A 120-Foot Statue of Morelos - Janitzio - part 2 - a photo essay

In the middle of Lake Patzcuaro are several islands. The largest of these islands is Janitzio, "The place of rain". On top of the island is a huge 120-foot tall statue of José María Morelos. On the slopes of the island, the village of Janitizio. In this second photo essay my daughter, Jennifer, and I went up to the top of the statue.

After the boat ride over from Patzcuaro it was time to walk to the top of the island to see the statue. Most of the people got off the boat and turned to the right. Jennifer and I turned to the left. We tend to take the other route.

We walked down a narrow street...



Then went by a cemetery carved into the hillside...


And the long climb to the summit!
On this stretch we both started huffing and puffing. Okay, maybe it was more me than Jennifer. But, that's when I remembered that the island is over 7,000 feet above sea level. That's it! It's not that I'm gettin' old!

Finally we reached the entrance to the park and paid our admission of a few pesos.
This sign tells a little bit about the statue.

And here he is. Jennifer is 5'2". José is 114'10" taller than her.

We walked through the door into the inside of José María Morelos and looked up into the hollow hero.


The walls are covered with murals telling the story of Morelos.





The stairs spiral up the walls. The higher up you climb, the steeper and narrower the stairs get.



Occasionally, there's a window with a view. This one looks down on the gardens behind the statue.



And the view of the ground floor was interesting, too.


High in the statue the mural story gets close to an end as Morelos faces the firing squad.
(sorry for the blurry photo.)




Shortly after Morelos was shot we popped out onto José's shoulder. See his face to the left?



But, the climb isn't over! It's still another 25 feet to the top of his raised right arm! Yikes!



This is where it got a little uncomfortable for me. First we had to wait on his shoulder for the people in his sleeve to come down. Then another group of people squeezed onto his shoulder so the downhill traffic could get by. We all climbed up the tiny spiral staircase to the top of his sleeve.



At the top we found a small platform about 8 feet by 8 feet where the 10 of us squeezed in. Around the edge is a shelf. To see out you step up on the shelf and pop your head out between his fist and his sleeve.

  What a view!


After spending a short time at the top we slowly descended the steep stairway all the way to the bottom. It was nice to get halfway down where the stairs got wider and flatter. But, the climb was definitely worth it!

Watch for the next installment as we walk through the streets of the village.