Practicalities
When to go?
The Camino Ignaciano covers nearly 400 miles, including the hilly and often wet Basque country and the arid region known as Los Monegros. The point? Because you will be exposed to different sub-climates during different parts of the trek, there is no perfect time to go. That said, spring and fall are the best seasons to travel the Camino Ignaciano.
Zaragoza region has a semi-arid Mediterranean continental climate typical of the Ebro Valley. Average rainfall is just 310 mm, falling mainly in the spring with a pronounced summer drought. Temperatures are high in the summer reaching 40 °C on some days! Temperatures in winter are low (0 to 10 °C), either due to fog or the presence of the cierzo, the cold, dry wind blowing from the NW. In winter, snow would be the biggest obstacle in the first part of the Camino, from Loyola to Logroño.
Our recommendation is to give a look to the Spanish local meteorology and check the region you are going to walk (you will find the information in all the languages of our web site).
As of this writing, the Camino Ignaciano is, unfortunately, a rather more expensive proposition than the famous pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, which is serviced by countless shelters charging only 12 Euro (or so) for a bunk bed and a shower. Many of these “refugios” sprang up over the last fifteen years as the volume of pilgrims grew and grew and grew. We fervently hope that readers of this web-guide (and others) will walk the Camino Inaciano as part of a movement that will likewise spur an increase in the number of pilgrim accommodations and thus a lowering of the cost.
- Transportation to the starting point and transportation home at the end of the pilgrimage. Count between €45 and €65 a day, depending on what we decide: it can be done for less than that and for much more: each pilgrim decides.
- Accommodation: between €15 and €20 if you find a place in a “refuge”, public or private, and between €30 and €50 if you go to a hostel or hotel. By the way, if we sleep in the countryside… there is no cost! And let’s think we’re going to do this once or twice! This is best for our economy, but it is not always relaxing.
- Dinner: In many towns and cities, a tourist menu can cost as little as €15, including a salad or soup, a main dish, dessert and often wine too. Some pilgrims usually buy their food in small shops and save their money for accommodation. We should not expect to find kitchens and utensils available on our Camino, since the number of “refuges” is very limited.
- Breakfast and lunch are an opportunity for the pilgrim to splurge or save money. Every afternoon we have to buy food for the next day’s breakfast and lunch, costing us between 5 or 7 euros. Sitting down for breakfast at the bar and also at midday meals could cost us about €25 a day. In any case, we must bear in mind that the bars that offer coffee and croissants do not open at dawn.
- Water: Tap water is generally safe. If we buy it in supermarkets, €2 must be added to our daily expenditure. And also add some other little things that we would like to taste throughout the pilgrimage!
- A bank card is useful: It is enough to carry the necessary money for two or three days and then return to collect money at the ATM network. It may be interesting to contact our bank before leaving and find out what additional charges the withdrawal of euros may entail. Some banks don’t charge anything extra, while others charge their own fees.
How much will it cost?
Before you go:
Some simple preparations will greatly increase the chances of a happier, pain-free pilgrimage. Specifically: Walk! Take a number of long distance walks in the shoes that you will wear during the pilgrimage to be sure that your walking shoes are well broken in. Carry your backpack on practice walks, loaded with the approximate weight you will carry on your pilgrimage. You should carry no more than 10% of your body weight. Use that figure as the maximum, and be sure to include the substantial weight of a filled water bottle in your 10% limit. Recall that you will have plenty of stores to shop for anything you may need along the way.
You can’t prepare for everything, and if you try to prepare for everything, you will be loaded down with so much junk that you’ll quit after a day. The trick is to make the most sensible possible choices and to accept the spirit of pilgrimage: that is, trust! Things will happen.
The most important thing is your walking shoes. Buy shoes that are light yet provide sufficient support. You should take into account the season you have chosen for your pilgrimage: winter time would be cold and wet in the Loyola region; summer time would be pretty warm and very dry in the Zaragoza – Lléida region.
Some backpacks are designed to lug a maximum amount of gear over short distances. You want the opposite: a lightweight pack that is well designed to distribute weight to your waist (not just your shoulders). Pay attention to the various compartments. Some packs are needlessly cluttered with more compartments than a space shuttle; you’ll never be able to find what you’re looking for. Other packs are so poorly designed that you’ll feel like you’re burrowing to the bottom of a dark, deep well for anything you need. Don’t forget to take a rain poncho that will cover you and your backpack. Buy a lightweight model that takes little space when folded up.
big enough to cover your backpack.
it doesn’t take too much space in you bag and dries better.
Spain’s sun can be a very “hot” friend, and parts of the Camino Ignaciano are not well shaded. Also bring a tube of sun-blocking lip balm.
to protect you from the sun, ears included.
protect your neck from the sun, mop up the sweat.
protect from the sun.
some gear for the fine art of blister treatment (some kind of so called “second-skin”). Apply a dressing as soon as you feel a hot spot developing. Don’t wait for a full-blown blister! Bring a small supply of an over-the-counter pain reliever like Ibuprofen. You will find that Spain has pharmacies everywhere. You should bring something to stop up your ears during the snoring nights at the “refugios.”
indispensable
to wake up early in the morning and don’t disturb others. To walk at night. To read when the lights are switched off!
Also a water bottle: indispensable.
It is always useful and it is even truer if you think that you are going to sleep outdoors at least one or two times!
the lightest weight the better. Think about the time you have chosen for your pilgrimage: it could be too cold for a light “flip flop.”
Again a tricky call that will depend on the season for your pilgrimage and the type of accommodation. If you stay in B&Bs or hotels, they will, of course, have bed covers. Some pilgrims bring their own pillowcase. Depending on the weather, you can use just a wool sleeping bag liner in place of a sleeping bag.
three (one to use, one to change and one if the first one has not dried in time!).
three (one to use, one to change and one if the first has not dried in time! Try to find quick drying shirts). Long sleeves protect your skin from the sun.
two. If you are walking in summer time, it is good to have one long trouser to protect your legs from the sun. It is recommended to bring one pair of lightweight, zip pants for your “evening attire” and likewise one shirt.
to hang drying clothes on lines or on your backpack while walking.
Something lightweight yet sufficient to warm you up. Again you must take into account the weather when trekking in winter time through the hilly parts of the Basque country or the cold region of Monegros.
Toothpaste and Toothbrush, a bar of soap (a hard soap like Ivory that will last), razor, deodorant… but remember: the rule must be the minimum and the lightest! You can buy anything in the Spanish towns.
dish, glass of water, fork, spoon, knife. They must be very light. A rag or dishcloth is always useful. You can bring a small bottle of liquid soap for your washing.
it can be very useful for support, for hanging clothes, or to ward off unwelcome dogs…
We recommend you to bring photocopies of the steps that you want to walk. Bring a journal for your reflections and a bible (the smallest version!).
A phone card or international cellular phone.
Your passport and other identity papers.
look at our website the places where you can get one of this “passports” for the pilgrims.
A small, simple one.
Some favorite music can help you through the last three miles under the hot sun. But do yourself a favor: don’t bring one if you’re an ipod-aholic. If you listen to it five hours a day, you will have wasted your pilgrimage, perhaps the only extensive chance in your life to listen carefully to your own heart and soul rather than to the world’s clatter.
What not to bring:
- Pyjamas: you can sleep with your shirt! If you need to bring one, it must be light!
- Shaving cream: don’t bother. Ignatius Loyola survived without it, so will you. Soap will work OK. Or just wear a big beard!
- Shampoo: Don’t bother. Get a very short haircut before you go. Your body soap will work.
- Blow dryer: Are you kidding me?
The Ignatian Way
History of the Way, Pilgrimage to the past, the Spain of Ignatius, Acknowledgements…
Pilgrimage in our life
The Spiritual Exercises and the pilgrimage on the Ignatian Way, the option of four weeks, guide for the Way, breathing the Way, the introductory prayer, the Spiritual Way…
The Pilgrim's Office
Experiences, activities, agencies, credentials, associations, path of respect…
