SUNDAY IN THE EAST PARK
Last Sunday I was in one of those moments when I need to be with myself, get away from the groups, the crowds, the problems and just breathe. So without thinking too much I grabbed my purse and rushed to the biggest and most beautiful park in my city, East Park. Because there, surrounded by nature, in solitude, I feel peace. And I had a wonderful day with myself. Join me to see the spaces I visited.
EAST PARK
First let me tell you a few words about East Park, Venezuela's largest park. It has an extension of 64 hectares. It was an International project designed by brazilian landscape architect Roberto Burle Marx with Fernando Tábora, british architect John Stoddart and the venezuelan botanist Leandro Aristiguieta. It was inaugurated in 1961, in the spaces of an old hacienda, the San José hacienda, during the presidency of Rómulo Betancourt, so that the inhabitants of the city would have a space for recreation and the enjoyment of nature.
When I arrived last sunday there was a group of people exercising together, as usual on Sunday mornings. I don't join in because the music is too loud and it stuns me. I was looking for peace.
TREES
When the park was built several ecological spaces were designed, each with different species of trees: The Crasuletum or Xerophytic Garden, The hydrophilic or aquatic plant garden, and The Forest. Recently, the rainy season began in my country and green spaces are really beautiful. Some trees have blossomed. The grass is green and shiny. It’s a really beautiful spectacle to behold. Let me show you some photos I took.
mango tree
ANIMALS
In one area of the Eastern park you can see some species of animals in cages or protected areas. Some species have unfortunately died out, but you can still see jaguars, crocodiles, playful monkeys, turtles and birds. And one species I don't visit because I don't like them, the snakes. Let me show you.
Jaguar
venezuelan alligator
free animals
But also throughout the park you can see free animals, mainly birds but also squirrels. At sunrise and at sunset there is an impressive spectacle in the Parque del Este, in the largest artificial lake located in the south, a large number of macaws and other birds begin to fly together. In the hours that I visited the park I could not see the larger birds flying, but when I sat down to rest for a while in front of the small lake located north of the park, I was able to photograph these small birds. I don't like to visit birds in cages, although some are very beautiful, such as toucans.
artificial lake where the macaws fly in flocks at sunset
little birds walking in the park
there are some little animals that I like since I was a child: ants! I enjoy seeing how organized and industrious they are, carrying small leaves on their bodies.
RESTAURANT LAS COROCORAS
There are several places to eat in the park. But the one I like the most is Las Corocoras, which is located in the middle of the park and is surrounded by trees. Last month I read some of my poems there with two friends. There they also have musical concerts and organize conversations about ecological issues. It is a very nice place. When it is full there is a lot of noise and I don't like it. When I was there on Sunday there were few people and I enjoyed it very much.
THE HUMBOLDT PLANETARIUM
After lunch I visited The Humboldt Planetarium, designed by Venezuelan architect Carlos Guinand and built between 1959 and 1961. In the corridors of the building you can read information about astronomy: the solar system, each of the planets that make it up. And also about outstanding astronauts such as Yuri Gagarin, the first human being to orbit outer space around the Earth.
In the projection room, where the 20-meter dome is located, you can see the stars that make up the Milky Way, which can be observed from Caracas. A truly impressive 3D projection.
the large projector that allows you to see the stars in 3D
All photos you see I were taken with the camera of my Infinix HOT 10 cell phone.
I am a Spanish speaker. I wrote this article in English, but I consulted some questions on deepl.com.
