Monday, 06 June 2011 17:44
The Ferris Wheel at Lenin Park
A few days ago, a Cuban friend now living in Toronto asked me with a certain nostalgia in an email if Parque Lenin, Lenin Park, was still conserved and as she remembered it. I must say, her inquiry inspired me to write about the fabulous place in which the last few years has been looking to recover what it always was: A prodigious choice for family relaxation and an ecologically cultured place.
There have to be very few Cubans, no matter the age, who´ve not visited this place at least once. It´s an extraordinary park located to the South, it´s outer perimeter that of the Arroyo Naranjo area.
A quaint, little train constantly runs to the park´s limits, to an area designed for children, equipped all types of carnival rides—a giant Ferris Wheel, carousels, bumper cars, etc.—and tons of restaurants (Las Ruinas, La Faralla, etc.) as well as numerous cafes and snack shops.
Fresh trees, extensive fields with well kept lawns, a fresh-water aquarium, a rodeo for horse fans and areas equipped for barbecues, horses and ponies, flying model airplanes and playing all types of sports, such as soccer and baseball; they also have a swimming complex for a well-deserved refresher. It´s like the old Cuban saying goes, in the park, there is "everything that´s in a pharmacy," for the old pharmacies had it all…
I can´t forget to mention the beautiful and extensive lake—formed from a nearby dam—a frequented area that frankly, is now severely affected by the western part of the country´s drought, which I hope can recover soon from the longed-for rains.
This place is an Eden with possibly only one inconvenience, in that it´s relatively far from the city center. But to Havanians, it doesn´t matter; and we go by the thousands, especially on Saturdays and Sundays, either by public transportation, private vehicles, motorcycles, bikes or walking, so as to let go, refresh and de-stress. Its 760 hectares greet us with charitable amplitude, so that we´re never overwhelmed by all the people, rather calmed.
Details:
100 Street and Cortina de la Presa, Arroyo Naranjo area, Havana.
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