Where are the arrows?

[Mark Barnes]

I have arrived in Santiago and must say I found it to leave me guessing what way to go many times once in the city. I have to believe that others found this to be the case as well by watching pilgrims make their way into town the next day. I am sure you will let me know if I just missed the secret decoder ring.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

They are there! Some on the ground, some up high. It is a convoluted route...

 

[Telelama]

I agree! The one place where you'd think there would be good signing! We got lost getting to the cathedral both times we walked in on the Frances.

 

[Peter Fransiscus]

I agree! The one place where you'd think there would be good signing! We got lost getting to the cathedral both times we walked in on the Frances.

Hi , my wife was a star in missing arrows all over the Camino but not in Santiago.
Wish you well,Peter.

 

[Sailor]

Team Santiago should take a few pointers from Team Pamplona on how to fix all the markings leading to the cathedral. Good job, Team Pamplona, and for Team Santiago, you have a lot of work to do. To all caminantes, good luck, y que la luz de Dios alumbre su camino.

 

[domigee]

I am expert at getting lost but ... never in Santiago

 

[MTtoCamino]

I found you can see the spires as it is on a small hill. But if you leave to walk to Finnesterre/Muxia get a map,the green arrows take you but the arrows change to yellow & back to green. Unless they have redone them since 2014. Once in Santiago it is easy to find maps

 

[cher99840]

I normally got lost in ALL of the larger towns. Logrono is my all time least favorite!! I think I asked four times last spring and it was my second trip through.

 

[Threepeaks]

Congratulations @Mark Barnes - Seems like just a few days ago you were deciding whether to pack a sleeping bag or not and now here you are in Santiago. Buen Camino

 

[jerbear]

Larger towns use sidwalk shells or the likes. Look!!!

 

[Mark Barnes]

Congratulations @Mark Barnes - Seems like just a few days ago you were deciding whether to pack a sleeping bag or not and now here you are in Santiago. Buen Camino

Yes, but it seems like forever ago.

 

[Deleted member 67185]

I have arrived in Santiago and must say I found it to leave me guessing what way to go many times once in the city. I have to believe that others found this to be the case as well by watching pilgrims make their way into town the next day. I am sure you will let me know if I just missed the secret decoder ring.

One of the few things I used a smartphone (iPhone) for was to do a download of an offline google map of a city we would be in. Made it easy to find our way around unfamiliar streets to go to various sights and locations, and then back to our dwelling when time for bed.

 

[nycwalking]

Congratulations. Santiago has to trip you up a bit. The decoder ring is at Hogwarts. Hogwarts is just off the path in El Acebo, Spain not Britain.

 

[Northern Laurie]

I wish I'd realized the "end" of the Camino was the Plaza Obradoiro - I saw the signs saying the Cathedral entrance is on the other side, and went round by the Plaza Quintana. **Sigh** Missed the "end" until the following day, and watched other pilgrims have emotional endings and take pictures.

Amusing because I had carefully avoided imaging too much about the Camino experience, and limited planning in order to embrace whatever experiences came my way instead of being disappointed about what I missed. But my imagination had been running rampant about arriving in Santiago. The reality was not at all like the imagination - much more like real life instead of the movies

 

[HeidiL]

After spending far too much time looking for arrows, shells and signs, I have officially given up on following "official" routes in cities. I walk by the arrows until I lose them, and then I go by GPS the rest of the way to the cathedral, if there is one.

For some reason, it's always much easier to find the way FROM the cathedral...

 

[Jenny267]

Oh thank you I thought I was the only one! We cycled in and thought we were doing well until we got diverted up a hill by a no bikes sign. Hopelessly lost after that, even Siri was going round in circles haha
We got there in the end of course

 

[cher99840]

Larger towns use sidwalk shells or the likes. Look!!!

OR tiles on the side of the building OR signs on poles like street signs OR nothing at all for blocks.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

The arrows nearly got me lost in Pamplona once I passed the park. At an intersection I saw an arrow pointing to my right so I took a right. Half a block down a man jumped up from his table out on the sidewalk and turned us back. The arrow indicated that we were to turn right for a few meters to get to the crosswalk where another arrow we missed told us to cross the street to continue in the direction we heading at first.

Logrono was tough. Besides the usual problems finding the directional markers in the city there was construction that meant the we had to cross over the street to the side where there were no markers.

 

[rappahannock_rev]

One point that crys out for better signage is the Monte de Gozo spur to the famous statues of the Pointing Pilgrims.

Wasn't till my 3rd time through that I got that turn right.

 

[Scott Fraser]

I have arrived in Santiago and must say I found it to leave me guessing what way to go many times once in the city. I have to believe that others found this to be the case as well by watching pilgrims make their way into town the next day. I am sure you will let me know if I just missed the secret decoder ring.

We just followed the crowd, until it dawned on us that it was not a crowd of pilgrims. “But they have backpacks...”, said my grandson. Then we broke out Google maps and found our way to the yellow brick road.

 

[Felipe]

As I remember it, the signposts are good and clear in Compostela until Rua das Rodas, that divides the old and new town. Then you cross it and with a short walk will be in Praza (square) de Cervantes, where everybody get lost in the maze of alleys. But there is a thing about medieval cities: no matter where you walk, you always end in the main church.
Anyway, there are always hundreds of pilgrims in the city -they are quite obvious. Just ask...

 

[t2andreo]

Depending on which route you follow to arrive at Santiago, way markings once you hit the city can be daunting. It is my understanding based on what many people have told me over the past few years that part of the reason is political.

The current head of the concello (mayor of the city) holds quite a bit of antipathy towards the Church, writ large. Sometimes, it amazes me that he and the concello do not respect the effect of pilgrims more. But, heck, it is Spain. Be it far from me to get involved in local politics...

I was reliably informed that, because the concello / city approved blueprints for the newly renovated Pilgrim Office at Rua da Carretas 33 read, "International Welcome Center for Pilgrims," he directed appropriate city departments to erect directional signs stating just that and nothing more, and in Gallego (Galician dialect), not Castellano (Standard Spanish.

So, try as you might to find the Pilgrim Office or the Oficina del Peregrinos, on a map or smart phone app. You will likely not find it. In 2016, Google Maps did not even show it. It does now.

For now, the best way to find the Pilgrim Office and the end of ALL the Caminos is to seek the Cathedral. The FRONT of the Cathedral is the West side. In early Christendom, all churches were aligned so the altar was facing more or less towards Jerusalem, or towards the East. The front of the Cathedral, or more precisely the bronze plaque in the center of Plaza Obradoiro is the geographic point from which all distances are measured.

So, and as a collateral point of interest, when I was last at Santiago, I used my Apple Maps app to calculate the distance from that bronze marker to my home address in South Florida. According to the app, the exact distance was 6591 Kilometers, as the bird flies.

I am even toying with using this fact to establish the "Camino de Playa de Palmera" (Camino de Palm Beach) to use this distance for off-season training purposes. My thought was to subtract the distance from La Coruna or Ferrol, then train each day to cover the distance across the Atlantic from Palm Beach, FL. From La Coruna or Ferrol, I would pick up the land trail into Santiago.

At an average of about 25 km per day, it will take 260 calendar days to "walk" from my home to La Coruna or Ferrol. At 30 Km daily (Florida IS very flat) it would still take about 217 days.

We shall see...

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

I am even toying with using this fact to establish the "Camino de Playa de Palmera" (Camino de Palm Beach) to use this distance for off-season training purposes. My thought was to subtract the distance from La Coruna or Ferrol, then train each day to cover the distance across the Atlantic from Pal Beach, FL. From La Coruna or Ferrol, I would pick up the land trail into Santiago.

Leonardo "walking" the Camino de Playa de Palmera:

No yellow arrows to be found.

 

[t2andreo]

Very clever! I had forgotten that Leonard invented "water shoes." But, how do I stop for coffee and a boccadillo?

 

[Debora]

In the days after I arrived in Santiago, I remember sitting outside a café and I would see pilgrims walk around a bend looking a little confused. I would just point and they would smile and continue on their way to the Cathedral. So, at that moment, I was the yellow arrow!

 

[Debora]

I wish I'd realized the "end" of the Camino was the Plaza Obradoiro - I saw the signs saying the Cathedral entrance is on the other side, and went round by the Plaza Quintana. **Sigh** Missed the "end" until the following day, and watched other pilgrims have emotional endings and take pictures.

Amusing because I had carefully avoided imaging too much about the Camino experience, and limited planning in order to embrace whatever experiences came my way instead of being disappointed about what I missed. But my imagination had been running rampant about arriving in Santiago. The reality was not at all like the imagination - much more like real life instead of the movies

"Life is so constructed that an event does not, cannot, will not, match the expectation." Charlotte Bronte, Villette

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

how do I stop for coffee and a boccadillo?

I'm not sure about the coffee but before you leave Palm Beach stock up with all the sand which is there.

 

[mvanert]

I have arrived in Santiago and must say I found it to leave me guessing what way to go many times once in the city. I have to believe that others found this to be the case as well by watching pilgrims make their way into town the next day. I am sure you will let me know if I just missed the secret decoder ring.

I absolutely agree, we had to look, literally, high and low to find the arrows. Finally, we just saw the towers and walked towards them!

 

[Banjo&Matilda]

One of the few things I used a smartphone (iPhone) for was to do a download of an offline google map of a city we would be in. Made it easy to find our way around unfamiliar streets to go to various sights and locations, and then back to our dwelling when time for bed.

What a clever Idea! I'll have to figure out how to do that for my Camino next year. Thanks.

 

[Peter Fransiscus]

The arrow indicated that we were to turn right for a few meters to get to the crosswalk where another arrow we missed told us to cross the street to continue in the direction we heading at first.

That's a tricky one .

Wish you well,Peter.

 

[Felipe]

I am even toying with using this fact to establish the "Camino de Playa de Palmera" (Camino de Palm Beach) to use this distance for off-season training purposes. My thought was to subtract the distance from La Coruna or Ferrol, then train each day to cover the distance across the Atlantic from Palm Beach, FL. From La Coruna or Ferrol, I would pick up the land trail into Santiago.
At an average of about 25 km per day, it will take 260 calendar days to "walk" from my home to La Coruna or Ferrol. At 30 Km daily (Florida IS very flat) it would still take about 217 days.
We shall see...

Well, that seems as an interesting idea. I am becoming too sedentary...I doubt very much that I could manage even SJPP to Hunto in my current condition.
Maybe not the distance accross the sea, but a 790 km "Camino" (from Roncesvalles) to Santiago, along a year, by my neighborhood, from an historic church to another...and following my progresses in a map. That could be a good training.
Ah, as I envy those fellows that have the Camino almost literally at their home's door, in Spain or other European countries...On the other side, I think the practical difficulties makes it more special to me.

 

[Gillean]

I wish I'd realized the "end" of the Camino was the Plaza Obradoiro - I saw the signs saying the Cathedral entrance is on the other side, and went round by the Plaza Quintana. **Sigh** Missed the "end" until the following day, and watched other pilgrims have emotional endings and take pictures.

Amusing because I had carefully avoided imaging too much about the Camino experience, and limited planning in order to embrace whatever experiences came my way instead of being disappointed about what I missed. But my imagination had been running rampant about arriving in Santiago. The reality was not at all like the imagination - much more like real life instead of the movies

My first camino erroneously ended in the Praza da Inmaculada. I feel your pain! But did find some sort of marking all the way there. On other caminos I noticed that the last few hundred metres of the route into Santiago were not well marked. I think that might have been to avoid confusion with multiple routes coming in from different directions.

 

[alexwalker]

A woman was standing in the middle of the street in Burgos, asking me (sipping a coffee outside the albergue) "Where is the Camino?!!!" I replied: "Look between your legs." And correctly, she was standing with her feet planted firmly on each side of one of the bronze shells...

 

[Deleted member 67185]

What a clever Idea! I'll have to figure out how to do that for my Camino next year. Thanks.

It was my son, Caleb, who taught me how it is done.

 

[Wiebmer]

Santiago is tough! And there's that weird stretch coming into the city that you share with traffic.

A number of our "Camino Family" took their only falls of the trip as they caught their shoes on the cobblestones while trying to figure out where they they were going!

 

[Sailor]

. . . A number of our "Camino Family" took their only falls of the trip as they caught their shoes on the cobblestones while trying to figure out where they they were going! . . .

This was exactly my number one concern. My recommendation is to come to a FULL stop, scan the surroundings, get the coordinates straight, then proceed. Thanks for reading, y que la luz de Dios alumbre su camino.

 

[john07989]

I have arrived in Santiago and must say I found it to leave me guessing what way to go many times once in the city. I have to believe that others found this to be the case as well by watching pilgrims make their way into town the next day. I am sure you will let me know if I just missed the secret decoder ring.

Santiago is a lovely old city, with so much to see. It's easy to get distracted, it maybe that you just weren't paying attention...

 

[Dara H]

I found you can see the spires as it is on a small hill. But if you leave to walk to Finnesterre/Muxia get a map,the green arrows take you but the arrows change to yellow & back to green. Unless they have redone them since 2014. Once in Santiago it is easy to find maps

I walked to Finisterre last month and found it reasonably well-marked. It must have improved in the last few years.

I only lost my way once, shortly after Negreira. But that was due to my own inattention!

 

[Deleted member 67338]

I have arrived in Santiago and must say I found it to leave me guessing what way to go many times once in the city. I have to believe that others found this to be the case as well by watching pilgrims make their way into town the next day. I am sure you will let me know if I just missed the secret decoder ring.

Straight past the best bacon and eggs and service in Santiago instead of going gown the bottom and going right to get your compostela keep going straight Buen Camino and bon apertite

 

[Older Guy]

I got lost exiting several large cities and had to ask for directions. As for Santiago, the spire is pretty distinctive, but the tangle of small winding roads is confusing and the traffic is harsh. Although when I got to the plaza on my bike, I had to go over to policeman to ask how to get to the pilgrim's office where you can get your Compostela and lock up your bike. Afterwards, I saw some shells in the pavement, on walls, but the city center signs were probably the most significant.

 

[Henry Appelt]

Just ask a policeman, it's what I did!

 

[Deleted member 67338]

Kudus to the Camino town committees for there brilliant sign marking did not miss one arrow on the France route from SJPDP including Santiago, loss count of the people who I had to call out to ahead who had gone past markers right in front of them. It is fatigue and inattentive actions that cause the majority of this.Most town have route diagram as you enter it, just by glancing at it you will get the General direction to stop the traders from misdirecting you. BC

 

[G_the_D]

I think someone in Leon is following this thread!
All of the markings leading in and out of the city have been redone and they are clearly visible.
Thanks Leon!

 

[Deleted member 67338]

I think someone in Leon is following this thread!
All of the markings leading in and out of the city have been redone and they are clearly visible.
Thanks Leon!

I’m waiting to see if you can get through Saria and not get distracted from cars mounting barriers and such mate, if you walk up those stairs you have succeeded, if you don’t you can always pull the I’m Canadian a card lol

 

[GerN]

We had the same fun along with a Canadian Couple in finding the Cathedral when we arrived in Santiago.

It took a good 30 minutes to eventually get there, but it was well worth it when we did and very emotional with Dad.

 

[Dabo]

I normally got lost in ALL of the larger towns. Logrono is my all time least favorite!! I think I asked four times last spring and it was my second trip through.

How about getting out of Leon? Ditto for asking for help. I found that exit the hardest. Fortunately Logroño was a piece of cake compared to Leon.

 

[jeffnd]

Team Santiago should take a few pointers from Team Pamplona on how to fix all the markings leading to the cathedral. Good job, Team Pamplona, and for Team Santiago, you have a lot of work to do. To all caminantes, good luck, y que la luz de Dios alumbre su camino.

Agreed, Pamplona's markers are excellent. They even point out different ways for cyclists and walkers.

Let's see... getting lost in cities...

Burgos. I followed the old, industrial, "ugly" way into town. That part was fine and well marked, but once I got into the downtown area, I lost the arrows. Brierley's map was of no help. I more or less stumbled upon the correct street which led me to a closed albergue. From there, a helpful local directed me to the open one and to the cathedral.

Leon. I don't recall any issue finding the albergue or cathedral, but I did get a bit lost while wandering around. And by a bit lost, I mean had no idea where I was or how to get back to where I needed to be. Luckily, I recognized a couple of pilgrims and followed them.

Sarria. Got into town and began following the tiles. But instead of an arrow, they are marked with a shell. Followed them the wrong way for a bit...

Santiago. If I remember, we didn't have any problem getting to the cathedral, but it was such a long slog into town.

 

[Deleted member 67338]

,Not everybody has a good sense of direction,I missed one marker and went about 25 meters extra but becaus the direction was not West I stopped immediately turned around found the arrow and resumed my correct path.
I passed on my secret to a couple of American girls of having a little compass on the top of my pole to confirm my direction and they were thrilled to find this worked brilliantly.
Working for 30 years without GPS navigation in the Aust Army I did most of my navigating on map and compass bearings and in the jungle on dead reckonin
You can also get through most towns and cities using your iPhone or Android gps if you really need it when set on walk but the best tool is the good ole mouth ask and you shall receive directions from every lovely friendly local. No language barrier beats their big smile and their hand directions to get you back on the way. Buen Camino.