Joel

my dad takes us to school in his boat

Anyone who has ever enjoyed the extraordinarily beautiful Lake Átitlan in Guatemala is no doubt familiar with the lake’s public transit system which consists of any number of “lanchas,” both public and private. Sometimes both as public and private are interchangeable depending on economic opportunities.

Joel is a lancha driver having learned the skill as a child from his father. He is now the proud owner of four boats all of which are new, clean, well maintained and stocked with life jackets. Home is the Kaqchikel lakeside village of Santa Cruz la Laguna where Joel lives with his wife and two children. Joel’s wife is from the nearby village of Jaibalito and both of them have lived all their lives at the lake. In their spare time they help with the care of his wife’s niece and nephew whose parents are, for the moment anyway, in the United States trying to earn enough money to not only pay off their coyote but to save enough to start a restaurant when they return.

Joel starts his day driving his niece, nephew and daughter into Panajachel where they attend an international school and are becoming fluent in English. They also speak Kaqchikel and Spanish. The rest of his day is spent driving locals, visitors and cargo around the lake. Not a bad gig actually although there is a wind, the Xocomil, that comes up in the afternoon that can make the ride a bit rough. Most of the time, however, the scenery is unmatchable.

If you find yourself headed to Lake Átitlan (and you should really) and would like a ride for yourself or a group with a sensible driver in a safe boat please contact Joel through WhatsApp at +502 4633 5147 or email him at joelcumes4@gmail.com. He speaks some English and would be more than happy to help you find your way around his lake.

For those of you interested in how I ended up in Guatemala and what I have been doing there please go to Amazon and look for the book titled “Tía Joan, Finding Family in Guatemala.” For years people told me that I should write a book so I did.