Travel Advisor and Tour Guide for Guatemala at Voltan Adventures.

My Name is Pedro Juan Solis, I was born in the norther highlands of Guatemala. I come from a very poor family. I am the oldest of seven siblings.

My dad is a house constructor, and my mom is a housekeeping. In Guatemala most families are large and my family is a real sample. The life condition is very limited because our parents have to feed everyone and also by them clothes, sending them to school. As soon as I finished the elementary school, I started to work and support my family and study at the same time. I worked on a shoe factory with my uncle, Guatemala City under the table since it was illegal for someone like me 13 years old boy working on a shoe factory. Still I worked from 7 to 5pm. and Went to school from 6 to 9pm. It was very difficult. When I was 15 years old I returned to Lake Atitlan at my home town, because in Guatemala City there were lost of problems with gangs and therefore I decided to stay safe and close to my family.

It was very hard to start a new job

Because, I only new how to make shoes :). So I had to ask for work to farmers a day or two so I could finish my high-school. I worked in coffee and corn plantations.

My first $50 – Here is how everything turns into an adventure

I found this piece of wood on the trash dump, I cleaned and used my dad’s white color paint. He was very mad at me but still I did not quite. I made this very nice collage with leaves of trees, bananas and other natural materials.

Soon I looked for someone who could buy it from me. I found this old man from Norway who had just finish his house, and I offered to him. He looked at me and ask; what would you do with the money? how much would I want? I had no idea about pricing or selling a peace of art. So, I explained that the money I would use to buy some colors for painting and also for my school. He gave me $50! wow, this was like a fortune for me. I had never seen a USD in my life. I was so happy that I gave some money to my dad and I kept the balance for buying my painting materials.

Soon, I started painting. I had an art exposition in Panajachel at the Galeria de Rancho Grande. Here I was able to to make some good income and from there I believe everything bloomed out and I noticed the importance to learn a language, and so I decided to learn English.

After learning English from a friend in Panajachel, one of the towns of Lake Atitlan. I got many opportunities for growing as a person with more vision and look for a life success.

I became the firs English speaking person in my home town, I also helped at a few schools teaching English, I did volunteering translating English to Spanish. Now days, I help a small group of women in my town to sell their textiles and other handcraft products and support some families with a home stay program.

Why I do this?

• I feel I should give back, and help my neighbors the youth so they can have more opportunities.
• I know now I can help with some of my experience from the past and come upt with new ideas and formulate new business opportunities.
• I want to share some of the best experiences with all the visitors traveling to Lake Atitlan.

Many years ago, I saw many visitors in my village but I did not understand why they were here, it was very difficult to understand. The same questions I had; those are the same questions that most local people have at this time 2019. There are certain towns in Guatemala where people are not comfortable seeing visitors in their villages.

Now I know why everyone likes Guatemala and Lake Atitlan. Guatemala its a must see destination and best place to plan your vacation, language learning, cultural exchange and also other come to explore our nature wonders, hiking our volcanoes and enjoy the amazing landscaping of Guatemala. In conclusion see below the reasons for traveling to Guatemala.

So these are the reason for traveling to Guatemala

• Uncovered Destination
• Cultural Immersion
• Great place to Learn Spanish
• The Food is Amazing
• Colorful Markets
• Its exciting music scene
• Climb Mountains and Volcanoes
• Now a destination for birding
• Its a perfect family destination

As soon as I understood it. I decided to teach Spanish to travelers who where exploring Latin America. It was great learning from lots of different people, from different countries, culture and of course it was nice to hear how much they appreciated my country.

I was every day thinking about, whom would I meet to day? I always came prepared with my new English words for a new conversation and little by little, I got more familiar with grammar, pronunciation and even say some idioms or english expresions.

Now, 15 years later. I feel more comfortable and confident writing in English and even write this article and still very honored to share about my culture on the internet. 🙂

I now have a family we are 5 in total and also have our house on Airbnb for those who want to get a local experience in Santa Cruz la Laguna. ENJOY MY BLOG