Guri dam

Guri dam

Guri dam, generator of electricity for an important portion of Venezuela, was inaugurated in 1968 after long years of construction. In that same year, sometime before the inauguration, as water level began to rise, a rescue operation of animals living in the islands and coasts of the lake being formed was carried out.

During a couple of months everything was movement. The location activity and of rescue of the animals was feverish. Groups of native Indians worked in the animal capture and relocation operations. They used long orange colored (Indian crafted) curiaras, with potent outboard motors and endowed with enough bags to transport the animals to safe grounds.

The usefulness of the operation was due to the speed to which the water level would rise. Many animals died in the odyssey; many survived and found new home. Those who participated in one-way or another did what our conscience toward the nature dictated. The impact of the dam was important and exemplary.

Years later, in a second session of level rise, a different operation was made, because the filling speed was slower. Nowadays, the sunset in these places transmit stillness, peace, tranquility and serenity, when the lights are reflected in the surface of a corner of the great lake and bring us thirty year-old memoirs.