Hiking The Famous Camino Part 7: Santiago and the Botofumeiro

Arrival!

I made it!!!  Approaching the Plaza del Obradoiro in the center of Santiago de Compostela I could hear the Galician bagpiper under the arch at the entrance to the Plaza.  I knew that I only had another 100 yards to go to make my goal – hiking over 100 kilometers on the famous Camino de Santiago, the Way of St. James in northern Spain.  I stopped beside the bagpiper and listened to his terrific music, and dropped a few Euros in his basket.  Then I marched into the center of the square, took a knee, and touched the shell carved in the stone surface, the symbol of the Camino.  At 74 I had made what I thought was likely impossible, hiking 102 kilometers over 10 days, with no rest days and a 20-pound pack.  I was elated, and for a brief moment became part of the part of the tremendous positive energy that always fills the town of Santiago.

The Compostela Certificate

After celebrating and contemplating for a while, I walked the three blocks to the Pilgrim’s Office.  I was afraid that there would be long lines to get the famous Compostela Certificate, but I only had to wait about 45 seconds to see one of the many staffers.  The young Chinese volunteer took my Pilgrim’s credential and examined it, smiling as she saw the many stamps.  She asked if I wanted the Compostela certificate of completion in Latin and the Certificate of Distance in Spanish, and I said, “Yes, please!!!”   I paid the cashier three Euros for the latter, while the Compostela was free.  I had really done it!

The Swinging Botofumeiro

The next day, on Sunday, May 11, 2025, I took the advice of my landlady from my last alburgue on the trail, and went to the Cathedral de Santiago almost two hours before the  noon Mass.  Entering the gorgeous cathedral, I asked an usher in my so-so Spanish if the famous but rare Botofumeiro ceremony was going to take place at noon.  He said, “Si, senor,” and I pressed him a bit.  “Es seguro” – it is certain, he assured me. Then I asked which was the best seat in the house to see the ceremony.  He pointed to the front left, in the front row on the far side, on the aisle, looking down the length of the transept.  “Pero, tienes cuidado!” he urged – but, be careful.  Hmmmm, what did that mean?

I sat in the empty row and waited impatiently for the ritual to start.  I had read up on it beforehand.

The Botofumeiro (“smoke sprinkler” in Galician) is a 176-pound, six-foot-tall smoking censer or thurible that swings up to 69 feet high in its 213-foot arc down the transept of the Cathedral.  It originated in the 11^th century and was designed to spread incense to disguise the smell of the sweaty pilgrims and to help prevent plagues.  Now it carries their prayers, like the fragrant frankincense smoke, up to God.  A beautiful new silver thurible was put in service in 1554 but was stolen by Napoleon’s troops in 1809 during the Peninsular Campaign.  The current Botofumeiro was created in 1851, is made of an alloy of brass and bronze, with a thin layer of silver.  The “modern” pulley system was installed in — wait for it — 1604!

The Cathedral filled up, and just before noon an usher walked down the aisle and sternly told me and others sitting beside the aisle to “Stay in your seats! Cuidado!”  The Mass began, and after a while eight muscular “tiraboleiros” in red robes came out, undid the ropes attached to a column at my front right, and began to pull.  It took about 16 swings for the Botofumeiro to reach its full height and speed, reaching about 60 feet high and rushing past me, just four feet away (!) going over 40 miles per hour.  “Cuidado” indeed!

The smoke was thick and aromatic, the crowd was transfixed, then gradually after a few minutes the Botofumeiro slowed down and came to a stop.

Accidents

As you can imagine, in the 1000-year history of the Botofumeiro there have some accidents, five in total.  In 1499 the Botofumeiro broke loose from its rope and crashed out a window. There were two other early incidents, and two in modern times, one resulting in a German tourist getting a broken nose.  No fatalities — yet.

The 1499 incident was the most interesting.  Fourteen-year-old Princess Catherine of Aragon was on her way to marry thirteen-year-old Prince Arthur of England, and stopped by the Cathedral to get a blessing.  Instead, the Botofumeiro broke loose and flew out the Platerias high window, breaking it into pieces.

Despite this terrible omen, Catherine married Arthur, survived his early death after just a year, became the first female Ambassador in Europe, and married Henry VIII of England when he was 18 and she was 24.  She became the Queen Consort of England. She survived four miscarriages and the annulment of her marriage after 24 years.  She was not beheaded (!) and died much beloved by the English people and grudgingly respected by Henry.  Maybe you should pray for an accident when you visit the Cathedral!

Next month I will describe my journey to the coast of Galicia, to discover the massive stone vessel which reportedly carried the body of St. James to Spain.

This piece is a follow-up to last month’s article on my first stops on the Camino de Santiago, and my earlier Camino articles.  For these pieces see:

1. https://www.mymcmedia.org/hiking-the-famous-camino-de-santiago-part-1-logistics/
2. https://www.mymcmedia.org/hiking-the-camino-de-santiago-blisters-feet-and-training/
3. https://www.mymcmedia.org/hiking-the-famous-camino-de-santiago-part-3/
4. https://www.mymcmedia.org/hiking-the-famous-camino-de-santiago-dont-forget-do-forget-this/
5. https://www.mymcmedia.org/hiking-the-famous-camino-de-santiago-part-5-i-get-rolling-along/
6. https://www.mymcmedia.org/hiking-the-famous-camino-part-6-portomarin-to-santiago/
7. https://www.mymcmedia.org/blog-top-tips-for-tackling-el-camino-de-santiago-part-1/
8. https://www.mymcmedia.org/blog-el-camino-de-santiago-part-2-regional-highlights/

1. A Galician bagpiper under the archway leading to the main square in Santiago greets all the successful Pilgrims who hike the Camino.

2. Author Lew Toulmin touches the shell, symbol of St. James, in front of the Cathedral de Santiago (St. James), at the end goal and terminus of the Camino.

3. The coveted Compostela Certificate in Latin states that the Pilgrim has completed his/her Camino journey.

4. Statue of St. James in his Cathedral in Santiago. Note the head and hands behind him, where Pilgrims and worshippers are mounting the stairs and hugging or touching him.

5. The silver box containing the asserted remains of St. James and his disciples Athanasius and Theodore, in the crypt of the Cathedral, which you can visit. The remains were hidden in 1589 to protect them from English raiders, re-discovered in 1879, and authenticated in 1884 by Pope Leo XIII.

6. A wide shot of the Botofumeiro (center left) swinging though the transept (right), with the nave (left) and the specialist tiraboleiros to the lower right of the Botofumeiro, in dark red robes.

7. Author’s view of the Botofumeiro ceremony, with the censer swinging down the transept aisle and tiraboleiros at the end of the ropes.

8. Emilio Estavez in the 2010 movie “The Way” appears as a ghost tiraboleiro near the end of the film. He is portraying the dead son of main character, who walked the entire Camino Frances in tribute to his son, who died earlier in a snowstorm while on the Camino.

9. Prince Arthur of England and Princess Catherine of Aragon, as betrothed teenagers. She visited Santiago in 1499 on her way to marry Arthur, and the Botofumeiro crashed out of an upper window.  This was not a bad omen for her, since she lived a reasonably long and fascinating life.  But it was a terrible omen for Catholicism, since her inability to bear children with her second husband Henry VIII led to Henry breaking away from that religion and becoming head of his own, Protestant, church.