I am Pedro Juan Solis
I was born in Sacapulas, el Quiché, in the western highlands of Guatemala. I am a Mayan descendent in origin. I speak Spanish, Kaqchikel (one of the 22 Mayan languages), English and I am learning my fourth language, which is French. I come from a beautiful authentic Mayan family. My family is a mixte of three different Mayan Cultures, Mam, Sacapulteco and Kaqchikel. I am the oldest of seven siblings. I studied the first six years in Santa Cruz la Laguna in the public school. In 1998, I was 13 years old when I travelled to Guatemala City for work in order to support my family and my studies at night time. There I finished the 7th, 8th and 9th grades. In 2001 I returned from Guatemala City to Lake Atitlan. Here I continued my studies and I graduated from High school with a Bachelor of science and and business administration.
This picture was taken in Laguna Chicabal in 2010
My dream was to see my family well and my siblings to grow well and with better opportunities. In my village no one spoke English or other language besides of Kaqchikel and some Spanish. In 2004 I decided to teach Spanish to travelers from all over the world and this definitely changed my life and my family too.
How did it go
I enjoyed teaching Spanish and I took advantage of every lesson to learn and teach about my culture. I became a very highly recommended and popular teacher in the region with in a few moths. Soon, I noticed that my students were often looking for accommodation, transport and in some occasions they were interested in learning more about the culture. Soon, I offered to take them on a short cultural experience, climb volcanoes, go hiking, and many more activities…
What happen after
Late in 2005 I decided to open a small office for a travel company Tours Atitlan I offered Spanish classes combined with cultural travel experiences. My brothers ended up studying Tourism and soon they joined me to take control of the business to make sure we deliver a 1st. had experience.
Voltan Adventures
In 2016, we decided to change our company name to Voltan Adventures. Voltan is the Mayan God of the Earth NOT to be confused with Voltan (the Mayan God of War).
Over the years our company has developed a stellar reputation as one of the best tour operators within Guatemala. Because our base of operations is at Lake Atitlan and our former company name was Tours Atitlan some people would confuse our company with a competitor whose name is similar. We noticed a trend. Numerous tour operators were incorporating the lake into their company name and this was leading to much confusion.
Because our company is Mayan owned and locally operated we decided it would be best to embrace our culture and take a more distinctive name where there can be no confusion. So welcome to Voltan Adventures. To read about our company’s past reviews please see our customers Trip Advisor reviews under our old company name: Tours Atitlan, and after your trip with us, please post a review under our new name so we can begin a new tradition!
Thank you for choosing us!