Since I just posted our pics from last week, I though I'd catch you up on the rest of the week. On Thursday, we headed out to Monserrate. Located atop a mountain just east of downtown Bogota, Monserrate is an icon of Bogota's religous culture. It's a pilgrimage site and shrine - the original church was built in the 17th century. I posted a few photos we took of the church in our Week 5 album. It was too cloudy to get any good pictures of the city. The website actually has great photos on it. If you don't want to walk the pilgrimage route from the base of the mountain, you can take a funicular (train) and teleferico (cable railway) to get up and down the 500 meters elevation change. We thought Esteban would enjoy the transportation options and the view. Unfortunately, the teleferico was closed for repairs on Thursday. Esteban had a great theological observation as we were looking at some of the Stations of the Cross. He said, repeating some of what we'd just told him, "There's Jesus on the cross, so he wouldn't fall down again." From a 3 year old. If you're going, note that it's not at all stroller-friendly. Also, it was already fully decorated for Christmas - on the 5th of November (no Thanksgiving holiday to wait for here)!
On Friday we headed out to Parque Simon Bolivar, which is located in central Bogota and is about the size of Central Park in NYC. It has a lake (which has watersports and a beach, in warmer times of year) with walking paths and MANY playgrounds around it. That's the part we explored: the playgrounds and the walking path around the lake (~2.5 km). It also has an event arena (hosting a military rally for ~2000 that day), and is home to the Children's Museum and an Olympic quality aquatic center, among other things.
To finish our outing, we headed across the street to see the Virgilio Barco Public Library. The library is relatively new and a beautiful public building. The kids were sleeping in the stroller, so we were limited in where we could go in the building.
Saturday we hung out around the apartment. It was nice enough to set out for a walk in the morning but by the time we got to our favorite bakery (about 4 blocks away) it was starting to rain. We had a leisurely time in the bakery and then headed back home. Good naps for the kids on rainy afternoons!
Sunday we got all dressed up and went to church! We went to the Episcopal Cathedral of Saint Paul for their usual 11:00am service. When I was here in 2008, we attended there twice, and the service was much as I remembered. They have a music group who leads the music, and Bishop Francisco Jose Duque-Gomez officiated, assisted by the Dean of the Cathedral. The Episcopal Diocese of Colombia is part of The Episcopal Church (which includes the US, the Virgin Islands, Taiwan, parts of Latin America and churches in Europe). Both kids were reasonably well behaved through church, and they both got blessings from the bishop. We visited briefly with the bishop before we headed out to walk some on the Cyclovia. We hadn't really planned to walk, but the kids needed to nap. It was a beautiful sunny day, and we ended up walking 40 blocks to Park 93. At the park we all had lunch and then Esteban played some before we hailed a cab home. My mom and I had a fabulous lunch (while the kids slept) at a restaurant called Gato Negro - we agreed that it would be a great place for live music in the evening (maybe the next time we're in Bogota with no kids - hah!) and the mixed drinks are sufficient for one to satisfy! Forgot to take a photo of us all in our Sunday best - bummer.
Monday - that was just yesterday - was another day close to home: park, bakery, walk, naps, etc. We got the news about our court (see my earlier post) in the late afternoon. And today is following closely on yesterday's pattern: I got up not feeling great and Isabella has been cranky for some reason (teething?) so we've spent the day around home.
Sorry to hear about the judge. We will pray for her speedy recover, and for a speedy sentencia!! Thinking of you often!
ReplyDeleteNice to hear you found a path to the local E-Church. I am sure your time in Colombia will be over too soon, and you will long for empanadas and the hospitality of your children's homeland. Enjoy the time you have, be there now as tomorrow will arrive before you can imagine.
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