My wife and I recently spent a wonderful week at the casita of Carlos Funk, who also owns an excellent local restaurant and blues club. More about that later. We rented the second floor of a two-floor cottage, which is located next to Carlos’s own beautiful house. Our casita experience started with an incredible view of Lake Atitlan and several volcanoes. If you’re an early riser, the sunrises are amazing. However the inside is equally attractive and appealing. In addition to being an outstanding blues guitarist and singer, Carlos is an excellent builder, carpenter, and cabinet maker. He built the house, then the restaurant, and most recently the casita. All are beautiful examples of local architecture with close attention to detail. Carlos made all of the furniture in the suite: bed, armoire, tables, even the lamps. We were blown away by the quality of his work. The suite even has a beautifully-tiled, walk-in shower, with good water pressure and an ample supply of hot water. The kitchen allows preparation of small meals, coffee, or tea, and also makes a convenient bar for drinks on the balcony overlooking the spectacular sunsets reflected on the lake and the volcanoes. Carlos is the perfect host. From arranging your transportation to and from the airport, to entertaining with his music and his humorous stories, to making sure you have everything you need, Carlos clearly wants to make sure you have a wonderful visit to this beautiful guest suite in his corner of the world. Carlos’s restaurant and blues club, Blind Lemon’s, named after an obscure country blues player, rates a separate review, but I’ll tell you about it here because it becomes an integral part of your experience at his casita. The restaurant is run hands on by Carlos’s wife, Cata, a lovely Mayan woman. The food is the best in San Marcos. At lunch, we found the burritos to be particularly good, with different sauces for different fillings. The hamburgers are also excellent. The dinner menu also meets high standards for the American or European visitor: the lemon chicken, the blackened tilapia, and even the steak were all outstanding. I was especially taken by Cata’s mushroom pasta. The food is prepared with great care, one dish at a time, sometimes seeming slow by American standards, but allowing time to soak in the ambiance. With very little arm twisting, Carlos will play a few blues songs right at your table. Overall, this is an experience not to be missed when visiting Guatemala.
