There are lots of moments on the Camino de Santiago when the universe surprises you. And then — if you are very, very lucky — there is the Botafumeiro. I was sitting in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, surrounded by pilgrims from every corner of the earth. The Pilgrim’s Mass began — words I didn’t understand because, you know, I didn’t study enough Spanish — and I simply sat with my feelings. And then the priests began to prepare the fumeiro. They light it. They haul the ropes. And then - it flies. The Botafumeiro swings in a great arc, faster and faster, soaring 21 meters into the air at nearly 70 kilometers per hour. Smoke pours behind it like a comet’s tail. I gasped and cried and laughed all at the same time. The Botafumeiro has swung in this cathedral since the 11th century, originally meant to fumigate the exhausted pilgrims packed into the transept. Practical. Medieval. Gloriously human. But watching it arc across the vaulted ceiling like a pendulum of God, history felt like the wrong word. What I felt was: witnessed. The Botafumeiro does not fly every mass. Which means when it does, it is a gift. Which means when it flies for you, you are allowed to believe — just for that swinging, smoke-filled, laughing, weeping moment — that the Camino knew you were coming. That it saved something spectacular for your arrival. That you were, all along, exactly where you were supposed to be. The Botafumeiro Flew — And So Did My Heart. It was my Camino miracle in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela Buen Camino. May the fumeiro fly for you. Have you witnessed the Botafumeiro? Tell me in the comments — I love to hear every story. 👇 #botafumeiro #caminodesantiago #buencamino #resilience #silverlining - @hollye.jacobs