There comes a time in every person's life when they are faced with a momentous and difficult decision. What career should I pursue? Am I ready to have children? Can I still be friends with UNC fans? Well for me one of those times has arrived.
I like to go for a morning run about as much as the next person. Maybe a little more. And like most people, the available settings I have for a run greatly affects my enthusiasm for embarking on one. Smooth path around a nice lake with a good view? Sign me up. On a treadmill with the TV showing "Biggest Loser"? I'll sleep in. Well, I may have stumbled upon two of the greatest morning run spots in the Western Hemisphere, nay the world (spoken in my best James Lipton voice).
Standing in one corner is the undisputed king of Caracas parks, the
Parque del Este. Huge, safe, with what must be miles of trails, it has lots of basketball courts and space for soccer games, boasts incomparable people-watching opportunities, and has delicious
arepas stands at its entrance. Plus it has a zoo. Yes, a zoo. But it is located on the eastern edge of the city and is kind of a hike to reach.
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| Jaguar, in the Parque del Este. Much scarier than a cheetah |
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| Unknown Venezuelan monkeys |
In the other corner stands the underdog, the vastly under-appreciated
Parque Los Caobos.
Los Caobos is much smaller than the
Parque del Este and I have been warned that it is not entirely safe, though I have found no evidence of that. But it is centrally located, much nearer to my apartment, and has a nice trail about a mile around. It boasts a state of the art version of that uniquely Venezuelan specialty - the outdoor gym. And it has dinosaurs. Read that again. What better motivation is there to run than to escape, or go look at, the fearsome tyrannosaurus rex?
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| Where else would you work out? |
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| Awesome. |
When you come right down to it, the
Parque del Este Zoo vs.
Parque Los Caobos Dinosaurs is the Me vs. Cheetah of running location debates. Honestly I'm stumped. So if anyone has any words of wisdom to share, please leave a comment or write me an email. I need help.
Well Matt if you ask me I would have to say that no run is ever too long when there is a Pussy at the end of it... So I would choose the ZOO. Miss you buddy!
ReplyDeleteCoach Delk
I just died. I didn't even have to read this entry to know exactly what your dilemma was. This is my solution. Bribe someone to let the cheetah out from the zoo for one day, then you will never ever have to question where you should run. It's the great debate of cheetah v. dinosaur. In a battle between cheetah v. dinosaur - not unlike the great debate of bullshark v. hippo - as much as it pains me to say it, the underdog does not win. The underdog, in one instance the bullshark, and in the other instance... the cheetah. I'm sorry to say it. So unless something remarkable tips the scales... like the cheetah being let loose to run freely alongside you (perhaps ready for a dual), I think the dinosaur park wins.
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