Wayfinding Signs on the Camino de Santiago
Set thee up waymarks, make thee high heaps: set thine heart toward the highway… – Jeremiah 31:21
In my research and planning for walking the Camino de Santiago, I was comparing the various routes that lead through Spain to Santiago de Compostela.
Aside from rainfall, temperature, and daylight hours, another factor for choosing a given route is the manner in which the pilgrim trails are marked with signage to indicate direction and in some cases, distance to destination.
As I began to walk on pilgrimage, I soon realized the importance of wayfinding in the descriptions of these routes, as there are not only differences in the physical nature of the paths, but also in the type and extent of signage used to keep pilgrims on the correct path.
Typically, (yellow) arrow symbols are used to point to a diverging path. Waymarking is also used in this context to describe the specific symbols that identify the route. The Camino is waymarked with a scallop shell symbol to represent St. James, the fisherman from the Sea of Galilee who followed Jesus, and as an apostle, he acted on the great commission to take the gospel to the ends of the earth – to the Atlantic coast of Iberia (Spain) called Finisterre (end of the earth):
Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
On my return to walk in pilgrimage, as I passed these helpful signs and symbols, I reflected on wayfinding as it is understood spiritually as in finding your way, or following the Way – the original name for followers of Jesus as followers of “the Way” (Acts 9:2).
In John 14:6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
The Camino pilgrimage following in the footsteps of the apostle Santiago reminded me that it is more than a physical path on which your feet pray, it is also a means to finding your way.
Your comments on finding your way are welcome in reply.
May you have a Buen Camino (Good Way)!
Pilgrim Paul