Valerie Brown

Celebrating the Lost Art of Pilgrimage

Today, July 25th is the feast day of St. James, the patron saint of the Pilgrimage of El Camino de Santiago, Spain. Twenty-two years ago, I began exploring pilgrimage as a spiritual practice to heal from burnout in my corporate legal career. Carrying a 40-pound backpack, over many days walking the Camino with Cuban friends, my values and priorities shifted. 

I realized what got me through a successful legal career would not bring me to the sense of peace and self-compassion I craved.  I had to find another way.   

For more than ten years, I have had the incredible honor of designing and leading Walk in Beauty, the Pilgrimage of El Camino, a kinder Camino. I’ve witnessed people making life-affirming choices. They have changed careers, moved across the country or to other countries, found new loves, connected within themselves for greater authenticity, come to trust themselves and their abilities, learned to be better leaders, enjoy greater peace, acceptance, and understanding, and much more.

  Did you know that El Camino is not one trail, it’s actually thirty-nine different routes across Spain, and Walk in Beauty has explored many of these routes, including the Camino Finisterre, Camino del Norte, Portuguese Coast Camino.

Walk in Beauty Pilgrimages include:

Virtual gatherings to build connection and community.
English-speaking trail guides.
Private coach stocked with refreshments and luggage support.
Guided reflection to support the big questions of your life.
Superb rural, charming lodging (NOT HOSTELS). 
Outstanding regional-delicious cuisine.
Breathtaking natural beauty.
Newsletters and comprehensive must-have resources.

Here’s what people are saying. . . .  
“Walking the Camino was a wonderful experience. At age 65, I set a personal goal of walking 100 miles in 10 days and I did it! What an amazing builder of my spirit and confidence, which showed me that I could succeed at unknown challenges set before me.  The Camino created a sacred time, space, and place and helped me reconnect with my Jewish ancestors.” Bruce & Sherry Maliken


For 2024, we’re offering the French Way Gently, October 11-19, 2024, beginning in Lugo, a generously restored walled city and ending with a walking tour of the medieval city of Santiago de Compostela.