LIVE from the Camino The Waypost Secret in Galicia

[Deleted member 3000]

The rays of the scallop shell point to the direction of the route!

The shell at Zero in Muxia points down.

I have read dozens of guidebooks, and I don't think any of them have said this - Raju, CSJ, or Brierley. You do not need yellow arrows at the official way posts with shell symbols. The rays point the way.

This "secret" should be the topic sentence in every guidebook when describing way marking.

Unofficial way marks may not adhere to this standard, so be flexible.

 

[mikevasey]

Re: THE WAYMARK SECRET

The rays if the scallop shell point to the direction of the route

Unless you are on the Camino del Norte In Asturias then the hinge points(official marking) in the direction that you are to go. This does cause some confusion when people cross into Galicia via Ribadeo and the rays start pointing the direction again.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Re: THE WAYMARK SECRET

Stay off the Del Norte. There be evil doings thar! Arggh.

 

[Tia Valeria]

Re: THE WAYMARK SECRET

The newest official waymarks on poles are different again. The shell always points one direction, the pilgrim walks only one way and the white arrow is the sign to follow. The old signs around Lavacolla the shell points up and down :?
CSJ guides do in fact make it clear in our experience. I can't pass comment on others.

 

[JohnnieWalker]

Re: THE WAYMARK SECRET

Unless you are on the Camino del Norte In Asturias then the hinge points(official marking) in the direction that you are to go. This does cause some confusion when people cross into Galicia via Ribadeo and the rays start pointing the direction again.

As is also the case on the Via de la Plata which Alison Raju makes clear in her guide book.

Similarly she says about the route to Finstrerre/Muxia:

"Hospital - Muxia - in this section the direction to proceed is indicated by the rays of the shell"

"Muxia - Finisterre - The marker bollards have the shell upright on this route but have no kms indicator."

etc. etc.

 

[Tia Valeria]

Re: The Waymark Secret

And here is one I prepared earlier

A selection of waymarkings - from Cantabria and Asturian style to Galician style, with the most modern and the oldest style as well:-

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Re: The Waymark Secret

The distance markers, vaguely accurate, mark locations and not turns. I am talking of the concrete wayposts with a blue and yellow shell tile. On three caminos in Galicia, the rays have pointed correctly without fail! There is a method to the madness, I say.

 

[Theo]

Re: The Waymark Secret

Hi,

According to the Manual of signposting standards for the pilgrim road of Santiago (*) issued in 1993 the blue and yellow shells must be used only for signposting, not for waymarking.

In France the main ways of St James are waymarked as GR in white and red like the GR65 "Via Podiensis" with some yellow and blue shell signposts.

For the other ways (not GR) we are trying to standardize the waymarking and there is a project to use the same waymarking as on the GR but in yellow and blue also with some shell signposts.

(*) Downloadable HERE in Spanish.

Théo

 

[PILGRIMSPLAZA]

Re: The Waymark Secret

waymarked as GR in white and red

Long-distance walkers occasionally talk about "red-and-white" waymarking referring to GR's. When I started describing weekend walks in 1970 I learned the reason that white is above and red is below: when the white paint drips into the red, the stains are smaller than vice versa.

--------------------------------------------------------------

Various ways of wit-and-red markings in half a dozen European countries:
http://www.groteroutepaden.be/nl/pagina/209-212/over-de-grens.html

------------------------------------------------------------

Links to the recent posts mentioned below:
miscellaneous-topics/topic15488.html#p108071 -
miscellaneous-about-santiago/topic15440.html#p107482 –

 

[Tia Valeria]

Re: The Waypost Secret

Personally I like the shell waymarks/signposting. To me the two words mean the same thing, they are showing me the way to go. Most have, or once had, the distance on them too which was helpful - apart from those before Lavacolla which are about 5km short of the true distance having been put in place (presumably) before the runway was built.

I don't find the new metal signs as helpful as the shell direction posts, ray or hinge, but that is just my view.

 

[KiwiNomad06]

Re: The Waypost Secret


On the chemin from Cluny to Le-Puy-en-Velay it is definitely the hinge part of the shell that you have to follow. There are no yellow Camino arrows, and if you see yellow signage it is for some local walk/cycle ride that isn't what you want to follow. Sometimes, but not always, the GR3 coincides with the Chemin, and if it does you can follow the red and white GR markings. But usually, you must follow the hinge, or you will be going in the wrong direction, and as there is a lot of forest along parts of the chemin, you could get quite lost...
I was really fortunate this year as a Frenchman I met in 2008 on the Camino walked with me the first two days of the Cluny route this year. He wanted to make sure I could interpret the shell markings properly.
Margaret

 

[Theo]

Re: The Waypost Secret

Hi,

The new French waymarking project was proposed essentially because there are currently in France almost as many types of waymarks that there are associations dealing with ways of St James ...

... in this way, Margaret, no need to meet a Frenchman to show you the specific waymarking of a way and "to make sure you could interpret the shell markings properly".

In the attached picture, some of these waymarks.

Théo

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Re: The Waypost Secret

I love the way The Forum duplicates the Camino! A topic is opened, and it goes in ways the original poster never imagined. There is no control, just as there is no control on the Camino. Control freaks have terrible problems because they refuse to realize that they are not in control, and never were.

This topic has provided a plethora of information on the way that routes are marked, but I was thinking originally of the method to the madness of the official waypost markers with a tile imbedded in a concrete pillar; the may only be in Galicia, where I am on my fourth camino of this trip.

However, for the last two weeks on three camino routes I have observed that the rays of the shell flawlessly point the correct direction. Without fail.

I know there are other ¨things¨ along the Camino Frances and on GR routes in France. Very few of them are the wayposts with blue and yellow tiles in them. There are various beautiful signs, decals, and posters that give direction or identify places. Some are official, some are not.

When you reach a turn in Galicia with an official waypost, follow the rays of the shell, and you will not go wrong! I would like to see the fact of this waymarking prominently stated in guide book. Twice with Johnny Waker´s excellent book on the Camino Ingles the words did not match the intersection, but the rays of the shell provided the correct information. Johnny and others have done the heavy lifting for we pilgrim, and it is not his fault that I made a wrong turn. I am responsible for everything that happens on my camino, and it is no one else´s responsibility to keep me from getting lost.

Know that the rays point the way!!

 

[JohnnieWalker]

Re: The Waypost Secret

Falcon - thanks, but you are ignoring the evidence which has been posted which is that the rays of the shell DO NOT ALWAYS point the way! And if they do that may only be within a particular region - as you say you have been walking some of the shorter routes and last stages within Galicia. That's why people write guide books!

 

[mmm042]

Re: The Waypost Secret

I can testify that the Camino shells in Galicia along the VDLP do NOT always point in the correct manner. Most of the time, but not always.

I did my first Camino from Ourense to Santiago and followed the rays. I was a newbie then, and don't remember noticing if most/all were correct. When I went back and started in Sevilla, it took me two hours to get out of the city because I assumed, from my experience in Galicia, that you always followed the rays, and the very first shell in Sevilla did NOT point in the proper way.

Then, when I decided to write my app, I paid very close attention to every stinkin' marker. There is absolutely no consistency in the pointing of the shell's rays whatsoever on the bulk of the VDLP, and many regions use their own markers, like the boxy hitos with the Caparra arch in Extremadura. When I got back to Galicia, I expected to find them all pointing correctly, and planned to note that in my app. But as I said initially, not all pointed the correct way. Most did, but there were definitely more than a few times where they didn't.

Melanie

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Re: The Waypost Secret

Ourense to Santiago had every way post indicating correctly. I just finished it, and both of us were obsessed with finding one that was wrong. None was. Remember that I speak of the concrete steles with an embedded tile. New signs, etc. have a vertical shell and arrow. It is prudent to follow the arrow on these signs.

Before Ourense may be a different story.

 

[KiwiNomad06]

Re: The Waypost Secret

[quote="Theo" ... in this way, Margaret, no need to meet a Frenchman to show you the specific waymarking of a way and "to make sure you could interpret the shell markings properly".Théo[/quote]
Ahhhh but Théo, he wanted to come with me anyhow, and it was so nice to have his company for those first two days. Margaret

 

[Theo]

Re: The Waypost Secret

Hi,

Close to Santiago on Camino Francés I took in June the attached picture ...

Here we have the yellow arrow for the waymarking and the the yellow shell for the signposting like asked in the Manual of signposting standards for the pilgrim road of Santiago ... on the right, the "milestone", official waypost ?

Théo

 

[Theo]

Re: The Waypost Secret

HI,

Yes indeed, Margaret, you were right...

... but I think that, in France, when the standardized waymarking will be in place [It will take perhaps a long time for all the ways ...], it will be easier for the pilgrims coming from abroad to find the right way of St James.

Théo

 

[Priscillian]

Re: The Waypost Secret

Guess I'm just an old Yellow Arrow fan myself. They speak to me personally in a way that all this officialdom does not. I trust them. They were good enough for Father Elias Vallina, so they are good enough for me.
Falcon...do please tell me you are Little Fox bound this time???
I'll bake you some Pilgrim Cookies (300 hits on Facebook!)...?
Hot pepper and garlic soup...?

T

 

[TerryB]

Re: The Waypost Secret

The rays of the scallop shell point to the direction of the route!
The shell at Zero in Muxia points down.
I have read dozens of guidebooks, and I don't think any of them have said this - Raju, CSJ, or Brierley. You do not need yellow arrows at the official way posts with shell symbols. The rays point the way.
This "secret" should be the topic sentence in every guidebook when describing way marking.
Unofficial way marks may not adhere to this standard, so be flexible.

For the avoidance of doubt, the statement is from the Introduction in our copy of the CSJ Guide to the Camino Primitivo and should be duly noted by all pilgrims on this route!!

Way marker in Asturias -

Way marker in Galicia -

On this route the changeover comes at Alto de Acebo when you go from the Principality of Asturias into the Province of Galicia.

Blessings on all peregrinos!
Tio Tel

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Re: The Waypost Secret

The rays get 100% today from Cee to Fisterra!

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Re: The Waypost Secret

The rays are 100% correct from Cee to Olveiroa.

 

[JohnnieWalker]

Re: The Waypost Secret

We're really happy for you Falcon. How are you feeling?

 

[Kitsambler]

Re: The Waypost Secret

In France the main ways of St James are waymarked as GR in white and red like the GR65 "Via Podiensis" with some yellow and blue shell signposts.

For the other ways (not GR) we are trying to standardize the waymarking and there is a project to use the same waymarking as on the GR but in yellow and blue also with some shell signposts.

@Theo: Is the plan to convert the entire route Le Puy to SJPP to the blue/yellow markings? Or Geneva to SJPP? Do you have any idea when the re-marking will be completed? Or is this an optional project for the local mairie?

 

[C clearly]

Re: The Waypost Secret

I know "there are no stupid questions" but I will see if this is the exception. This whole thread leaves me uncertain. Only the fact that there appears to be inconsistency reassures me that I may be able to totally ignore the positioning of the shells! I'm starting my camino in 3 weeks.

(a) Does "following the rays" mean walking in the direction of the diverging rays? (Assume the central one, since one cannot do all the diverging directions!)

OR... (b) Presuming that the "hinge" is the place where the rays converge, do we visualize the shell as a stylized arrow where the pointy part of the arrow is the hinge? That would be in the opposite direction to (a).

I suspect that (a) is correct. I am competent to read the direction of an arrow, so will have to hope for lots of arrows! :arrow: :arrow: :arrow:

 

[KiwiNomad06]

Re: The Waypost Secret

On the Camino Frances, the yellow arrows are everywhere and you can follow them. What you have worked out about following the shell balise is correct, but it is not used consistently along the way, Where Falcon is walking, the rays are consistent, but when I walked from Cluny to Le Puy earlier this year, it was definitely the hinge you followed. I noticed when I walked three weeks on the Camino Frances in June that the direction of the shell was mostly irrelevant- it indicated you were on the Camino, but was not meant to give any indication of direction. It was the yellow arrows that always gave direction.
Margaret

 

[Tia Valeria]

Re: The Waypost Secret

If you are on the Francés there are mostly yellow arrows or signposting to point the way. In Spain the shells are actually fairly consistent within the provinces. Either the short 'hinge' side, or the fat fan end in Galicia, is soon worked out as there are usually yellow arrows too. See our photos of concrete waymarks above. The concrete posts in Coruna province of Galicia are kilometre markers and the shell is vertical. Here they put signs up to point the way. Then also there are the new metal signs with white arrows. Again see our photos. Theo's photos are of markers in France. If in town watch lamp-posts and the walls on street corners for arrows or shell plaques and the pavement in Santiago for brass shell markers

Although it sounds confusing, once you start walking it becomes clear and also you can soon spot yellow arrows and mojones (concrete posts) from a fair distance away.
Buen Camino

 

[C clearly]

Re: The Waypost Secret

Thanks! This is where mild "adventure" comes into play.

 

[Theo]

Re: The Waypost Secret

Hi Kitsambler,

In France, the Fédération Française de Randonnée Pédestre / French Hiking Federation (FFRP) (All about this Federation in English HERE) waymarks in red/white and manages all the long hiking trails (GR = sentiers de Grande Randonnée). Some of these trails are also ways of St James [Via Podiensis, Via Turonensis, Via Tolosona ...] and are / might be signposted with the blue and yellow St James shell (see above) what is not always done.

The plan will change nothing for the GRs and particularly for the Le-Puy to SJPP / Geneva to Le-Puy routes which follow the GR65.

In France, there are a lot of secondary ways of St James (In Brittany – where we have tested the new blue/yellow since 2 years -- we have 1500 km of these ways); only a few of them follow sections of GR where no “over-waymarking” will be put, only a St James signpost.

The plan aim is to standardize all the different kinds of waymarks that we find now on all the secondary ways of St James in France (See above). While the most of the associations agree with the new waymarking it will take many years to complete it...

This new waymarking is interesting because it uses the same mark rules – “straight ahead”, “right turn coming up”, “left turn coming up”, and “wrong way” -- as the red/white one of the FFRP, well known by all the hikers and pilgrims, French and from abroad, in France.

Théo

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Re: The Waypost Secret

From Olveiroa to Santiago the rays were perfect once again. Johnny, I am developing improved eyesight. Walking the reverse direction requires finding waypost, examining them for arrows that are sometimes blue, red, white, or yellow. At intersections with no arrow, I examine the ground for boot prints and bicycle tracks. That does not work on pavement, and does not work real well after a rain. Twice I have waited for pilgrims walking the forward direction.

Official shell tiles mounted on walls also have had the shell rays pointing the correct direction. I honestly think that the waypost shells in Galicia have been installed with a system in mind. True, the yellow arrows are the best way to follow a route, and are essential to following the rabbit warren route on the Camino Portugues. However, my original problem was two wayposts without yellow arrows. We guessed wrong both times, but did not need to guess if we had simply followed the rays.

I assert that the shell rays on the official wayposts flawlessly indicate the correct direction in Galicia. All but three were left or right, but there were three pointing upward that indicated straight ahead!

Francophiles, I know they are different on the GR routes. There the problem can be which GR the red and white are indicating. I particularly like the X that says, ¨don´t go this way.¨

 

[JohnnieWalker]

Re: The Waypost Secret

I assert that the shell rays on the official wayposts flawlessly indicate the correct direction in Galicia. All but three were left or right, but there were three pointing upward that indicated straight ahead!

Hola Falcon

I suspect you are largely correct about the shell markers within Galicia - with some of the minor exceptions and anomalies listed in this post. The Association of Amigos in Galicia is a more or less coherent network and that might be the reason. But as you say, way finding is about much more than the granite markers (mojones) pilgrims also need to look out for yellow arrows and other signs - and also imho have a vague idea of where they are going! I was recently walking into Castro Dozon where you have also been in the last week or so. I encountered two young pilgrims who shouted over to me - "do you know where we are?" Many pilgrims walk without guidebooks - that adventure isn't for me!

John

 

[Al the optimist]

Re: The Waypost Secret

Walking from Bruma to Sigueiro I spent some of the way with a Rastaffarian who was walking with a light day pack. Just short of the long, exposed forest stretch I realised he didn't have any water, so I gave him my "safety" bottle (by the end of the forest we were both out of water). When we got to Sigueiro we stopped for a drink. When I said that I had finished for the day, he said that he was continuing on (which he did). It was only as we parted that I discovered that he did not realise that he was in Sigueiro! Nor did he know how far he had to go to Santiago! I have to think that his approach is refreshing (if perhaps in the eyes of some dangerous)!
allan

 

[mikevasey]

Re: The Waypost Secret

I assert that the shell rays on the official wayposts flawlessly indicate the correct direction in Galicia. All but three were left or right, but there were three pointing upward that indicated straight ahead!

Yes, and I assert that the hinge In Asturias flawlesly indicates the way to Santiago....maybe ,

Is that better for you Falcon! No point of view going against yours! I think your comment on your PM is more appropiate now

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Re: The Waypost Secret

The shell rays on the brass shells in the pavement from Leon to La Virgen del Camino all correctly point the turns. Yellow arrows are more frequent, so are much more informative.

All the mojones have been old ones with the rays pointing to the right, so they do little more than tell you that you are on the Camino unless they have a yellow arrow.

 

[JohnnieWalker]

Re: The Waypost Secret

The shell rays on the brass shells in the pavement from Leon to La Virgen del Camino all correctly point the turns. Yellow arrows are more frequent, so are much more informative.

All the mojones have been old ones with the rays pointing to the right, so they do little more than tell you that you are on the Camino unless they have a yellow arrow.

But funnily enough the brass shells on the pavements on the last stretches of the Camino Frances right into the Plaza Obradoira have the hinge and not the rays pointing the way!

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Re: The Waypost Secret

Perhaps Castille y Leon and Galicia should talk to each other once in a while!!!

 

[Tia Valeria]

Re: The Waypost Secret

But funnily enough the brass shells on the pavements on the last stretches of the Camino Frances right into the Plaza Obradoira have the hinge and not the rays pointing the way!

Are the guide books clear on the Santiago shells Johnnie? We strayed on our final way in from the Inglés last year, very near the Cathedral. This year we were OK coming off the Francés , but were partly relying on knowing where we were after Rua de Algalia de Abaixo and the next plaza. A number of people were getting confused around there, during our few days in Santiago

The (older) CSJ guides are certainly clear about differences in other areas we have found.
Hope the latest ones still are.
Greetings from UK

 

[JohnnieWalker]

Re: The Waypost Secret

Hola - I'm not sure the CSJ or any other guide books are clear about the entry into Santiago and I also think the signage changes from time to time. The issue seems to be finding the old town and from there the Cathedral.

Take the Camino Frances as an example - the signs are clear from Monte de Gozo through San Lazaro to the crossing that takes you onto the Rua San Pedro and down to the Porto do Camino. On crossing the street the pilgrim enters the Old Town - the medieval city where signage is controlled and there are no yellow arrows - rather there are street signs showing where to find the cathedral and the pilgrims office. There are also brass signs on the ground - with the hinge showing the direction of travel! This can be disconcerting for pilgrims used to looking for yellow arrows. But the reality is it only a few hundred yards from the Porta do Camino to the Cathedral!

I've painted new yellow arrows for the entry of the Camino Ingles from the roundabout, along the Rua Dosbasquinos until the Convento de las Carmelitas - when the old city begins and it is prohibited to paint yellow arrows.

But really entry into the city is straightforward and any wrong turns are easily corrected by asking a local "La Catedral?"

 

[Tia Valeria]

Re: The Waypost Secret

............. There are also brass signs on the ground ........

Thanks Johnnie.

The pavement signs work OK until some-one stands on them which may be what happened to us. We simply came to the cathedral from the other side and the Plaza de Praterias

The brass shells in Oviedo can also disappear under some-ones' feet

 

[gb]

The Waypost Secret

Having just finished the VdlP / Via Sanabres I can affirm that the shells do not always point the same way. The yellow arrows are the most reliable indication of the Camino.

In Galicia there is the most consistancy: the spikes of the shell point the way to go. However, even there that is not always the case although between Ourense and Santiago they are very reliable.

It is noticeable that as you approach Santiago quite a number of the shells have been removed from their concrete markers - by souvenir hunting pilgrims?

gb

 

[Deleted member 3000]

I have just finished walking the last 100 km of the five routes into Santiago, and the shell rays on the wayposts with a tile insert always point in the direction of the turn or route in Galicia. Wayposts from Leon to Galicia are a pot pourri of styles without a noticeable information content in the shell.

On the Camino Frances these wayposts are not common until about O Pino/Pedrouzo, and disappear again shortly after the Santiago airport. Most of the wayposts with a space for the tile do not have a tile. It either has not been installed, or has been taken as a souvenir.

From the 152 km distance marker before O Cebreiro the most common waypost is the distance marker. A lot of them have an arrow engraved in them, usually painted yellow and often with a spray paint arrow added to emphasize it. The ones without the embedded arrow provide direction guidance only if an arrow has been painted on them. There are other wayposts without distance on them, some with the engraved arrow, most without, that have a shell as part of the post rather than a tile insert. The shell orientation is the same on all of them, so it does not indicate a direction unless an arrow has been added.

On the other four routes, almost all of the wayposts are the tile shell insert wayposts. Many have the distance to the cathedral to the meter on a strip insert, as in 88.456. There was only one such distance posting on the Camino Frances that I noticed, and I was watching pretty closely.

I had never noticed the information content of the rays on the shell on the tiles during previous pilgrimages because those pilgrimages were on the Camino Frances and Fisterra. The tiles are common going to Fisterra, but watching the thousands of inconsistent posts for the first 750 km made me oblivious to the information content that appears in Galicia.

Obviously, yellow arrows painted all over the place are the best guidance. However, Galicia has installed this one style of waypost with an actual plan, so if you get to one that does not also have a yellow arrow on it, believe the rays of the shell. They will not steer you wrong!

 

[Priscillian]

Follow your heart. You´ll get there, sooner or later. You´ll know when you do. It might not be what you expected...

 

[JohnnieWalker]

I have just finished walking the last 100 km of the five routes into Santiago, and the shell rays on the wayposts with a tile insert always point in the direction of the turn or route in Galicia.

Except where they don't!

There are two problems with this view. The first is that the granite waymarks or mojones do not always point the way within Galicia. Although the majority do the photograph posted earlier of the waymark near Melide is evidence to the contrary. Melide last time I looked, is in Galicia. Simlarly on the Finisterre/Muxia route where to quote the guide book: "Muxia - Finisterre - The marker bollards have the shell upright on this route but have no kms indicator."

The second problem is that pilgrims are not always going to be aware of when they move from another region into Galicia.

To reiterate the point made earlier wayfinding is about more than simply looking for granite waymarks it is also about establishing the direction of travel, using a guidebook is necessary and of course following the blessed yellow arrows.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

The first is that the granite waymarks or mojones do not always point the way within Galicia.

I never said they did. The mojones with the shell tile insert DO point the way. Always.

From the 152 km distance marker before O Cebreiro the most common waypost is the distance marker. A lot of them have an arrow engraved in them, usually painted yellow and often with a spray paint arrow added to emphasize it. The ones without the embedded arrow provide direction guidance only if an arrow has been painted on them. There are other wayposts without distance on them, some with the engraved arrow, most without, that have a shell as part of the post rather than a tile insert. The shell orientation is the same on all of them, so it does not indicate a direction unless an arrow has been added.

 

[jpflavin1]

Gentlemen:

Some debates/discussions are best resolved face to face. May I recommend you settle this one over a bottle or two of Vino. I will pay for the first one (reasonable cost) if after meeting you agree to publish your findings.

Ultreya,
Joe

P.S.: Please forward mailing address for my check.

 

[JohnnieWalker]

Gentlemen:

Some debates/discussions are best resolved face to face. May I recommend you settle this one over a bottle or two of Vino. I will pay for the first one (reasonable cost) if after meeting you agree to publish your findings.

Ultreya,
Joe

P.S.: Please forward mailing address for my check.

Hola Joe,

Don't worry about me and old Falcon. As usual we are more in agreement
ent than disagreement. The argument can only appeal to caminoheads and centres on where exactly a tile is positioned on a granite waymark. Thankfully there are also yellow arrows and many other indicators.

Really the only way to test the various theories is for the three of us to go walking and if you are buying the booze I'm all for it!

John

 

[Deleted member 3000]

The argument can only appeal to caminoheads

Completely true! Only Galicia has a system, and cities may have alternative markings such as brass shells in the pavement. The mojones with the shell tile insert are almost nonexistent on the Camino Frances, the most popular route, which is why I failed to notice the information for five caminos. It was only after getting lost twice on the Camino Ingles that it occurred to me that the shell rays might mean something. These two mojones marked turns, and had no additional markings. We guessed wrong both times, once leading to two hours in a eucalyptus forest. Knowing the Secret of the Wayposts would have saved us (as would a couple of yellow arrows at those intersections). Some routing on the Camino Portugues is so complex that only the yellow arrows keep you on the route; there just are not enough mojones to mark all the turns. The Camino Sanabres from Ourense is a more obvious route than the Portugues, and the "old" route has very stylish old mojones with no direction information, so the yellow arrows provide the best information.

Vino tinto at the outdoor tables of the hotel across from the Pilgrim Office (Rua do Vilar)!!

 

[jpflavin1]

Gentlemen:

There is nothing I would like more than to jump on a plane and join in the clarification of this discussion. Considering the impending Holidays, my wife would have my belongings on the front lawn when I returned.

Since I will not be in Spain until late Spring, (Either the Primitivo or VdlP) I can only offer to buy from across the pond. My offer still stands and I look forward to the possibility of sharing a bottle or two with both of you someday.

Ultreya,
Joe

 

[anniethenurse]

Joe, one bottle or two won´t be enough - only the beginning!

 

[JohnnieWalker]

I have just finished walking the last 100 km of the five routes into Santiago, and the shell rays on the wayposts with a tile insert always point in the direction of the turn or route in Galicia.

Except where they don't!

Thanks to the pilgrim who e mailed me this pic of one of the waymarks on the route Finisterre to Muxia.

Joe - I'm sure Falcon will do the right thing and pick up the bar bill.

John

 

[methodist.pilgrim.98]

Look, its very simple.

Find someone who has walked the Camino before. Walk 10 paces behind them.

If they go wrong and you get lost it's all their fault. :mrgreen:

 

[Deleted member 3000]

The rays of the scallop shell point to the direction of the route!

The shell at Zero in Muxia points down.

Does it mean "stop" or "go to hell?" :twisted:

 

[JohnnieWalker]

It means: "get your wallet out Falcon"