Pátzcuaro

This past weekend I left Morelia for the first time since I arrived over a month ago with 4 friends. It was great to finally get outside of the 5 mile radius around my house. We travelled to two places during the day.

First was the island of Janitzio, which is known for its famous monument of Morelos, a founding father of Mexico. Once we arrived, we hiked along the narrow and winding cobblestone streets to the base of the monument, which towers over the island at the summit. For $0.60, we got to go inside. Inside the monument is a spiral staircase with five with five levels. Each level has separate murals that capture the life of Morelos. When we reached the top, we could see a 360 degree panorama of the whole island and the lake.

While the monument was amazing and it was great to see the history of the Mexican independence captured through murals, it was actually the climb up to the mountain that I found most memorable. The streets are untouched by modern life. They are narrow and windy and crowded with little tiendas. It was like walking back in time - even many of the woman are dressed in the traditional clothing. I tried to capture this through the photos and video, but I don´t think they do it justice. It honestly felt a little surreal.

The second place was the city of Patzcuaro. This city, like Morelia, was established after the Spanish conquest and has many of the same features as Morelia. I didn´t find it as photogenic as Morelia, so I don´t have any pictures. However, in Patzcuaro, we had deep fried quesadillas and icecream. It was delicious!

Like always, I still miss you guys, but I am settlled in and having a good time. Feel free to leave a comment. I actually read them.

Video 1 (On the boat)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=rfr9yDGO8IA

Video 2 (At the statue)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=WGDSUgvPZCE

Video 3 (In the streets)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=IM548m7l0bc