Recent problems with the arrow marking

[Erromesa]

I just finished the Geira e dos Arrieiros (although I started from O Porto, not Braga) and am now back home. I met one other pilgrim on foot, Portuguese, and three Galician pilgrims on bike, but looking through the visitor's books in various pubs that I went through, I noticed that there were various pilgrims a few days ahead of me and presumably some pilgrims a few days behind me.

Looking at the debragaasantiago.com website to recheck some details, I noticed that they updated their warning:

Desde el inicio de la recuperación del camino siempre hubo problemas con la señalización, sobre todo en la zona de O Ribeiro. En la primavera del año 2022 se consiguió tener completamente señalizado todo el tramo portugués y los últimos 110 km, pero en la primeros días del mes de agosto de 2022 se detectó una modificación y destrucción masiva de las flechas y señales, especialmente en el tramo del concello de Forcarei, que estaba bien señalizado.
Este suceso provoca que ahora sea mucho más difícil seguir el camino que a principios del año 2017, cuando no había ninguna señal; por tener que estar el peregrino continuamente consultando el móvil para comprobar si cada flecha está en la dirección correcta o ha sido girada.


Este problema con la señalización nos lleva a
recomendar que no se recorra este Camino.

I have to admit that I did not particularly note this destruction of the marking in the zone of Forcarei. I was aware that in this particular stretch of the route there were problems and so I was careful to use my mobile phone in the (for me, few) cases of doubt. I personally didn't notice any major lack of arrows that confounded me.

Just be careful if you're doing this section and trust your GPS.

 

[peregrina2000]

Thanks for the heads-up, @Erromesa. That warning is very extreme.

Just be careful if you're doing this section and trust your GPS.

What GPS tracks did you use?

 

[Charrito]

Thanks for the heads-up, @Erromesa. That warning is very extreme.



What GPS tracks did you use?

Mapy.cz is by far the best, as it clearly shows the camino. Impossible to get lost (even though I did before Beariz, thanks to a couple of wild boars!).

The problem at times is, unfortunately, the conflict of interests between the Geira-Arrieiros and the Miñoto-Ribeiro. They coincide for some parts of some stages, but then go off in different directions.

There are some good people along the route from Ribadavia who are doing their best to ensure that the signs are there. Therefore, there's no need to panic!

I'll be up there again from September 9 (from Ribadavia, but this time with my wife). The Portuguese part is in the pipeline for later this autumn.

 

[xin loi]

When walking the Norte in 2019 we had frequent episodes of pilgrims milling around looking for an arrow to show us which way to go. I bought a can of yellow spray paint and started painting arrows at points of confusion. I think part of the problem was farm tractors running over stone arrows on the paths and scattering the arrow stones.

 

[WGroleau]

When walking the Norte in 2019 we had frequent episodes of pilgrims milling around looking for an arrow to show us which way to go. I bought a can of yellow spray paint and started painting arrows at points of confusion. I think part of the problem was farm tractors running over stone arrows on the paths and scattering the arrow stones.

I came to an unmarked fork near Estella and guessed wrong. When I figured out I was wrong and went back to the other fork, the arrow was actually there—fifteen or more meters after the fork!

Just before Los Arcos, at a five-way intersection, the post with the arrow is in a ditch and half the times I passed there (often, because I was a hospitalero nearby), a car was parked there hiding it!

And in a city further west, some jerk had painted a yellow arrow diverting pilgrims into his hotel.