Day 23: Forresters Make Trek to Monserrate

View photos from Monserrate Trip by clicking here: Photos from Monserrate Trip.



Seconds after hailing a taxi we were en route to Monserrate and witnessing the inner-workings of Colombia's capital city through the side windows of our cab.

The skies were clear and the sun was out. Our reservations about taking Daniel on a day trip were finally gone.

Bogota's population is 7.4 million; with many more people coming into the city daily for basic needs, work and other activities. The city has the critical mass so people appear as an ant colony; multiple ants popping out of different holes and traveling down pathways on various missions. It's a city of activity. One of the best places to get the scope of the city is from the peak of Monserrate, a mountain that dominates central and southern Bogota and peaks at 10,314 feet above sea level.

Monserrate is a special attraction for the capital city. At its peak sits a 17th century church devoted to "El Senor Caido" or The Fallen Lord. The church is a pilgrim destination for people from around the world. The church is surrounded by restaurants, local artisans selling souvenirs and gardens.

Locals say if you bring your boyfriend or girlfriend to Monserrate, then either you will break up soon after or the person is the one you're meant to marry.

As we drove toward the mountain, Shakira sang Rabiosa from the taxi radio. Various tiendas were a blur. Auto mechanic shops. Plastic surgery clinics. Offices. Numerous locally-owned restaurants and small grocery stores. On the sidewalk, individuals selling empanadas, arepas and fresh squeezed juices sat waiting for their next customers.

We passed several pedestrian bridges overhead. The bridges zig-zag from one side of the road to the middle where pick-up and drop-off points for the city's mass transit system, Transmilenio, wait for them. The bright red buses have a dedicated lane to move thousands of people a day efficiently. There is a constant file of people coming and going from Transmilenio like ants filing to and from the colony.

When we got to La Circunvalar street we began our ascent to Monserrate. La Circunvalar snakes around the foot of the mountain from north to south. The small hodge-podge of local shops slowly transforms into residential towers. Small avenues going back to the city's heart are narrow and steep.

It becomes clear the residential area is high-end. In fact, it’s one of the more exclusive sections of the city with great views of Bogota below. Families who live here are wealthy enough to afford owning original paintings from Colombian artist Fernando Botero. We pass by Colegio Nueva Granada, a private school for Bogota's elite.

"Look at all of those bodyguards waiting outside the gate," says Claudia. "This is a really high-end school. The children have bodyguards. The fathers have bodyguards and the wives have bodyguards."

"This is where the president's kids go to school and they arrive on helicopter," she adds.

Within a few minutes, the residential towers begin to disappear behind us and we are surrounded by an obviously poorer area. Buildings made of worn-out brick have clothes hanging from windows and on clothes lines outside. Portions of the buildings expose the skeletal structure supporting the building.

People can be seen in the open grass areas. It's unclear if they are workers taking a break from the various road projects, or if they are so poor they don't have a house. Both are there, we just can't tell which one is which.

The desperately poor and opulently wealthy live very close to each other. It's hard for the people who have everything to ignore the people who have nothing.

Finally we arrive at the foot of Monserrate after a 40 minute taxi ride. The peak can be accessed by train, cable car or foot. If you take the footpath then you're at risk of one of the poor people robbing you. Despite the risk, many people ascend the mountain on their knees praying for something specific during Easter week.

We took the cable car.

At the top, the view of Bogota is very impressive. The entire city has been developed to support its population density. The buildings are developed so close to each other that it's hard to tell them apart. Cars are barely visible and people have completely melted into the urban landscape.

The Catholic Church perched on top of Monserrate is best known for El Senor Caido, or The Fallen Lord. Where a cross or representation of Christ on the cross would normally be in the sanctuary there is a statue depicted the moment Christ collapsed with the cross en route to Calvary.

We took several photos of Daniel with either Claudia or I and Bogota in the background. We were able to take a few photos together thanks to a couple from Bogota. Daniel enjoyed a bottle while we took in the scenery.

While we were showing Daniel the city below, he put his hands to each side of his head as though he couldn't comprehend how large his city was.


We visited the artisan shops. They were small 100 square feet tiendas with locals inviting us inside as we walked by. One shop caught our attention. Daniel was looking for presents for his friends in the United States.

The owner would quote a price per item. "Thirteen thousand pesos, but for you I'll sell them for $10,000 pesos," the owner said with a smile. "But don't tell anyone."

"Eight thousand pesos," offered Claudia. "I'm going to buy five or six of them."

The owner paused to think about the potential sale.

"Okay," he said, "But don't tell anyone."

"It's a secret between you, us and God," I joked.

After a couple of hours enjoying the mountain top and iglesia, we headed back home. It was special to take Daniel. Even though he didn't understand what he saw, we have pictures and one day we will show them and explain where he came from.

Day 22: Progress Being Made on All Fronts

We have seen great progress with Daniel during the past two days.

He has slept the entire evening for the past two days. This is a significant improvement from the past several days. We are trying to establish a routine and put him to bed at 8:30 p.m. He has woken up at 7 a.m. the past two days in a good mood and not woken up during the night at all. As I write this, I hope I'm not jinxing us for tonight!

Daniel is also feeling better. He still has a cough and a little bit of congestion. It is much better than last week though.

He plays with each of us. Today he sought me out a lot! It was great to look down and see him climbing up my leg several times. Most of his moody outbursts are simply normal for a child his age. On the other hand, he occassionally has a preference still for Claudia. This is normal for a child recently adopted. They are experiencing a lot of changes in their lives and many children only have the ability to "open up" or connect with one person at a time.

After talking with our social worker in Nashville, we have noticed a few behaviours that could be him grieving the loss of his foster mother and best friend. We noticed he moves around a lot while sleeping. Many children don't sleep well and their grief is manifested in light sleeping or tossing and turning.

We still don't have a return date yet but hope to know something next week. Our attorney needs about two weeks after our Integration Meeting (which was held 6/9) to do several legal "things" for our case. We still hope to be home first of July.

We were hoping to visit Monserrate, a huge mountain that dominates the city's landscape. There is a beautiful Catholic church on top of the mountain known for having one of the few, if not only, statues of Christ at the moment he collapsed carrying the cross. In fact, the city lays along the bottom of a few tall mountain tops that are visible from almost anywhere in the city. Click here to learn more about Monserrate: Information about Monserrate.

Unforutnately, the weather didn't cooperate with us because it was raining some during the day. Hopefully we can visit it tomorrow.

Adios!

Day 21: Looking for Positive Signs

Occasionally it is hard to be positive when you don't know exactly what signs to look for.

We are 95 percent positive every day, but there are little things that stick in the back of our minds and occasionally build up. Our attachment with Daniel, or sometimes the lack thereof, and his persistent congestion and cough are sources of frustration.

We've not had very many good night sleeps since Encuentro Day. That has been somewhat expected. Daniel wakes up crying, sometimes a lot, during the night. Ninety percent of the time we believe it is because he is sick. Sometimes we feel as though he may be grieving the loss of his foster mother and best friend, who was adopted the same week as Daniel.

The hard thing is we can't really tell the difference. It's just too early to tell.

Last night was somewhat of a low point. Daniel constantly wanted to be with Claudia. He only wanted to be with me when she was within eyesight. If she wasn't, then he crawled to find her. He also threw up his milk. He cried on and off until four o'clock in the morning.

Each day we give him medicine using an inhaler and mask, and use saline solution and a suction bulb to help his breathing. In order to do both, we have to restrain him. He pretty much melts down every time. I feel like he hates me afterward. He slaps my hands away and wails. Only Claudia can console him.

Depending on what you read or believe, he may or may not be attaching to either one of us. What we see as attachment to Claudia may just be his survival skills. You know, don't bite the hand that feeds you. This is certainly a process. We're 11 months behind most parents regarding attachment. Our bond is still in the beginning stages. We remind ourselves of that daily.

Despite a sleepless night, we woke up Sunday and hung around the house. Claudia and I spoke about some of our concerns. We hugged. We cried. And when Daniel woke up, we put him in the stroller and went to Santa Fe Mall.

While there, Daniel played on the Caterpillar play set again with a bunch of other children. He was in heaven. He crawled in circles around the other children. He also had Chinese Rice for the first time and apparently it's a winner. He wolfed down several spoonfuls. We're trying out new foods with him because we believe he is getting a little tired of soups.

During the evening, he let me feed him almost an entire grilled cheese sandwich; another favorite. He played with me without trying to hunt down Claudia. He has started to "blow kisses" by moving his hand from his mouth to the targeted person; just not consistently. We've been working on that for a couple of days. We think he called me "Papa," also. Claudia fed him one of his favorite fruits. When bedtime arrived, Claudia was able to lay him down in his crib effortlessly.

Overall, it was a great day with Daniel. We continue to be hopeful and pray for a successful transition and attachment with our son. We continue looking for positive signs each day that indicate Daniel thinks of us as parents. This is our prayer. Please keep us in yours.

In Him,
Claudia, Brian and Daniel