A WALKING RETREAT · PORTUGAL · MAY 13–17, 2027
You already know something needs to change.
Five days on the Central Portuguese Caminho, with a small group of people at their own thresholds. Held by Val Livesay and Jeremy Hirshberg.
A career, an identity, a trajectory, a dream you built a long time ago and never got around to updating…at some point the map stops matching the terrain.
Over five days on the Central Portuguese Caminho, a small group of people, each carrying their own version of that reckoning, walk it out together. The terrain is gentle, the pace unrushed, and the company is there to walk alongside you, not to fix you.
At a glance
WHEN
May 13–17, 2027
Five days, four walking days. We gather at 3 pm on May 13 and part after breakfast on May 18.
WHERE
The Central Portuguese Caminho
From Vila do Conde to Ponte de Lima, north of Porto. Old towns, river paths, the yellow arrows.
THE WALK
Four walking days
About 13 miles a day on gentle terrain, with a short last day to leave room for integration.
WHO
Up to twelve people
Twelve walkers, then a waitlist.
A day on the Way
Mostly walking. Some of it in conversation, some of it in silence, all of it at a human pace.
Begin TogetherAbout an hour of reflection each morning before setting out.
Six to eight hours on the path. Some of it silent, some in pairs, some all together, shaped by prompts along the way, with lunch and a coffee stop.
Walk
Dinner, a question or two to sit with, and wherever the conversation goes. Plenty of laughter, too. Not everything is heavy.
Evenings Together
A short walk along the river, then an afternoon and evening of integration and a closing dinner.
The Last DayPilgrim shrine at Barcelos
Ten weeks of preparation, five days on the Caminho, and what you carry home.
-
Balance due. You're paired with a fellow walker.
-
Paired conversations every two weeks, plus training walks.
-
The whole group gathers once, online, before Portugal.
-
Four walking days on the Caminho and an afternoon of integration.
-
An integration gathering and the Caminho alumni community.
THE CAMINHO
$3,750
The walk before the walk: paired conversations, training walks, and a group gathering
Four walking days and an afternoon of integration, with five nights' lodging in private rooms
All meals, daily luggage transfer, and transport to Porto airport at the end
Post-Caminho integration gathering and the Caminho alumni community
Two ways to walk
THE CAMINHO + GHOST LIGHT
$4,750
Ghost Light: Who Walks With You. Some of the company you keep has walked with you for years, unnamed. Ghost Light helps you meet them: the characters who shape your question, steady you, and take over when you shrink back. You'll know who's likely to show up on the path, and come home choosing how they walk alongside you.
Six live small-group sessions: three before the Caminho, three after
Ghost Light alumni community, alongside the Caminho's
Held by
Has spent over a decade studying fallback: the moments we shrink back instead of stepping forward. Author of Leaving the Ghost Light Burning, she accompanies people at thresholds as they navigate the complexity of our times, and of being human, off the page in the classroom, in coaching, and through Caminho on the actual path.
Valerie Livesay, PhD
Jeremy Hirshberg, PhD
Twenty-plus years in the rooms where the story people tell about their lives meets the reality of living them. He works at the intersection of psychology, philosophy, and spiritual practice, and walked the October 2026 pilot Caminho with his own questions in hand.
The practical details
DEPOSIT
$750 holds your spot.
REFUNDS
Fully refundable through February 1, 2027. After that, we refund only if we can fill your spot.
BALANCE
Due March 1, 2027.
NOT INCLUDED
Flights to and from Porto, and drinks beyond the first bottles we open for the table.
Questions along the Way
-
Mostly walking. We start with about an hour of reflection together, then spend six to eight hours on the path, with a long lunch and a coffee stop along the way. Some of it is silent, some in pairs, some all together, shaped by prompts we offer through the day. Evenings are for dinner and each other, wherever the conversation goes.
-
About 13 miles a day, on gentle terrain. The last day is a short one, around five miles, to leave the afternoon for integration.
-
No. You need to be ready for several long days on your feet. The training walks get you there.
-
Mostly on your own, wherever you live. If you're in San Diego, join a longer group walk every other week. Everyone stays in touch & roots each other on through WhatsApp.
-
There are three, about a month apart, with the fellow walker you're paired with. They're semi-structured: a few guiding questions turn you toward what you're bringing to the walk, so you arrive ready to be present to it. Where you take it from there is up to you.
-
Three times: a 60-minute Welcome Pilgrims call on March 10, a 90-minute pre-Caminho gathering on April 28, and a 90-minute post-Caminho gathering on June 2. A final paired conversation follows.
-
You make your own way to Quinta São Miguel de Arcos, in Vila do Conde, about a 30 minute Uber ride from the Porto airport. We’ll gather at 3 pm on May 13 to begin our program followed by dinner together that evening.
The program closes after a final dinner on May 17 at Paço de Vitorino, outside Ponte de Lima. After breakfast on May 18 we take you to Porto airport (about an hour by Uber), or you're free to head elsewhere on your own.
-
No, and getting to Vila do Conde on May 13 is up to you. Lodging, all meals, daily luggage transfer, and transport to Porto airport at the end are all included. Get yourself to the starting point and we’ve got you covered from there.
-
Yes. Every room is private and locks. At a few stops, two people may share a bathroom, always with someone of the same gender.
Coming with a partner or friend and want to share? Let's talk. -
$750 holds your spot and is fully refundable through February 1, 2027. Full payment is due March 1. After February 1 we can refund you only if we fill your spot.
-
Something hard to name, and easy to recognize. A slower sense of time. A clearer view of the beauty in the people around you, and in yourself. A reconnection with who you really are, and the beginnings of a felt, practiced sense of who you're becoming. Most of all, a ground under your feet you can carry home, and the sense that you're not walking alone.
-
No. The Caminho stands on its own. Ghost Light adds a way to meet who walks with you, before and after you go.
-
Six, live, 2-hour sessions on Zoom, three before the walk and three after, starting in late March. We offer two time slots, one suited to Europe and the Americas and one to Australia, Asia-Pacific, and the Americas, and run each with at least six people.
Before the walk: April 7 · April 21 · May 5
After the walk: May 26 · June 9 · June 23
So…is this your moment?
Reach out to Val or Jeremy directly. We'd rather have a conversation than send you a form.
The Caminho concept and theory were created by Valerie Livesay and Danny Morris. What you're being invited into now carries that forward, shaped by a test walk and a pilot Caminho.