Camino de Santiago, The Way, PrincesasDelCamino, Alison Chino, MacsAdventure, Chasing Daylight

Snapshots of The Way: Signs and Symbols

Camino de Santiago, The Way, PrincesasDelCamino, Alison Chino, MacsAdventure, Chasing Daylight

If there is a better-marked trail in the world than the Camino de Santiago, I would love to know about it.

Camino de Santiago, The Way, PrincesasDelCamino, Alison Chino, MacsAdventure, Chasing Daylight

The seashells, crosses and yellow arrows appear constantly along the path.

Camino de Santiago, The Way, PrincesasDelCamino, Alison Chino, MacsAdventure, Chasing Daylight

You can see them on the ground.

Camino de Santiago, The Way, PrincesasDelCamino, Alison Chino, MacsAdventure, Chasing Daylight

They are crafted with mosaics or set into paving stones.

Camino de Santiago, The Way, PrincesasDelCamino, Alison Chino, MacsAdventure, Chasing Daylight

They are painted on signs for the albergues (pilgrims’ hostels).

Camino de Santiago, The Way, PrincesasDelCamino, Alison Chino, MacsAdventure, Chasing Daylight

And on the sides of houses and walls.

Camino de Santiago, The Way, PrincesasDelCamino, Alison Chino, MacsAdventure, Chasing Daylight

There are official signs.

Camino de Santiago, The Way, PrincesasDelCamino, Alison Chino, MacsAdventure, Chasing Daylight

And unofficial markings.

Camino de Santiago, The Way, Santiago de Compostela, Pilgrims Mass

There are creative renditions of all the symbols.

Camino de Santiago, The Way, PrincesasDelCamino, Alison Chino, MacsAdventure, Chasing Daylight

People put them on their gates.

Camino de Santiago, The Way, PrincesasDelCamino, Alison Chino, MacsAdventure, Chasing Daylight

And in their gardens.

Camino de Santiago, The Way, PrincesasDelCamino, Alison Chino, MacsAdventure, Chasing Daylight

And flowerbeds.

Camino de Santiago, The Way, PrincesasDelCamino, Alison Chino, MacsAdventure, Chasing Daylight

The symbols come in every possible size.

Camino de Santiago, The Way, PrincesasDelCamino, Alison Chino, MacsAdventure, Chasing Daylight

Sometimes they are very large.

Camino de Santiago, The Way, PrincesasDelCamino, Alison Chino, MacsAdventure, Chasing Daylight

And sometimes they are dusted onto cakes with powdered sugar.

Camino de Santiago, The Way, PrincesasDelCamino, Alison Chino, MacsAdventure, Chasing Daylight

And they are are always on the backs of your fellow pilgrims. When in doubt, you can just follow one of them!

Camino de Santiago, The Way, PrincesasDelCamino, Alison Chino, MacsAdventure, Chasing Daylight

The markings can be very unassuming,

Camino de Santiago, The Way, Santiago de Compostela, Pilgrims Mass

but just when you are beginning to wonder if you are on the right road, an arrow will appear.

Camino de Santiago, The Way, PrincesasDelCamino, Alison Chino, MacsAdventure, Chasing Daylight

Or you will come upon one of these stone markers that have also become makeshift shrines.

Camino de Santiago, The Way, Santiago de Compostela, Pilgrims Mass

You never know what will be left on these markers.

Camino de Santiago, The Way, PrincesasDelCamino, Alison Chino, MacsAdventure, Chasing Daylight

And we used them for this purpose ourselves, leaving behind stones, leaves and pinecones that we carried while praying for friends and family.

Camino de Santiago, The Way, PrincesasDelCamino, Alison Chino, MacsAdventure, Chasing Daylight

These markers also let you know how many kilometers remain on the pilgrimage.

Camino de Santiago, The Way, PrincesasDelCamino, Alison Chino, MacsAdventure, Chasing Daylight

We delighted in watching the numbers get smaller all week.

Camino de Santiago, The Way, PrincesasDelCamino, Alison Chino, MacsAdventure, Chasing Daylight

And we knew without consulting our maps exactly how far we were from the end of each day.

Camino de Santiago, The Way, Santiago de Compostela, Pilgrims Mass

The Camino is the only walk I’ve ever done where I stopped bothering to carry my guidebook.

Camino de Santiago, The Way, PrincesasDelCamino, Alison Chino, MacsAdventure, Chasing Daylight

It was especially exciting to reach the marker with the name of the town we were staying in for the night.

Camino de Santiago, The Way, PrincesasDelCamino, Alison Chino, MacsAdventure, Chasing Daylight

And often this would be the moment we would set down whatever small bit of treasure we had carried for the day.Camino de Santiago, The Way, PrincesasDelCamino, Alison Chino, MacsAdventure, Chasing Daylight

When the kilometers dropped below twenty, we felt a strange mixture of anticipation and sadness over our pilgrimage coming to an end.

Camino de Santiago, The Way, PrincesasDelCamino, Alison Chino, MacsAdventure, Chasing Daylight

Each one of us took away a small reminder of these constant markings on the Camino de Santiago. Mine was in the form of a silver charm that I added to a necklace I already wear. LynEtte found it and bought it for me somewhere along The Way.

I will treasure it always.

Our journey along The Camino de Santiago was made possible by Macs Adventure, who found us the most wonderful places to sleep and made our giant suitcases magically appear in our rooms each night. If you enjoyed this post, you might like to read more about the Camino de Santiago. Or consider subscribing to receive stories in your inbox.