Beyond the tourist trail: Discovering South America through its people

Just a few weeks before leaving for South America, I learned about an application called Home Exchange, where travellers can exchange homes with locals or live with them. I was drawn to this concept especially because there was no concept of money on the application. It was all about exchange. A little bit like Auroville. The app charges a yearly subscription fee of around USD 70, but the number of free stays you can redeem makes it worthwhile.

For my first home in Medellin in Colombia, I stayed with Ani, a local from Medellin who has travelled across the world. Her home was tasteful and she even had coffee table books of the artist Fernando Botero. I was quite impressed at her desire to help me plan my trip, even though she did not speak English, only Spanish. As someone who speaks broken Spanish, I was able to converse with her comfortably. She helped me plan my whole trip across Colombia.

Next up, in Bogota, I stayed at Hernan and Maria’s home, located in the city center. Even though their home was a small studio, what stood out to me was how they welcomed me with beer and chocolates, which were left on the table for me with a thoughtful note. I stayed at their home for three nights. In the day, I went to see Zipaquira Cathedral with Beyond Colombia tours. It was a well-planned tour and they also stopped on the way at a local restaurant in Zipaquira for lunch. While staying at Hernan and Maria’s home, I got insights into the local life of Bogota.

I hopped from one country to the next. In Lima, I stayed at Evelyn’s home. I was surprised at how easy it was to exchange homes. Just one direct message on the app and the hosts responded so fast. All of them were also willing to help and plan my trip, connect me with local operators for tours and I was able to save commission costs during travel.

Evelyn’s home had stunning Peruvian interiors and llamas kept in unique corners of the house. Even though the house was modernised I could spot local ingredients in the kitchen. The home was comfortable, and felt just like I had stayed in my own. I spent five days exploring local museums and art collections—especially Barranco, my favourite area in Lima with Jade Rivera’s artwork. Lima also has great vegetarian restaurants which I thoroughly enjoyed.

As a vegetarian, what I love about living in homes over hostels is the ability to stay in clean places and cook my own food in clean home kitchens. The homes I stayed in were so open to me using everything inside. Some of the homes also kept special shower gels and shampoos for me to use to clean up after long travels.

Beyond Lima, I made a trip to Cusco, where I stayed with Jonathon and Hilda in their beautiful home in Quispicancha. This was the most moving Home Exchange experience I have had. Every day, Jonathon and Hilda checked on me when I travelled, stayed up for extra time beyond their general waking hours to ensure I was home safe, left water for me, checked on my meals and went the extra mile to treat me like family. Hilda was also kind enough to help with my laundry. She folded the clothes and kept them in my room. It was welcoming like family. I didn’t expect the home exchange experience to be so warm. Jonathon and Hilda also helped me to plan my trip to Machu Picchu, a wonder of the world and made me feel confident to do it solo without any agency. After my experience with them, I want to experience more exchanges.

While using the application, I found it super easy to draft messages because they have AI tools to draft texts. They also have a translator to translate from different languages. Since Home Exchange is a global community, many exchanges occur between people who don’t share a language. And that’s beautiful since there’s no language barrier.

Now that I’m out of my guest points, which are used to book more stays on the application, I can’t wait to host people in my home and give back some of the good I experienced in the world.