The Eerily Beautiful Lake Patzcuaro

Sometimes I have to admit when I’m wrong. This was one of these cases.

There isn’t much to do in Patzcuaro, just a few hours west of Mexico City. As we were staying there to dog-sit, it didn’t matter to us much. There are a couple of quaint plazas filled with streetside cafes and a bustling market selling every type of fruit and vegetable you could imagine.

But the only real tourist attraction of the town is the nearby lake.

You can jump on a boat with several other tourists and local indigenous people (who are the only people to inhabit the island) and hop on over to the island, known as Isla Janitzio, which has its own version of Christ the Redeemer; a large stone figure of a man with his fist in the air, said to represent Mexico’s independence.

I didn’t really want to go to the island. I didn’t imagine that there would be much to see or do.

And there isn’t, of that I was correct. There are lots of steep winding stairs and hills to the peak of the island, where you can pay a fee to climb to the fist of the statue. We did this, and although the murals on the inside walls depicting the timeline of the country’s independence were interesting, the view from the top wasn’t that extraordinary compared to what I had already seen and there was actually hardly any room at the top in which actual size humans could comfortably fit.

I also wasn’t in the market for purchasing a ceramic mug in the shape of a pair of boobs, which also seemed to be a hilarious souvenir being sold at some of the stalls on the island. I can’t imagine the indigenous people ever imagined themselves making a living that way….

What was really spectacular, however, was the boat ride across to the island.

The water was so still that it reflected the island clearly, similar to the mirror lakes that can be found in New Zealand. It was eerily quiet, except for the sound of the engine and the statue seemed so imposing atop the island, that it was definitely a sight to behold.

Despite all of my protestations that I didn’t want to go out in the heat or climb the gazillions of steps to the top of the island (there are gazillions, I kid you not), this aspect of the trip was definitely the best.

I had to admit that I had enjoyed myself.

Although Isla Janitzio didn’t leave me with a lasting impression (the fake oversize ceramic boobs certainly did), the boat ride to and from the island was worth the small amount I paid for it, if only for the thirty minutes of silence and reflection (no pun intended).