Arrival in Santiago de Compostela should be one of the easiest moments for any pilgrim to interpret: after hundreds of kilometers following yellow arrows and milestones, the last steps lead towards the city and the Cathedral. However, in Larano Concern has arisen about the route that some pilgrims are following and about a possible deviation from the route of the Camino de Santiago.
The situation has caused concern among residents of this Compostela parish, located just a few kilometers from the final destination of thousands of walkers. The problem is not minor. When a pilgrim arrives in the vicinity of Santiago, he or she trusts almost entirely on the signage he or she finds on the ground, especially if he or she is unfamiliar with the area and has been walking for many hours.
The controversy thus once again places on the table a fundamental question for any Jacobean route: who determines where the pilgrim should pass and how it is guaranteed that the signs he finds actually lead along the corresponding itinerary.
Concern about the route that pilgrims follow
The alert known this Wednesday, August 12, focuses on Laraño and the passage of walkers through this area near Santiago.
For those who live next to the Camino, a change in the flow of pilgrims does not go unnoticed. It is enough for a sign, an alternative indication or a route used on a recurring basis to begin to take walkers to another place so that, as the days go by, the new route ends up being consolidated in fact.
And for the pilgrim it is extremely difficult to distinguish between official signage, a provisional alternative or an indication placed for another purpose.
After traveling dozens or even hundreds of kilometers, it is normal to continue moving in the indicated direction.
That is why any doubt related to the signs of the Camino requires quick clarification.
An arrow can change thousands of steps
It may seem like a minor problem, but on the Camino de Santiago a sign has extraordinary power.
A yellow arrow placed at an intersection can determine where hundreds or thousands of people will pass. This flow affects the pilgrims themselves, but also neighbors, establishments, hostels, bars, small businesses and towns that have been linked to the Jacobean itinerary for decades.
Modifying a route does not just mean adding or eliminating a few meters.
The Camino also constitutes a historical and cultural heritage whose protection requires a clear differentiation between recognized itineraries, existing variants and temporary detours that may be established for safety or construction reasons.
The latter are necessary on numerous occasions. Roads, public works, landslides or interventions on infrastructure periodically force certain points on the Jacobean routes to be provisionally modified.
In fact, in the area of Santiago there are currently actions that affect the transit of pilgrims. The expansion works of the AP-9 have forced the establishment of a detour coordinated with the City Council of Santiago and the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage in another sector of the French Way, with an alternative route expressly signposted.
Precisely this type of action demonstrates the importance of any change being perfectly identifiable and explained.
The pilgrim needs to know what the Way is
Signage is one of the elements that make it possible for millions of people to have traveled the Jacobean routes without having to previously know each road, track or trail.
The system works thanks to something very simple: trust.
The pilgrim trusts in the arrow.
Trust the cairn.
He trusts that when he comes to a crossroads and finds a shell indicating a direction, someone has previously verified that this is the place he should continue.
When doubts arise about a route, that trust is broken.
And the problem is even more delicate in the vicinity of Santiago, where enormous numbers of pilgrims converge every year and where many walkers arrive physically tired after very long days.
Not all detours are the same
It is also important to avoid hasty conclusions.
The existence of a different route does not necessarily mean that irregular action has occurred. A Road may undergo temporary modifications due to works, safety reasons or other perfectly justified circumstances.
The important thing is that the pilgrim can clearly identify what is happening.
If there is a temporary detour, it must be signposted.
If a recognized variant exists, it should be clear that it is an alternative.
And if certain indications are causing pilgrims to involuntarily abandon the route they should follow, it is necessary to clarify the origin of this situation as soon as possible.
On a route used daily by thousands of people during the busiest months, ambiguity is also a security and orientation problem.
Laraño opens a debate that affects the entire Camino
What happened in Laraño therefore transcends a single parish.
The Camino de Santiago has become a gigantic international network of routes through which pilgrims of dozens of nationalities travel. Many arrive without speaking Spanish and depend even more on universal symbols such as the yellow arrow or the scallop.
Maintaining this network requires vigilance, coordination and signaling that leaves no room for interpretation.
Because the Camino is not just a line drawn on a map.
It is the royal route that pilgrims follow every morning.
And when a signal changes direction, behind her thousands of people can change direction.
