About Our Caminos
Our Caminos are special.
We create a Year of Camino
Make the most of this bucket-list experience with the six months before and after.
During the 6 months before we help you get ready with intentions, training plans, pack lists, travel planning support, and answers to all your questions and concerns. During the 6 months after we celebrate, reflect, and bring the essence of Camino into your everyday life.
We create a community
One of the best things about walking a Camino is the opportunity to be both alone and together.
Whether you come with your longtime friend, favorite family member or on your own, walking the Camino with us gives you the chance to embrace solitude and to share unforgettable experiences in a warm community of women in midlife-ish.
We partner with Fresco
We partner with a well loved Spanish company to manage everything along the way.
Fresco guides make sure you know the way, create swoon worthy picnic lunches, share the history and mystery of the Camino, point out the best places to take a break, book massages, fill your water bottle, carry your luggage, and take care of all the logistics.
Join us to walk a Camino and get a full year of inspiration, camaraderie, and coaching to make the most of this bucket-list experience.
Training, intention, and self-care are vital for finishing your Camino strong and healthy.
The best way to get ready for your Camino is to walk.
To help you prepare, we’ll:
Give you a suggested training plan that honors where you are and encourages you to walk a little more often, a little further so you’re ready for the distance and terrain of the Camino
Offer walking tips and resources for staying healthy before and during your Camino
Invite you to local training walks and walk ‘n’ talks over the phone
Cheer you on every step of the way
Knowing why you’re walking a Camino will fuel your training and keep you going when the path gets challenging.
This has always been true for me and maybe you feel this too. It’s also recently been confirmed by scientific research with pilgrims walking the Camino: the more you are connected to your intention, your why, your spirituality, the better you are able to manage physical challenges and discomfort on Camino, whether that’s blisters, sore muscles, or fatigue.
So, why are you walking a Camino? What inspired you to say yes? What do you want to get out of the experience?
We’ll help you connect with your intention, find a walking mantra that works for you, and use anchors throughout your experience.
Love yourself through training, walking, and finishing a Camino.
Listen to your body.
Walk at your own pace.
Take care of yourself — drink water, sleep, eat nutritious food, take breaks.
Give yourself grace when you feel uncomfortable or can’t walk as much as you would like to or feel you should.
Appreciate the body you have today and all that you can do. Midlife and peri/menopause bring lots of changes — physical, mental, emotional, spiritual — and you might long for what you could do when you were younger.
When you care for yourself through training and walking the Camino, you’ll finish with a deep appreciation of the the body you have today, feeling like you can accomplish anything.
“I’ve walked the Camino five times and every single time I come home more connected to myself, grateful for my midlife body, and inspired for this next phase of life. This is what I want for you.”
— Liz Vivian
What to expect before your Camino?
Information, Inspiration, Community
Answers to all your questions and concerns
Gatherings over the six months before your Camino to set your intentions, prepare, ask questions, and create our warm community
Suggested training plan that makes sense for you plus resources for walking
Training walks with Liz in Seattle or with your local Pilgrim Association chapter if your community has one
Phone, email and text access to Liz and our Spanish tour partners
Travel planning support from our Spanish tour partner to help you plan local transportation, book a hotel, or create your ideal itinerary for the days before and after your Camino
Plus:
Inspiration, insights, and coaching to make your Camino meaningful to you
Getting Ready for Camino Guide, including advice on everything from daypacks to doing laundry to helping your family prepare for you to be away
Super detailed packing list which you can copy and adapt for yourself
Travel recommendations — what to see and do in Spain and Portugal
Simple phrases to learn to communicate along the way
What to expect during your Camino?
Walk, Rest, Repeat
You’ll be well cared for by your guides — no calendar, no to-dos, just enjoy the experience. Seriously, everything is taken care of for you.
Take a long walk, at your own pace, in solitude or with a warm community of women
Question of the Day Series, stretching routines, and other simple activities to inspire exploration and connection — these are invitations, not assignments, you do you
The daily routine of being on Camino is peaceful:
get up, eat breakfast, stretch
walk
eat lunch, rest, stretch
walk
arrive at the day’s destination, stretch, shower, snack
rest and renew — read, nap, meditate, swim, journal, draw, chat with friends, do a hobby, explore the town, catch up with people at home
eat dinner, go to sleep
What to expect after your Camino?
Reflection, Celebration, Sharing
Gatherings over the six months after your Camino to:
celebrate
share stories
reflect on your experiences
bring your Camino learnings into the rest of your life
Stay connected with your trip group and welcome the next groups home
Support to go slowly and be gentle with yourself “Everyday life” can rush in quickly after you get home so making space to stay connected to your Camino experiences is vital. It takes time to reflect and integrate what you experience and learn on Camino
Live life
at the pace of
walking.
What’s included:
A full year of inspiration, camaraderie, and coaching — before, during, and after your Camino — to help you make the most of this special experience
A warm, supportive community of women in midlife-ish to share this unforgettable adventure. Our groups are typically 12 - 16 people
2 top-notch, bilingual guides who are Spanish or live in Spain year-round. Our Fresco Tours guides are the best — kind, helpful, funny, open, supportive. They make sure you know the way, share the history and mystery of the Camino, point out the best places to take a break, book massages, and take care of all your logistics along the Camino
Accomodations in unique and beautiful locations: we stay at Spain’s famous Paradores, restored manor homes, and boutique hotels that offer the best in hospitality, comfort, and location
Delicious and nutritious food: all your meals are included so you don’t need to plan, shop, cook or do dishes. Weather permitting, Fresco’s famous gourmet picnics showcase local flavors and give you a wonderful midday break
Driver who will check in every few miles, refill your water bottle, and offer snacks during your walks
Support vehicle and all luggage transfers so you don’t need to carry a heavy pack and can ride the “magic carpet” if you need to rest
What you’re responsible for:
Airfare to and from Europe
Local transportation to and from the beginning and end of the tour
Travel insurance
Tips, if you’d like to thank your Spanish tour leaders, local guides, bus driver, and chambermaids for quality service
Personal incidental expenses along the way
Your preparation — training, packing, showing up with an open heart
Carrying your small daypack with water, sunglasses, lip balm, and other incidentals