There is a very large lake which starts on the outskirts of Patzcuaro, and a 40 min boat ride took us to a small island called Janitzio. The boat trip came with entertainment, in the form of a Mexican band and there were great views in the form of mountains – plus the odd eel swimming by.
As we approached the island, the boat slowed to take in a synchronised boat show from some local fisherman with their butterfly fishing nets (below) - and very impressive it was too. The island is famous for these fishermen and the "pescado blanco" they catch. This is a small white fish that they put in stew, but we had some deep fried, before we left!
On the island there are tourist shops and restaurants that line a steep path up to a large monument that our guide book called ‘unfortunate’. Although the island itself was a little spoilt with tacky shops, the one redeeming feature was this 40-meter statue of José María Morelos, a great hero of Mexico's independence. OK, I’ve seen better looking monuments (The Angel of the North?!) but this one had impressive murals inside and steps which took you all the way to the top for some fantastic views of the lake and surrounding mountains (top picture). It was well worth seeing. At least our 2009 Footprint guidebook has accurate restaurant and hotel listings… oh no, wait. It doesn’t. 
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