Follow the
yellow arrow
Over more than a thousand years, the Route to Santiago has
been trodden by millions of feet. The most important holy
route of christianity attracted millions of Europeans in the
Middle Ages, and people from the world over in the late 20
C. After some centuries of abandonment, the pilgrimage recommenced.
Some of the pilgrims who follow the route are motivated by
religion, while others set out in search of adventure.
One of the things that worries the future
pilgrims is what will guide them to their final destination.
Bearing this in mind, many people ( the Associations of
Friends of the Route and the inhabitants of the places through
which the route passes) have signposted the route.
Along the many ways that lead to Compostela:
the French, Aragonese, Portuguese, Cantabrian, the Silver
Way... can be seen yellow arrows painted on the most unexpected
places: trees, small stones, walls, etc. These arrows are
usually more reliable than map books.
These yellow signs, the most abundant along
the route, dates from 1984. Elías Valiña Sanpedro,
the parish priest of a small village in Lugo, began to mark
these arrows with the yellow painting that was given to
him by some workers who were painting signs on the roads.
Valiña also cleared out some areas, recovered lost
stages, marked the number of kilometres to Santiago, etc.
His work was so important that he is considered the most
important promoter of the route as a journey of pilgrimage
and tourism.
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