where ten million people stop to enjoy the day, walk and ride bikes – spend time with their families.  My friends are off flying kites today.  How old were you when you last flew a kite?  (I know I was about ten years old – and had some keen idea about combining it with my skateboard.  Needless to say – it didn’t go well.)  That’s Bogotá in a nutshell – where traditional so-called ‘small town’ values like Sunday afternoons with family is enmeshed with big city sophistication.

El Dorado Airport,  Avianca terminal –

waiting for my plane to Cartagena.  Leaving Bogotá always breaks my heart just a little – all of Colombia has this effect, but particularly Bogotá.  Colombia is a country looking forward, full of hope and opportunities for the future.  Some of my  fellow American friends here liken it to The United States in the early 80’s kind of feel – and that’s very true.  You don’t realize how much that feeling is now missing in the United States until you come here.  The daily weight of inflation, unemployment and our continuing recession drag down on all of us so deeply that we miss the small pleasures all around us.

But Bogotá, and Bogotanos still have that zest for living – with continuing economic growth, and expanding financial opportunities.  Everywhere you turn – there is expansion, improvement and new ventures being created.  It’s an exciting time to be in Bogotá.  The medical industry here in no way exempt from all of this – several hospitals unveiling new programs, expansion plans and new technologies.  It’s refreshing to see after several years of watching continuous downturns, program closures and economic hurt at home.

Of course, as a very large city, Bogotá struggles with many of the same problems as its global counterparts – poverty, inequity, and other social problems remain commonplace.  But for the medical tourist – and medical writers like myself – it remains an interesting and fascinating place for opportunities for state-of-the-art health services and medical care.