is validated, you will receive a "Compostela", a pilgrim certificate, which, since the 14th century, is awarded to those who can prove that they have covered at least the last 100 kilometers of the pilgrim route.  When we completed the Camino for the first time (in 2002) the lady behind the desk had a big book which had a list of names transcribed into Latin.  She couldn't find either "Krishna" or "Bonnie" in her book.  She used my saint name, St. Boniface, so my name, transcribed into Latin, became, Bonifacum.

For Krishna, though, after a few minutes of deciding what to do, she just spelled his name as is.

When we completed the Camino again in 2005 and 2007 we again stopped at the pilgrim's office to receive our Compostelas.  Things had changed and they were no longer transcribing names into Latin.