Guatemala Part 2: Reeds, the Sun, and Micheladas
The small village of San Marcos La Laguna sits high in the mountains upon the shores of beautiful Lake Atitlán, Guatemala. The community is more than 500 years old and today caters mostly to tourists who flock to the lakeside town to enjoy the dry mountain climate of 5,200 feet above sea level, the crystal-clear waters of the lake, and the many outdoor markets, restaurants, and clubs. The town is an eclectic mix of hippies, artisans, crafts persons, the odd, the strange, and those who don't fit in anywhere else in the world. It is for the latter that Travis Stinson calls San Marcos home.
Born in Texas, Travis first went to Guatemala on a lark. "I was dating a woman for time back in Texas. One day, out of the blue, she announced that she spends half the year in Guatemala. I'm like ‘okay.’ I followed her down here." The relationship didn't last but it did lead to a love of Guatemala on Travis’ part. "When I reached San Marcos, I felt like I was supposed to be here. For the first time in my life, I felt like I belonged. I fit in. I felt like I was supposed to be in San Marcos."
Travis not only loved San Marcos but saw potential in the town. "When I came here six years ago it wasn't the tourist spot it is today. But I knew based on what I saw that there was potential." Another person who saw potential in town was Travis’ father, Al Stinson, the owner of Fredericksburg’s own Hill & Vine restaurant. "I wrote up a business proposal," Travis said. “And dad liked the numbers. He liked what he saw here, believed in me and my business plan, and invested." What Al invested in, and Travis co-owns and runs is Tul Y Sul. This compound right at the water’s edge of the lake features a world-class French inspired restaurant, a home for Travis and his fiancée Sosa, and two well-appointed rooms that Travis loans out to friends. My fiancé Cheryl and I qualified as friends and stayed in one of these rooms for three nights and four days during our week-long stay in Guatemala.
The view from our room at Tul Y Sol.
During that time, Cheryl and I lounged on the deck next to the lake, shopped, and ate almost every meal on the menu at the restaurant just outside our front door. The food was truly the best in San Marcos (and exceptional for anywhere else in the world) and each dish was prepared from scratch. Literally. I was allowed in the kitchen one morning to watch how my every-day-while-in-Guatemala michelada cocktail for breakfast began with fresh whole tomatoes, limes, black and white peppercorns, several chilis, and spices, and a cold bottle of Gallo beer. No canned tomato juice for the lady chefs at Tul Y Sul. In addition to micheladas a’ plenty Cheryl and I had fish after fish dish, steak, French-styled-Mexican-inspired huevos rancheros, and more.
In between meals, Travis acted as our private tour guide to the city. He showed us the best artesian markets where we bought plenty of jewelry crafted from Guatemala’s 27 colors of jade, markets where he sourced his fresh fruit and vegetables, and the town’s many “hippie inspired” yoga and dance studios, classes, and hangouts. Some of the latter offered “Men’s Circles,” “Women’s Circles,” and “Pet Circles,” and classes on “Spiritual Freediving,” “Full Moon Ritual Dance Journeys for Women,” and something involving the use of crystals and the upcoming eclipse that I didn’t understand. (Confession: I didn’t try that hard to understand.) Travis showed us one institution that appeared to be some type of formal Japanese garden meets Mayan temple that sat behind a low rock wall. “People pay a lot of money to go stay in there for a month where they meditate, do yoga, and aren’t allowed to speak for a month. To each their own I guess.”
Agreed.
Back at the estate / restaurant / home Travis showed us the tul (reeds) that grow at the water’s edge that give his restaurant half its name (“The Mayans used to use the reeds to craft mats, baskets, and other crafts. Sol, of course, is the sun.”), told us how he is one of the few green establishments in San Marcos (“Everything we make is from scratch. That cuts down on packaging. We don’t sell plastic anything. Not bottled water. All the beer we carry comes in bottles we trade back to the brewery.”), then pointed to a monster of a mountain, 9 miles across the lake. “The other side of that is Rostro Maya, the Mayan’s Nose. That’s what you’ll be hiking tomorrow. I’ll take you to meet your guide at 3:30 a.m. You might not want a michelada before you tackle that cuz I hear the hike’s tough one.”
“Have you done it?” I asked.
Travis lit a cigarette, patted the slight paunch of age above his belt and said, “Hell no! I’m too healthy for that nonsense.”
Read Part one of my trip to Guatemala HERE
This piece first appeared in the Fredericksburg Standard.
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