A city between lakes and rivers

The city of Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela, is characterized by the presence of abundant water. Large rivers like the Orinoco and, especially, the Caroní practically envelop much of the city. Everywhere you go, you'll find small beaches or rivers, some suitable for swimming and others not recommended for some reason. However, it is undoubtedly a city that also rose from the force of its waters, due to the location of the Macagua Dam, which supplies electricity to the city and even almost the entire country.

On the other hand, we can mention the presence of large natural parks such as La Llovizna, Cachamay, and Leofling. The latter is the one I highlight most in this post. It features a large number of lakes. Although most of these lakes are artificial, due to the process that many decades ago required channeling water during the construction of the Macagua Dam. Of course, over many years, nature itself has taken over this entire area, creating abundant plant and animal life, where many can come to fish. These seasons are especially good for fishing due to the constant rains.

Part of Leofling Park, from what I know, consists of two large lakes, in addition to large rapids of the Caroní River, which in turn connects to other neighboring parks such as Cachamay and La Llovizna. These lakes also contain other well-known lakes, such as Lake Danto or Lake Las Toninas. I can talk more about these lakes during a future visit, where they are frequented by visitors and tourists. However, the lakes in Leofling Park are not as well-known and are limited to local or local fishermen, but in themselves, they seem like excellent places to spend the night after an extensive excursion in the park.

Aside from what I said before, throughout the city there are many lakes that you may not know about, we can mention some lakes that are located a little more than 20 minutes from the city, which is known as Piedra El Elefante, which apart from being a large stone in the shape of an elephant, its surroundings are surrounded by many beautiful lakes, although I do not know if these lakes are open all year round or just during the rainy season, but it is definitely a place that I must visit at some point in my life. While I will only make very occasional tours of Leofling Park, because it is the closest to my house and because from there I can access other parks, the best-known path that everyone knows is the one that connects it with Cachamay Park, while on the other hand I have not yet been able to reach La Llovizna Park on foot, only managing to be on Cachamay Island, which is a large jungle expanse that connects the 3 existing parks in the area. Of course, I hope to accomplish this feat for myself, but I must wait until the rainy season is over, as there will be better roads without so much scrub, and of course, there's no risk of reaching places where the river water levels are higher than normal. Meanwhile, I'll only be visiting certain areas with better access to the parks.

All photographs are mine.