Following the Path

One of the major interests of the Wandering PhDs is the Camino de Santiago, or The Road to St. James, a set of pilgrimages across the world that lead to Santiago de Compostela in Western Spain. While originally a Catholic pilgrimage to honor the remains of St. James the Greater, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ, the Camino de Santiago has become many things for many people over the years. These aspects will be explored more fully in later posts.

Generally speaking, the majority of Camino pathways are more or less well marked with a variety of symbols and colors, depending on the country in which you find yourself walking. In Spain and Portugal, the way is marked by yellow arrows or metal markers. The yellow arrows can be found on buildings, curbs, streets, poles, signs, rock walls, and numerous other places. Metal markers are more official and can be found in streets, on monuments and signposts, in a variety of artistic formats. As you read these blog posts, keep a careful eye on the images and see where you can spot these beacons of the road to follow.