The big news today is that we will be finalizing the adoption tomorrow morning at 9:30 AM central time! The final step will be traveling to the court and signing the “sentencia,” which is the final decree stating that Cameron is ours forever! We are so excited! Everything has gone so smoothly and things should proceed fairly rapidly from this point on…
…it just started raining…I love to hear the rain bouncing off the leaves of all these tropical trees, it is so soothing…
…anyway, we have to get copies of Cameron’s old and new birth certificate, plus his Colombian passport before we can go to Bogota to get his visa. It will take a day for the lawyer to drive to Buga, where Cameron was born, to get these documents. Once we have those, it will only take a couple of hours to get his passport. Then we will be ready to fly back to Bogota. Once in Bogota we will have to visit the doctor, the ICBF Headquarters, and then the US Embassy for the visa. If all goes well, we should be flying home the end of next week.
Living at the Hotel Pension Stein for the past couple of weeks has been amazing! If we ever return to Cali in the future, which we certainly plan to do, we will be staying here. Whether for business, pleasure, or adoption, I can’t imagine wanting to be any place else. The staff is wonderful, the general areas are well maintained, the rooms are clean, the food is incredible, and the atmosphere is perfect!
From the moment you arrive and climb the stone stairway to the main entrance, you sense that this is a special place. The owner and Swiss Consulate, Enrique Frei, is a wonderful man who goes out of his way to make your stay pleasant. Adopting families seem to be a special passion for him as every need is anticipated and met. Cribs and baby bath tubs are provided in your room according to your needs. Wireless Internet is provided to keep you in contact with family and friends. Three meals a day are carefully planned and served with any special dietary considerations that you might have. Baby food, juice, fruit, soda, coffee, and water (both hot and cold) are provided 24 hours a day. Bottle sterlization and laundry is taken care of by the staff here, and all of it at an incredibly affordable price!
Needless, to say, we have fallen in love with the Hotel Pension Stein and are very grateful to Enrique and the staff for how well they have been taking care of us. Here are some pictures from our stay so far.
Day 16 Photos
Day 16 Videos
A look from the balcony of our room. Toward the end of the video you can see the dining room down to the right and the little gym off to the left.
