The yellow arrows have been a constant presence on the Camino.
In a random ghost town at 6am, the arrow pointing to the left may be the only indication that you are still walking on the road to Santiago.
Sometimes the arrows are faint, blending into the yellow moss on the trees. Sometimes (lately, since Sarria), they are officially placed on a mile marker, and almost always at major crossings with highways on metal signs with the European Union symbol on them. Other times, they guide you at a crucial fork in the road. Sometimes, in cities like Leon and Astorga, the arrows are replaced by the concha shell engraved into the stone streets or walls. Sometimes, they disappear, and you have to turn back to find them again.
Our guidebook says that after Santiago, the road to Finisterre is much less traveled and the yellow arrows are few and far between. It will be interesting to pay attention in a new way–not to the arrows but to the path itself.
I wonder who put all those arrows there. I could probably google it, but I like to imagine that some pilgrims walked the Camino with a can of yellow paint and a detailed map, leaving arrows for all of us that follow.
Arrows with a curlicue have seemed to indicate the Camino in the opposite direction.
Some have mile markers too!
