Health visits on the trip included: the nursing university, the main/only hospital in Cadiz, a pharmacy, and a nursing home. As part of the visit to the hospital, a nurse led us through various floors and departments. On each floor, we were introduced to a new nurse that described their floor and job. It was interesting to see the differences between hospitals in Spain and the United States. We noticed differences in security and nurse to patient ratios.

The visit to the pharmacy highlighted a lot of differences between the Spanish and U.S. healthcare system. Each pharmacy is privately owned and they are legally required to be a certain distance apart. It is also legally required for each pharmacy to charge the same prices. There is no “Big Pharma” in Spain like in the United States; because of this, the drugs are much cheaper.

The nursing home we visited originally housed widows before it was converted. The residents looked very happy and healthy due to the clean and sunny conditions. The coordinator took us through the gym/physical rehab room, entertainment rooms, a garden, and showed us a standard resident’s bedroom.

The Cadiz Cathedral is a Roman Catholic church built using money from trade between Spain and America. It is the bigger of two churches in Cadiz; the other church, Santiago church, stands across the square. Because the Cathedral took 116 to finish, you can see three distinct styles in the architecture. The base is in the originally intended Baroque style, then you can see some rococo elements, and finally you see neoclassical style at the top. After exploring the inside of the Cathedral, our group also walked up the tower to see a beautiful view of the city. (tip: wear comfortable shoes, I did not and regret it!)