What I do love most of being a Local Guide?
It is quite simple: adding value to my community and positively influence people with my reviews and pictures. Something I feel very grateful to be able to do 
I am a frequent user of Google Maps, and I do beneficiate every day of Local Guide’s community comments, opinions and ratings.
For the last years, visiting a new region or travelling to a new country, has always involved checking “Where the locals go” and adding new places that have not been listed on Maps. That included the Ice Hotel in Sweeden that can be seen in this picture. My friend RocĂo and me had a beautiful time there. Notwithstanding the fact that we were bearing with -43ÂşC, thanks to Google Maps we discovered a forest in which we observed a fantastic landscape starring by a couple of reindeers. Pure magic.
Lately, it is funny to see how many of my friends are also into the “fever” of updating their Local Guides Profile after seeing that I was taking part in events and trips organized or promoted by Local Guides and that reviews, were not falling short to our expectations
I love people
I have the wanderlust, and taking my camera and start capturing the most beautiful places I find is something I can’t stop doing.
Recommending all the places that boosted my travel experience has become a great relaxation hobby during long trips. But the best part of using Google Maps, is, for sure, sharing these positive experiences.
For example, with the owners of the restaurants, I visit. Telling them how I arrived at the place because of a friend’s recommendation, but that now, they can be in Google Maps and be open to a completely new perspective. They can have thousands of new friends recommending their place too!
That was the case of “El Figón” in Valladolid, Spain. I talked for hours with the owners when, surprised, I discovered they weren’t on Google Maps. I told them that, among other things, I am a lawyer, teacher and researcher on the new tech field, and after a long talk about Social Media and how they can improve their personal brand and positioning we had a coffee while one of the owners was cooking some peppers in a traditional stone oven (it was the first time I see a traditional oven )
Another experience that was, beautiful.
When Google Maps helped to build a school in Africa.
Lately, I committed myself to try to go vegan, but that experiment ended in six months of vegetarianism. Since I eat less meat and started looking for vegan restaurants in Madrid. The last one I have discovered, was a small bar, the Yantén Veggie Bar. A small traditional restaurant that serves the most amazing vegan dishes I have ever tried and that witnessed something beautiful a couple of weeks ago.
I was looking for a place for an informal meeting in which I was going to introduce one to another, two friends of mine. A Professor of Anthropology with several years of experience working in Kenia, building different projects and now a school in Kibera (where you can find the poorest slum of Africa); and a friend of mine, an influencer, youtuber and high-performance vegan athlete and investor. The Professor was looking for funding for the African school, and my friend was looking for making a donation to an important cause. Then, there it was me who had to find the perfect atmosphere, in a vegan restaurant for the investors and near to the University so as the Professor could attend.
The dinner could not have developed better, thanks to the kindness of the staff and the delicious dishes we had that night. So happy for having the opportunity to rapidly find a nice vegan place, schedule the times and introduce two people with the will to add value -as many local guides, I am sure, want to do.
Because of all this, I strongly believe, all of us are in the same wavelength and share the same mindset of helping others.
It is easy, and you can change the world. In this case, as you can see in the picture, thanks to that dinner, more than two hundred children will attend school and have electricity for the first time in their lives.
Abundance mentality, curiosity, resilience and proactivity…without a doubt the main characteristics of a Local Guide!
You can check the Kibera project here: https://www.proyectokaribusana.org/
Living life with gratitude is a present. An unavoidable path to happiness.
I would be able to continue bringing to the table heaps of stories that bring to my mind lovely memories, most of which, start with Google Maps, discovering a new lovely place.
With this amazing and huge community, now, I have thousands of friends recommending me new places to visit, that can lead to amazing stories like the aforementioned.
The power of technology mixed with an open mindset is flabbergasting.
Simply amazing how this tool can put people in contact.
I am so grateful for being able to meet amazing and wonderful people thanks to Google Maps.
From Turkey to Kiruna in the Sweedish Lapland, I have always used Google Maps to find places to visit.
Places you will definitely fall in love with. People, you may end up calling friends.
I find special magic in getting lost in the places I travel to and then, look for new places to discover on Google Maps.
This attitude guided me to meet a wonderful Canadian girl who was visiting Toulouse and share an amazing cassoulet in a super nice restaurant that was built in some kind of super fancy cavern.
Also, it led me to share a super spicy curry in a Thai restaurant which was absolutely a no-go area for anyone seeing the place -but that was amazingly well rated on Google Maps, so we give it a try.
Apart from the cobwebs and the spider that visited our table, it was the best Thai we have ever visited! -an example of why you should not judge a book for by its cover
Hopefully, I will be able to share with you more experiences and adventures like this in San Francisco.
Thank you, Google, for all the amazing technology you are developing.
You are helping entrepreneurs, dreamers, inventors, adventurers and many more trailblazers to make of this, an even more amazing world.
Let’s continue contributing and having a social impact!
Have a nice day!
Best regards from Madrid, Spain
Jorge de los Reyes MarrtĂnez.