It’s all about the arrows

It becomes a curious thing. We get up early each morning, lace up our boots, eat a high carb breakfast, throw on our packs and walk. Everyday. And although it has been only four days, it seems like the nine of us have been doing this forever. That is how quickly a habit forms.
We have a detailed, and by detailed I mean extensive set of directions to get us to our next destination. But still we have to look for external cues. Yellow arrows. Spain has a series of official and some not official makers for the Camino. Some are large stone structures with the shell and crucifer of St. James (Santiago), others are smaller stones with blue tiles, with a yellow shell outlined. Some are official postings that cause you to give caution about a particular roadway crossing. And still others, perhaps the most important and often the most elusive are the spray painted yellow arrows. The Camino has become all about the arrows. No matter how officious the sign appears, chances are we will follow the spray painted arrow. When confusion reigns about the official signposts, and trust me it does, the spray painted arrows win out. And it is amazing how quickly it became a part of our nomenclature “Did you see the arrow?” “Where is the arrow?” We even found one ill placed non-Camino related arrow which caused us all to stop short.
Most of us go through life each day with little information about what comes next. We can anticipate, but not be certain. There is little that reveals the next appropriate step or direction. Not so on the Camino. We may not know what the direction will be, what the climb will be, but we are assured that the yellow arrows point us to our destination.
Buen vaije.