By Cogan R.
Group 2

I honestly didn’t really know what to expect once I got there. Sure, there are expectations of a place before you go there, but I never felt like any of those expectations were even close to what I saw. What I saw from Spain was a beautiful country, rich in culture and history. I’m was pretty shocked to see just how different each city can be. In the United States we have some small internal divisions, but they don’t even compare to that of Spain. Places like Navarre, Burgos, and Santiago were all drastically different. Each place had its own little history and place within Spain that made it so unique.

Something that also surprised was what history before the 16^th century looked. There is St. Augustine in Florida, but it really doesn’t compared to the places in Europe. In Finisterre there is a site that was used by Celts more than 2000 years ago. The only thing like that in the United States would be the Native Americans and they didn’t write things down. It was incredible being able to see statues and monuments of people that I’ve read about in history books like El Cid and Carlos I von Habsburg. It was really cool seeing a public appreciation for history that I don’t really feel like we have a lot of in the United States.

The Camino was one of the greatest things once it was over. It gave a great feeling of accomplishment once it was over and a great feeling of relief as well. Once the six day trip from Sarria to Santiago was over it gave a chance to really appreciate the environment around me. Small, quite villages are littered all over the Camino de Santiago and beyond to Finisterre. They were spread out everywhere really and they were all amazing. Places that looked like they had been there for a 1000 years with small updates every so often. Things like this is what makes Spain a beautiful country that I look forward to revisiting in the future.