Spain – From the royal riches of Madrid to the Phoenician port of Cádiz and the beautiful mountain town of Alárcon in Don Quixote’s La Mancha, the beauty and learning was endless.
But what a surprise to learn all the ways in which it contributed to the development of freedom!
It’s hard to describe the impact I feel when I see, myself first-hand, the places where important events took place. The result is indelible and fuses the learning with the concrete experience, and this happened throughout our trip.
We saw the rooms at the University of Salamanca where world-changing thinkers taught, such as Juan de Mariana and Francisco de Vitoria who held the monarch and the Catholic church to account and universalized the concept of rights.
And to see replicas of the ships Columbus led to the New World was astonishing. They were tiny – hardly as big as many yachts on Lake Michigan today! Truly, that crew went on the Star Trek voyage of the day, into the unknown vast and uncharted ocean barely able to fit enough provisions in their vessels.
As on our other trips, we learned the Romans were everywhere; busy bees building bridges, aqueducts, ports and founding cities throughout Spain. Many structures still standing, forming part of the remarkable architectural beauty of the country.
The intellectual part of our journey included a play by Lope de Vega about the rebellion against a tyrannical master in 16th century small village. We were able to visit this tiny place that bravely countered brutal rulers, Fuente Obejuna, where they reenact the play every year!
Spain was the “rampart” of Europe, holding off the Muslims for hundreds of years from the rest of Europe and then reconquering lost territory. This conflict made me understand why the Spanish and Hispanics are often the most Catholic of Catholics – and the amount of wealth they devoted to their churches testified to that.
Throughout, we learned about the impact Jewry had on the culture of Spain. On the one hand, as non-believers under both the Muslims and the Christians, Jews were not allowed to own farms, which drove them to urban centers where their experience as traders made them valuable to the monarchs and the sultans. Because of trade, they excelled in mathematics and accounting, writing, and multi-lingual transactions. They became trusted consultants.
Their persecution and expulsion from Spain was despotic and we saw that Spain has attempted to make amends for the destructive way they treated the Jews by honoring them in city after city with plaques, statues, museums, and highlighting the Jewish quarters everywhere.
The architecture in all the cities was gorgeous, with huge cathedrals or mosques turned into cathedrals in every one. The people of medieval and early Renaissance times have left us astounding art to enjoy…but I couldn’t help thinking about the poverty of the people during those times and all the wealth poured into these places. I imagine it gave them soaring inspiration.
One of the most surprising experiences was Gibraltar – the farthest south reach in Europe guarding the straits between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic, a British protectorate. It’s hard to describe the majesty of the views from atop that rock peering over to Africa ten miles away!
I can’t forget to mention the lovely camaraderie we enjoyed among our travelers, who ranged in age from 17 to their 80’s and location from the American West to Uganda. We had great fun sight seeing, talking, shopping, eating, going to the beach together – and thoroughly discussing such writers as Ortega y Gasset and Cervantes. We discussed in our seminars and then on the bus rides from place to place, chewing over all that we saw and learned. A remarkable experience with exceptionally active-minded people!
Below is commentary from some of our travelers.
“I enjoyed visiting the various cathedrals the most, simply due to my fascination with how old they are relative to any building in the United States, and the fact that they were built by hand over such long periods of time (80+ years in some cases). This was an unexpected enjoyment for me on this trip that I wasn’t anticipating as a highlight of my visit.”
“I had no knowledge or understanding of Spain’s [significant] contribution to innovation or even freedom except football.”
“I most enjoyed the visit to Gibraltar because I really had no idea what it was like.”
“Highly recommend the trip because you learn while having fun experiences and company.”
“I think the best aspect for me was the coordination of the seminars with what we were doing / hearing. I really liked that a lot.”
“This trip makes international travel much less intimidating, given the presence of a larger group and knowledgeable tour guides who act as a cultural medium.”
“This trip involved learning about the culture and history at a deeper level than the usual tour.”
Scholarship recipients:
Maddux McClymonds, recent high school graduate from Twin Falls, Idaho, going to Emory University in the fall and 2025 Great Connections attendee:
“Through this trip, I have broadened my scope of the world, traveling abroad for the first time, while having the chance to travel alongside well-established individuals from whom I have received useful insight in regard to their areas of expertise. I’ve witnessed an entirely new culture and way of being here in Spain.
Nora Gibes, recent PhD graduate in Biochemistry and multi-year attendee to The Great Connections:
“Seeing so many important and beautiful sites in Spain while learning about the country’s history was an incredible experience, it gave me a new perspective o the course of history that brought us to where we are today.”
John Mugabi, Founder, Director of Action for Liberty and Economic Development (ALED) in Uganda:
“Your generous support has given me a valuable opportunity to learn how philosophical ideas about human rights, commerce, and governments emerged from real historical circumstances and continue to influence present society. I was encouraged to analuze competing political and economical ideas rather than accepting them as they are presented. I will use the knowledge to inspire the young generations in Uganda.
