Is El Camino on your “bucket list?”
Are you in transition or mid-life and want space and time to reflect on life’s “big questions?”
Are you celebrating a milestone or meaningful life event?
Are you seeking a travel experience that aligns with your values?
Why Walk in Beauty Pilgrimage and El Camino
I began exploring pilgrimage as a spiritual practice to heal from burnout in my corporate legal career. At first, travel was about “checking off” places and experiences on my “bucket list.” But years ago, after walking El Camino carrying a 40-pound backpack my values and priorities shifted.
On El Camino, I spent what felt like countless days confronting my well-developed “Inner Critic” that drove me relentlessly to excel in school and work, but wrecked my relationships and wellbeing. I realized what got me through a successful corporate career would not bring me to the sense of peace, understanding, and self-compassion I craved. I had to find another way.
That moment of spiritual awakening and clarity led me to create Walk in Beauty Pilgrimage as a way to offer safe, brave, and nurturing space to heal, challenge, and transform. This is an amenities packed experience, including feeling fully supported and connected to a caring community, savoring stunning natural landscapes, superb lodging, and regional-delicious local cuisine while reflecting and exploring life’s big questions.
Want to know more about what to expect?
Walk in Beauty Ethos
We welcome and support people from diverse racial, cultural, and ethnic backgrounds, genders, languages, ages, abilities, immigration and socio-economic status, and spiritual practices. We are deeply committed to building compassionate communities and to the “inner work” of healing wounds of racial injustice and systemic and societal oppression and discrimination, creating offerings that are a true refuge of healing, awakening, and liberation.
- Feel grounded and centered with action, reflection, and silence that fosters respect and integrity for the land, the people, and the culture. Return home deeply transformed by beauty and inspired by sacred land and culture. Feel connected to your values and be a force for change in the world.
- Savor the present moment. Our pilgrimage journeys are very different from the typical ‘hiking vacation’ or ‘cultural tour’. You won’t sit on a bus, ‘touring’, or sleep in a hostel. You won’t rush from one site to another to ‘pack it all in’. You’ll move at a human pace, mindfully, to ‘allow your soul to catch up to your feet’. Be a pilgrim, not a tourist.
- Enjoy connection with community. With regular virtual gatherings months leading up to the pilgrimage you arrive in Spain not with strangers, but with friends. During the pilgrimage, evening gatherings offer you time to reflect, write, and share from your experience. Be part of a community of seekers.
- Self-care and self-compassion are companions on the journey. Our private coach is loaded with healthy snacks and cold drinks and is available whenever you want to ride. Luggage is transferred to your hotel. After breakfast and morning reflection, the coach delivers you to the trailhead to begin each day on El Camino, and returns you safely to your hotel. Without judgement, you decide how much (or how little) you want to walk. Be kind to yourself.
Donate to the Walk in Beauty Scholarship Fund
Donate to sponsor someone from an historically marginalized social group identity to attend a Walk in Beauty Pilgrimage. Please contact Valerie to make a donation of any amount. Any unused funds will be reserved for future scholarships for Walk in Beauty Pilgrimages.
Rave Reviews About Walk in Beauty Pilgrimage
“Walk in Beauty was transformational for my spiritual life and my vocation. Valerie utilized poetry, stories, and thoughtful questions to bring us deeper into our understanding, both in group time and one-on-one. This was paired with unimaginable natural wonder, thoughtfully chosen lodging, and luxurious, local dining. There was nothing to worry about. Valerie handles every detail, from luggage transfer to snacks to plans for inclement weather. It’s a carefree time to absorb beauty and listen to your heart.”
Kate Landis
“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.”
Bruce & Sherry Maliken
“The Camino created a sacred time, space, and place and helped me reconnect with my Jewish ancestors.”
“Personal transformation gradually emerged through extended periods of intentional contemplation, buoyed by the grandeur of breathtaking scenery and the spirit of pilgrim companions.”
Mark David Watanabe
