Exploring the World With Pokemon Go: Lake Como Park
Located in the middle of a massive roundabout created by many neighborhood roads and Bumby Avenue in Orlando Florida sits Lake Como as well as the park that shares its name. Downtown Orlando’s commercial district is just blocks away and Toll Road 408 is even closer. Yet even the cars that use the roundabout to get past the lake do little to disturb the peace.
Pokemon Go brought me here and as usual I refused to keep my face buried in my phone. I learned quickly that this location is without a doubt the best place that I have explored so far to play the game. Let’s talk about why.
The Trail:
Lake Como Park is a circular trail that follows the roundabout while staying far enough from the water to allow for space for vegetation. While not as isolated as some of the other places I have visited, this urban style park has a lot to offer.
Bridges such as this one seamlessly continue the trail while having a minimal impact on the ecosystem. This is a great precaution taken to allow people to come and enjoy what this location has to offer while not causing harm to it. This safe path is perfect for Pokemon Go players who tend to look at their phones longer than we should.
At the time of me exploring the park, there is a Christmas tree at the center of the lake. I saw some ropes tied to the shore on multiple sides and assume that the tree is floating in the center. Its a pretty nifty addition to an already nice park. Sadly the lake is rather large and I could not see the tree well. That goes double for this picture where it is even harder to spot. Its in the very center if you are wondering.
Art Work of the Park:
This pink bunny statue really stood out to me. I figured out quickly it was not a holiday decoration because its the wrong time of year. Instead, I assume it must be something specific to the park. Possibly an artist dedicated it to the area or another related story. As far as Pokemon Go is concerned, this little pink bunny is a Gym.
This lion statue sits at one of the entrances to Lake Como Park. It is apparently well known by locals. I asked a friend about the statue and they knew where this park was immediately. It really stood out to me how like the bunny statue I saw earlier, here was another well crafted piece of art. I was left curious about why both items are in this park.
There is also a connection between the bunny statue and the golden lion in Pokemon Go. Both are Gyms and not just any gym either. I’ll get to that in a moment as I assess how good of a place Lake Como Park is where the game is considered.
Pokemon Go
Ok lets talk about this park in regards to Pokemon Go. I messed up and forgot to take a proper picture in the game of the area like I have in the past. I hope to remedy this and update it, but know this. Of the three parks I visited in this travel blog so far, Lake Como is the best by far.
While the spawns are slightly above average with Drowzee being the rarest, (He is very rare in Florida despite being common in other areas of the world) the two gyms that I mentioned earlier are the real draw.
In Pokemon Go, there are unique encounters known as Raid Battles. These occur at Pokemon gyms and allow trainers to catch extremely power mons such as legendaries. However, there is a special type of raid known as an EX Raid. The only way to obtain such a rare Pokemon is via getting a rare ticket to fight one.
But how does one get this ticket you ask? By battling in a raid at specific gyms that are clearly marked as such. Both the Gyms at Lake Como that I already mentioned meet this requirement. I have personally never seen two of these gyms so close to each other in a park. That aspect alone is reason to play Pokemon Go at Lake Como Park.
Like always, here are the Pokemon that hatched from Eggs while I explored the park.
Look forward to my next adventure tomorrow. Even I have no idea what I will discover next!