Testimonios Peregrinos

Camino Magic at Home – The Botafumeiro

February 10, 2015

By Maggie Cech

About a month ago, I was telling a new acquaintance about what I do for my daily bread (Marketing + Social Media for this beautiful documentary) and when I was done, she gave me a look of shock and awe. She said,
“My parents’ best friends walked the Camino two months ago and just the other day I met a girl who was planning to walk the Camino all the way from the middle of France, and now you’re telling me about this documentary about the very. same. thing. This … this is weird.”
And I laughed to myself, and I smiled. One of those whole-hearted soul smiles, because I knew exactly what she is talking about: the Magic of the Camino.

For many of you reading this, the Camino was a calling, in one way or another, that kept presenting itself gently over and over through conversations, videos, articles, family and friends. And while many of you reading this have had this experience of Camino magic either before and/or during your Camino, I wonder how many of you have you had this type of experience happen to you after walking the Camino.
Have you seen signs of the Camino show up in your life time and time again since returning home, forever changed in a world seemingly untouched?
Well, I sure as Santiago have.
And that’s why I’m writing this post.

Of the many lessons I learned from my Camino, one that I come back to in my (almost)-daily meditation is mindfulness, of trying to be aware, to be present, and pay attention to my surroundings, to catch some of that magic that I experienced while on the Camino. The journey, not just the destination, right?
Well, this past Sunday was one of those Camino Magic days.
I spent half of the day with a friend who is one of those people who is a rather new acquantaince but feels like someone I’ve known since my pigtail-braid freckle-faced childhood days … you know those people. The people you feel comfortable being yourself with, who you feel like you’ve known for longer than you have.
But this acquaintance didn’t know about the Camino, so while we ate a late lunch and I told him about my daily bread. He looked up when I was done and said,
“No way. My grandpa’s name was Santiago.”
And I smiled. I smiled one of those big, whole-hearted, soul smiles.
After lunch, we wandered into this Portland landmark called The Gold Door. The description online gives you some insight into the treasure trove that it is:
“Emporium with global tribal crafts & folk art, plus an eclectic mix of jewelry, tarot cards & more.”
WHOA. Of course we were going to find magic in there.
Upon entering the magical cave of treasure, we came across a 7-foot high, locked glass case with six shelves, filled with the most epic, magical collection that either of us had ever seen: a magic lantern collection. And as we stood there for a few minutes pointing out which lanterns we liked, my friend said to me, “Look at this one- this is by far the coolest lantern I have ever seen.”
I looked up, only to have my jaw drop to the floor almost instantaneously.
That lantern was a mini botafumeiro – as in, THE BOTAFUMEIRO that is in the Catedral de Santiago de Compostela.

I was in SHOCK. WHAT KIND OF MAGIC IS THAT YOU GUYS?! Do you see those shells? And that red cross? And those little crosses on it? OH YEAH. Botafumeiro.
Once I could compose myself and grab onto my train of thought, I went on to elaborate to my friend about what that actually is and what all the shells mean and how Santiago is both the pilgrim and the matamoros and how many people it takes to swing the botafumeiro.
I was so ecstatic that I couldn’t stop smiling THE most excited, joyful, Santiago-filled, whole-hearted soul smiles.

He was in as much shock as any non-Camino pilgrim with a golden heart and consciousness of spirit could be. Because if you haven’t walked the Camino, it’s rare to truly get that magic
But yeah. You guys. I mean. That was some kind of magic.
And like the introspective, analytical human that I am, of course I needed to share this with pilgrims who understand and get it because it helps me figure out what this means.
And here is what I think this Camino Magic means: I think it is reminding me that I’m exactly where I need to be.
(which is something I’ve struggled with consistently in my adult post-college twenty-something life). I think the magic is calling me to return to my heart, which is where my true home is, no matter where I physically may be. The magic of St. James really is in my heart, all the time. Sometimes it just takes a journey across a foreign country and a gilded emporium filled with magic lanterns to be able to realize that.
What’s next? Return to The Gold Door and figure out the story behind that mini botafumeiro.
Because you can rest assured, there is some Camino Magic in the story of how that botafumeiro wound up in my hometown stomping grounds of Portland, Oregon.