Day 27: Visa - CHECK!

What a long, fun-filled and productive day we had! It started early with Shane and Sam being picked up at 6:40 am for Sam's US Visa appointment. Before the appointment, they stopped to get Sam's visa photos taken. Then they headed to the US Embassy for their 7:30 am appointment. By 9:00 am, they were done and on their way back to the apartment. We were told the visa would likely be ready for pickup tomorrow. This is the last step in the adoption process. Once we have his visa, we are cleared to head home!

The rest of us were waiting outside our apartment building for their arrival. We had a day full of sightseeing planned. We loaded up our crew and ventured off to our first stop - Mount Monserrate. Mount Monserrate is over 10,000 feet high and overlooks Bogota. It has amazing views from every angle. While you can travel up on foot, most tourists take the train or cable car. We loaded up on the train for our ride up the mountain. I was carrying Sam and Shane was carrying Aria. But Sam does not like the baby carrier one bit so he was getting quite antsy while we waited to board the train.

We reached the top of the mountain and started the trek on foot up a steep incline. Along the path is an outdoor Stations of the Cross. 

The grounds are gorgeous with well manicured trees and flowers everywhere. It was quite foggy with a substantial amount of mist visibly rolling into view.

At the peak of the path is a church with views overlooking Bogota.

By this point, Sam was done being contained, so Shane and I swapped kids. He carried Sam in his arms while I loaded up Aria into the baby carrier. We then set off to explore the church.

We grabbed a quick snack afterwards and got caught in a Bogota drizzle. Luckily, we don't mind a light sprinkle. Afterwards we headed up the hill again to the souvenir shops. The souvenir area has exploded since I had last been here with shop after shop followed by numerous restaurants. Owen took off ahead of us and came back declaring that we must make the trek all the way to the end of the pathway to see the mules. So we walked and walked and finally got to the end. And yes, there were indeed mules being loaded up with large orange canisters. However, none of us thought the walk was worth the sight, especially when you are hauling around a large toddler strapped to your waist. We finished up our shopping and found a substantial number of items to purchase. Rose and Kate were decked out in their new Colombian items complete with caps, purses, and monkeys!

The train wasn't operating, so we opted to take the cable car back down the mountain. Owen, Rose and Kate did not think that was a good idea, but we assured them that we've ridden on it several times before.

Once back down to the street level, we found our driver. Samuel's visa was ready and he had already picked it up! We are officially done with adoption related appointments and can spend the rest of our week enjoying Bogota!

It was well past lunch time so we headed to the La Candelaria area to grab a bite to eat. Our driver dropped us off on the street, and we made our way to the restaurant he had recommended - La Puerta de la Catedral. We rolled into the restaurant with our double stroller loaded with our two youngest. The host picked up the front of the stroller with Shane carrying the rear and up they went carrying it an entire flight of stairs. To say I was a bit panicked is an understatement. Of course the two kids riding in it thought it was a blast. We had a delicious meal so I was glad we made the uncomfortable climb, but for the ride back down, I carried Aria to lighten the load while Sam enjoyed a wild ride back down the steps while squealing with glee.

During lunch, Kate was extremely focused on coloring the kids menu. We even had to give her some extra time once everyone was done eating to finish her project. She was quite proud of it!

We then strolled a couple blocks down the road to Plaza de Bolivar. There are 4 large buildings surrounding the plaza - the National Capital, the Palace of Justice, the Cathedral, and the Lievano Palace. They are very impressive buildings, but unfortunately two of them were under repair during our visit. 

The kids weren't too impressed with the architecture, but Owen, Rose and Kate were impressed with the massive amount of pigeons. And they were even more thrilled to discover people selling food to feed the pigeons. 

Owen had dozens of pigeons landing on his arms and then one plopped right onto his head!

After the pigeon food ran out, we finally convinced them to head back to our apartment. As we walked away, Owen said the pigeons were the highlight of his trip and requested to come back once again. We shall see if time permits.

We rolled back into our apartment after 5:00 pm. Since we had just eaten a very late lunch, we decided ice cream at Crepes and Waffles would hit the spot. We walked down to the ice cream shop next to Parque 93 and everyone selected their flavors, then we made our way back to the park to enjoy our yummy treats.

We started the walk home when Rose remembered that her and Kate had left their new purses and caps at the ice cream shop! Shane ran back to get them hoping they were still there while the rest of us continued on our way. Thankfully he caught up a bit later with all their treasures.

Tonight my mom headed home on a red-eye flight. We will sure miss her! She was a huge help with the kids, laundry, dishes, you name it! The rest of us will remain until our flight home on Saturday. We have lots more fun in store for the remainder of the week.