Waymark potpourri.

[toddmac]

I apologize if this has been asked before, but i searched, and found nothing.

So, I find myself 50 miles into my Camino, and in Cáceres. I have seen a multitude of hitos and arrow colors along my journey. Is there an already made explanation for these?

I have seen:

Yellow arrows (VdlP)
Green arrows
Purple arrows
VP hitos
Yellow hitos (VdlP roman road markers?)
Yellow/green hitos (VdlP roman road/?)
Red-capped posts and signs (Camino Naturales)

And a smattering of others
Blue arrows
White arrows (not faded yellow)

Can someone explain the meanings of these? I'm really interested.

TIA and Buen Camino,

Todd.

 

[mmm042]

Hi Todd.

Ah yes, the mysterious signage on the VDLP! The answer is quite simple. Each municipality or region can mark the path any way it wishes. So many areas like to come up with something that touts their region. The hitos in the region around Caparra, for example, feature the signature arch.

I've talked with many different locals and some officials about the signage issue. There's no overall governing body that watches over/rules signage, arrow re-painting, etc. That's why you get the different hitos and that's also why you may have noticed that some cities are great about directing you through their towns, while in others, the arrows completely disappear. In the latter case, I was told some towns/cities have decided they don't want to have arrows through their town (or probably don't want to pay someone to paint them), which is why there aren't any. I'm guessing where the arrows are so faded they're easy to miss, it's also because the towns don't want to pay someone to regularly repaint them.

The Camino Naturales, by the way, is a separate thing. And that's also confusing. There are actually quite a few marked recreational trails in the VDLP region, and many times portions of the various trails overlap. Make sure you follow the Camino signs, because the Camino Naturales signs definitely will veer in different directions in some points. However, if a Camino Naturales sign says "Caceres, 5km" and there aren't any other Camino signs around, it probably means they're using those for the Camino, too, so they don't have to add additional signs.

All of this definitely creates a lot of confusion. It would be nice if this was explained somewhere. (At least I did put it in my app!)

Good luck and safe travels. I'll be starting out from Sevilla in about 3 more weeks.

Melanie

 

[toddmac]

Melanie,

Thanks for the info! I am actually using your app as a primary source! . I could offer a few updates for you, if you are interested. Recent road work between Alcantara and Cañaveral has made for a very confusing time. About 4 KM outside of Cañaveral the VdlP crosses an unfinished highway. Go left (unmarked). If you take the right road, you take a 10 KM detour along the highway busy with construction trucks, bypass Cañaveral altogether, and must head toward Grimaldo.

Lots of changes out here lately from what I hear. Thanks for your guide though! It has been helpful!

Todd

 

[Wombat]

Re: Costruction between Alcantara and Cañaveral

Hi All,

I think the construction in between Casar de Cáceres and Alcantara and Alcantara and Cañaveral is for a high speed train line. Have a look at Google maps. It starts near Caceres and ends at a tunnel into the hill before Grimaldo. Its not visible on all parts of Google maps, probably some of the images are older than others. The route across the construction was well marked when we passed there in October last year. As I recall we were directed under the trackway, Luckily it had not rained for many days otherwise there would have been plenty of mud.

Kevin