Today we started off by visiting the beautiful Hospital Gorliz, a rehabilitation-focused hospital located directly on the beach of the Bay of Biscay. This hospital is everything I wish American hospitals would have more of. Every single member of the staff is devoted to treating not only the patient’s illness or condition but also their feelings and their families. They recognize that a holistic approach to medicine does nothing but benefit the patients, as can be recognize by their location. During the hospitals creation, it was originally a children’s hospital and the nurses would often bring the children outside to the sea to assist in their healing. The hospital showed great area of innovation and self-sustainability. Many people would consider their technology ‘outdated’, but the staff all agree it is what is best for their patients; however, the hospital does feature various new, high-tech devices including exoskeletons that allow stroke patients to practice walking when they otherwise couldn’t and the Oreka-Balance, as previously mentioned. The nurse that gave my group our tour was the single most compassionate person I have ever met. She took extreme care to show us absolutely every aspect of the hospital and greatly inspired me in the process.

Following our hospital visit, we walked along the coast to Plentzia and had a great lunch. We then took the metro train back to Bilbao which was a great experience. The train was extremely smooth, quick, and efficient. After we got back to Bilbao, we had our welcome dinner as a group! We had various Spanish appetizers and entrees, but things got a little strange when it came to dessert… A few of our group members ordered cheesecake, myself included, and shortly after it was delivered, it was taken away! It’s disappearance was short lived, thankfully, and we ended the night with our delicious desserts.