Do you want to know why I’m wearing an astronaut suit in a Mars-like desert? Read this post and find out! 
I’m a space stuff lover, and since I was a boy, I have watched documentaries about space, stars, planets, the history of our planet, and the future of our sun. In 2016, I found out about an organization called The Mars Society, which promotes research and development on the exploration of Mars. It owns a simulation station in Utah’s desert, the Martian Desert Research Station (MDRS). Every year, dozens of groups of researchers come to this place to live a two-week simulation experience, where they will remain locked up, wearing only astronaut costumes, and conducting research on the red planet. In 2017, I applied to go there, and fortunately, I was selected as a member for the first Latin American crew, LATAM-I. I had never left my country before, let alone traveled to a place where my language was not spoken, so this would be a wonderful experience, and the beginning of my journey in the aerospace sector.
To get to the station, we had to stay one night in a town called Grand Junction, in Colorado. The morning before leaving, we went to a Walmart store, and I was struck by how big and complete it was compared to the one in my hometown, Mendoza – Argentina, so I took the following photo:
As we all know, Google Maps always suggests doing reviews and adding photos of the places we have visited, which I hardly ever did. One day, I received a notification: my Walmart photo had exceeded 100,000 visits! That was when I understood the real importance of the small collaborations we do as Local Guides. Knowing that, in a way, it had helped so many people inspired me to continue to do so, and it made me pay attention to all those times that other people’s opinions and photos had helped me. From then on, I started to be much more active as a Local Guide.
I try to focus on unknown places, on the one hand, to help them gain popularity in the city, and, on the other hand, to help those who look for new places and don’t know which one will be good. Whenever I can, though, I do reviews of all the places I go, because no matter where you go, you never know when you can help somebody else.
Over time, other photos exceeded 100k visits, such as one of a drugstore located in my city, well known by name but apparently not by address. This was another example of the significant impact you can achieve with a simple photo.
These years, I have been writing reviews of places in my city and in the cities I have been to, using the contributions of Local Guides to decide my next destination, and making my own contributions. A story worth highlighting happened when I went to San Agustín del Valle Fértil, in San Juan, Argentina. I went to this place because it would be one of the maximum points of a total solar eclipse, something I did not want to miss for anything in the world. I discovered that this small town had many more places than the ones that appeared on Google maps, so I added them with photos, reviews and everything. People even gave me strange looks because I was photographing their stores, but when I explained my purpose, we started holding interesting talks. In this way, I was able to get to know people better, and I felt that I was doing something good for this town, placing it on the map so that all the tourists who passed by could get to know it better. After a few months, I realized that my actions were useful, the visits of those places increased and many people started using Google Maps, even several continued with the duties of a Local Guide.
Regarding the eclipse, it was one of the most impressive things I have ever seen. If you want to enjoy those breathtaking views from your own home, you can watch a video that I uploaded on youtube. Even though it is in Spanish, the images speak by themselves.
In the last couple of weeks, I discovered Local Connect, this wonderful forum to connect local guides from all over the world. Now that I use it, I cannot believe I did not find it before. I consider it an excellent place to get to know other cultures, other places through videos, new foods and to read new stories. I have a lot in mind to share with you guys, just wait for it.
In conclusion, what does the Local Guides program mean to me? From what these stories have taught me, the local guides program means a place of collaboration and help where everybody’s opinions count, where I can share my experiences and help others, while at the same time it helps me discover new places for me, both known and hidden. It represents a place that allows people to give value to good and quality places, and draws the attention of places that do not offer good service, helping them to improve. I am a fervent believer that collaborative work is the most efficient way of doing things, and Local Guides Program is a clear example that proves it.