What comes next after Sentencia Day

Esteban this morning, at his happiest

Yesterday (Thursday) was the day after Sentencia Day, and it was still pretty full. In the morning we went to the Botanical Garden here in Bogota. The garden is nicely paved (good for strollers) and has wonderful signage about the different climates and flora of Colombia. It also has a very nice greenhouse for the tropical climates. We had a nice long walk, and just enjoyed the pretty flowers.

A couple of guys with some palm trees

3 Fitzgibbons and 1 Goulet

A tribute to Peter's wife Tanya

Esteban's favorite magnolia tree

In the afternoon I went back to pick up Esteban's visa from the US Embassy. One would think that with an appointment it would be a simple thing. Not so. When we got there, the guard shack at the entrance appeared closed for the day. Helena persisted with knocking and they finally raised the blinds to see my appointment card, and then let us through. When I arrived at the window to pick up the visa, no one was there. When the guy did arrive, he gave me the visa to check the information for accuracy and there were two mistakes! Back inside he goes, and I sit down for an indeterminate wait. Only about 20 minutes, and he returns with the corrected visa. Phew!

One more necessary stop today--the Delta office to change our tickets! Since the office is a healthy 40 minute walk from the Halifax, I collect Esteban, my brothers, Jody and Sara and we set out to change our tickets. This turns out to be the easiest part of the entire process here! Since I already have tickets for both of us and just want to change our flights to Monday, it takes about 5 minutes at the counter. We'll be flying to Atlanta on the same flight with my brothers on Monday morning!

Today has been a quiet day. Esteban's naps have been disrupted for the past few days, so it seemed prudent for him to have a quiet day on a regular schedule. Peter and Patrick have taken off today to explore a little more of Bogota--the old city and maybe Monserrate. Tomorrow we're headed for the Salt Cathedral.

Latest photos (from Sentencia Day, Botanical Garden, and hanging out with Peter and Patrick) on Snapfish.

I can hardly believe we're getting ready to head home. It will be 7 weeks exactly that I have been in Colombia when I leave. It was certainly slow at times, and lonely and frustrating. Now we're heading home to start the rest of our life as a family!