In January of this year, together with some friends and family, we took a trip and I was able to make a long-awaited dream; I was able to travel from Cusco in Peru, to Chile traveling by road; so, during the trip he would visit the cities of Puno, Moquegua, Tacna, Arica (Chile), Ilo, Arequipa, to bequeath to Cusco again. It was an adventure trip, and not many things were planned. For example, hotels; Well, although we knew in which cities we would spend the night, but we had not made reservations or anything like that.
In Puno we had no problems, because I really already knew the city from previous trips; however, when we arrived in Moquegua everything changed, we had never been there, also, due to problems in our calculations, we arrived at 10:30 at night, and we were not in an unknown city, very late at night and without a reservation from hotel. When consulting Google Maps, I did not find many references about the hotels in the surroundings, so in the end we decided to stay overnight in a lodging called Hostal El Ovalo. I will never forget that night, the hostel was terrible, and its value for money was disproportionate, the bathroom was appalling and the beds uncomfortable.
My brother-in-law, who had gone to a hostel two blocks away, stayed at one called D’Carlos. The next day
when we met for breakfast, I went to pick him up and noticed that the accommodation where he slept with his family was much better than mine, it was modern and clean, and worst of all, it cost the same.
What does the Local Guides program mean to me?
It means the possibility of helping and being helped by the community. It means that the next people traveling to Moquegua and looking for a hotel can read the recommendations and see the photographs of people who have stayed before.
The Local Guides program means that we can listen to the recommendations and see photos before going to a place, check office hours, see costs, even see the menu of a restaurant and even see what a dish already looks like. The Local Guides Program means for me that I can go on an adventure and review everything so that the one who comes after me knows that it is better for him.
Local Guides program means that if I find a place that has not been reviewed by anyone else, I must do it, because I will give the possibility of knowing what seemed to me and other Local Guides that place later. The Local Guides program is the best travel guide, it is the best restaurant guide, it is the best consultation guide of all kinds, and an opportunity to improve the world a little more by connecting with our community.