#StayAtHome: Travel without leaving home!

“There could not be a worse moment to launch a travel app!” — we said in mid-January when the Christmas holidays were over, and many travelers returned back in order to stay at home until April.

“We’ll find some!” — said the universe, and a month later the World Health Organization declared a global pandemic.

“We take our words back!” — we replied in horror, but the application has been already launched.

And this was not because we compete for the status of the most untimely project of the year, but because our app is a result of countless hours of hard work, invested energy, money, and human resources.

If one day there were a world prize for the most untimely events, we’d risk becoming the acclaimed laureates over the recent decades. Starting in February, world countries, one after another, began to collapse. Closing borders, evacuating tourists, introducing soft or hard measures in order to quickly defeat the infection with the beautiful name “Coronavirus”.

There also remains little disagreement in terms of how to flatten the curve on Coronavirus: we need to slow down the spread of infection and reduce mortality rates. And in order to achieve this, we must minimize our everyday interpersonal contacts. Keep distance — stay together! In some countries, people actually stay at home with no opportunity to go out without a specific need, in other countries they are mandated to self-isolate or socially distance from others at all times.

The largest corporations support this movement to save lives.

• Audi and Volkswagen have changed their logos.
• Prada and Yves Saint Laurent started sewing medical masks.
• Louis Vuitton and Guerlain launched the production of hand sanitizer
• And our favorite: PornHub offers free premium access to the residents of countries where the lockdown is imposed.

These are not only gestures of goodwill, but also timely actions that serve as examples of ethical marketing.

And in the midst of all of this, there are ordinary people like us. Those who clap to and cheer for doctors and healthcare workers every evening. Those who film funny vines in their apartments. Those who give improvised concerts on their balconies to entertain neighbors. …who offer their yoga classes on Skype with friends. …who uncover worldwide conspiracies on social networks. …who sew masks for hospitals. …who are still rebelling against quarantine… who are already rebelling against quarantine. Those who don’t believe in what is happening yet, and those who have already accepted this as our new reality. And those who finally got acquainted with their own children and discovered that they are quite good people in general!

When the world changes so radically, and the longstanding system fails, we all need support. Just like in children’s world — rules give confidence. For many adults, their daily routines have transformed dramatically. Instead of regular waking up, putting on a suit, buying takeaway coffee at a favorite coffee shop, getting to the office by metro, you now have to figure out how to keep your children busy, how to organize your home-based workspace and where to buy face masks and sanitizers. In the context of global change, we need something to feel grounded and to give us confidence. This can be the daily rituals, for example, dressing up for breakfast or having tea parties on a terrace. Or perhaps essential online classes, such as language courses.

Paradoxically, our team found support in the work. The travel app, launched at a time when the world stopped traveling, became our pillar of support. Because we all suddenly realized how fragile and valuable this generational privilege is: the privilege of moving freely, through the streets, across the cities, and around the world.

It is time we introduce ourselves. Lokimo application is an endless collection of tours and routes, made up with love and care by local residents from all over the world. “From people to people” is our main slogan and concept. Therefore, for us, each tour has a human face. This one, on the Lake Garda, has been composed by beautiful Yana, a photographer from Brescia. This Buenos Aires quest was planned by Anastasia. And here is a wonderful Seville walk with Sergio. And an exciting route through Warsaw in the company of the beautiful Anna. And budget coffee shops in Paris with Helene…

It turned out that all our tours are exactly about this “keep the distance — stay together”. These are tours with human faces. And when we realized that, we turned to the people behind them. All of them, as one, are currently going through tough times. The ground is literally knocked out from beneath our feet. The future seems vague, the present too is uncertain.

We wish to support all of our authors, and all those who are going through difficult times in the face of this pandemic... At the same time, we want to save our work, to prevent our project from getting covered with a pile of dust waiting for the world to turn back to normal.

This is why we are currently offering free downloads of Lokimo and invite you to take virtual tours to different cities around the world without paying a cent. You can now virtually walk along the streets of medieval Tallinn; “Look” into the mosques of the Istanbul Balat; vividly imagine the “smell” of air in Parisian Montmartre; learn to read the medieval alphabet of Prague house signs; get to know the ghosts of Rome, and even … take a virtual trip around the world!

Why do we think this is a cool experience?

• Because these are complete virtual tours that can replace the real ones for those who can’t imagine their lives without traveling.
• Because every route is a quest. Not only can it take your mind off the mainstream news, but it also enriches your brain with exhilarating adventures.
• Because discovering new places, even if you do it sitting on your couch, is exciting.
• Because behind each tour there is a person who created it with great love!

In order to download the quest, you just need to:

1 / Click this link.
2 / Select any tours you like and download them into your phone.
3 / Enjoy!

You can also download all other tours that do not have the StayAtHome tag. Simply click the skip button to pass them and ignore the navigation when it comes up on the map.

If you have any comments, corrections, wishes, we will be glad to make all the necessary amendments to the content of Lokimo. We really want to use this opportunity, following your recommendations.

And if suddenly you’ve got a story you want to share, we invite you to make the same kind of virtual route in your city. I am sure that right now many people will be interested to get acquainted with the world across the globe!

Well, let’s keep the distance and stay together, shall we?

Choose your virtual tours clicking on this link

Lokimo app on:
Play Market: https://play.google.com/
App Store: https://apps.apple.com/

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