Busy weekend

I am writing this in the midst of a huge thunder/lightning/rain storm, in which we narrowly escaped being caught. For the second day in a row, the morning has been decently nice and there has been a torrential downpour in the afternoon. I shouldn't be too surprised--it IS the rainy season!

It's never too soon to start reading!

We've had a busy weekend. Yesterday we went to Monserrate, a peak overlooking Bogota that has a church on top. The church contains a statue of the Fallen Christ, to which many miracles are attributed. Monserrate is a national pilgrimage site in Colombia--about 20,000 people visit it every Sunday. So, it was good to go on Saturday when it was not as crowded. You get up to the top of the mountain by taking a train up a VERY steep track, and then you come down by funicular. After Monserrate, we ate lunch in a very typical Colombian parilla (grill) restaurant where we were served huge plates of very tasty grilled meat. So good!

We're at Monserrate, elevation 3100m (~10,200 ft)

The sightseeing wasn't actually the highlight yesterday. The most exciting thing that happened was that Esteban rolled over! Before breakfast, even. He rolled from his front to his back. He still hasn't quite figured out how to go the other way, but I'm sure it's coming soon. The photo documentation, along with pics from Monserrate and our Sunday adventure are on Snapfish, which is being typically uncooperative when I want to post a link. I'll put the photo link on tomorrow.

With Grandma Dawn at our break for 'elevensies.'

Today (Sunday) we headed out, walking, for the flea market in Usaquen. It's about 30 blocks north of us, and the walk there took about an hour. Fortunately, on Sundays Bogota closes many main roads to auto traffic and opens them for pedestrians and bicycles. Known as Cyclovia, we really enjoy walking on Sundays because of the reduced pollution. The flea market is a wonderful place to get artisan crafts, and we didn't leave empty-handed.

Other big news is that my brothers Peter and Patrick are coming to join/help me in Bogota in mid-April. Yep, both of them at the same time! I'm really looking forward to seeing them, hanging out with Esteban, and showing them some of Bogota--a city I'm coming to really love.