Monserrate

I conquered my fear of heights for today, and was rewarded with a beautiful overview of Bogotá.

Finding a clear day to go to Monserrate is a bit like finding a diamond in the rough. We planned a trip to the mountain once before, and canceled at the last minute because it was too overcast to see anything. Today was a beautiful day to experience such a special place. The church at the top of the mountain was completely decorated for Christmas and it literally felt like we were on the same level as the clouds.

The trip up the mountain was quite an experience. We took a train that was specially built for going up the extremely steep climb.

Julie had no issues going right up to the edge to gaze out over Bogotá, but I was more than happy to hang back a ways and snap pictures from a distance. One step at a time...

The way down was interesting since it was the first time I've ever been in a gondola. I was a bit worried at first stepping into the small box as it swayed back and forth in the air, but once we got going it was no problem at all.

As a side note, we completed our very special mission to find the elusive Colombia arm bands that some Americans are so fond of. Certain other families scoured all of Bogotá for weeks, but who knew you only had to climb a mountain to find them? According to Juan Manuel, they're "not that popular anymore", but it seems as though some folks live in the past. =)