Page 35 - 2020 ISAKOS Newsletter Volume I

Fourth Stop: Bogota, Colombia
We arrived in Bogota late Tuesday evening and Dr. Manuel Mosquera received us at the airport and took us out for dinner at a trendy restaurant near our hotel. Dr. Mosquera has a great sense of humor, and I took an immediate liking to him.
Early the next morning, we headed to Clinica Reina Sofia and made some presentations before observing surgery with Dr. Luis Alfredo Moreno. Next, we joined our host, Fabio Restrepo, as well as other members of ACCART at a nice meeting that was held in our honor, where we made presentations and engaged in interesting discussions.
Later in the day, we enjoyed an amazing visit to a world- class Colombian wonder: the Zipaquira Salt Cathedral, a majestic cathedral built 180 m underground inside the depths of the world’s largest salt rock reserve. During our visit, we marveled at the engineering prowess while taking an extraordinary journey through tunnels and vaults of enormous sizes.
During our tour of the city, we also had the opportunity to visit the Botero museum. Although I had never heard of Fernando Botero, I recognized his highly distinctive paintings of oversized characters, featuring the chubby faces and chubby animals that are his trademark. I was amazed that the famous artist had donated these paintings, worth millions, to the museum. Being an art lover myself, I was in a state of artistic euphoria.
Another memorable stop was the neighborhood of La Candelaria at the center of Bogota, where we tasted traditional Colombian confections as we walked through the historical colonial building and neoclassical palaces. The scenery was absolutely breath-taking.
On our third day in Bogota, we visited the posh hospital, Clinica Los Nogales, where we joined Dr. Paula Andrea Sarmiento in theater and observed her performing an ACL reconstruction with use of a BPB graft. Her technique is truly impressive, and we carefully noted her tricks and tips for getting the job done.
On our last night in Bogota, we dined at Andres Carne de Res, a restaurant that is famous for its fun atmosphere, stellar Colombian food, and all-night alcohol-fueled benders. The experience exceeded my expectations, and we all enjoyed the opportunity to unwind at this awesome location. There wasn’t a single one of us who didn’t get on the dance floor, where we danced to the invigorating sounds of popular Colombian music. Indeed, our stay in Bogota was exhilarating till the end. I couldn’t think of a better way to end the extremely rewarding life-changing experience that we all shared during the ISAKOS Traveling Fellowship.
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ISAKOS NEWSLETTER 2020: VOLUME I 33