I’m in the backseat of FIAT when the Muay Thai fighter from Manchester begins to sing along to Aretha Franklin’s ‘Respect’.

Because road trips are awesome.

There is simply no other way to explain it. While I have spent HOURS (make that DAYS) of my life traveling across South America in omnibus, I very rarely get to see the countryside whizzing by me from the backseat of car.

But this time, I get a treat.

Thanksgiving weekend I ventured to La Pedrera, Uruguay with my backpack and lo a behold, I found a group of travelers and a car. La Rocha province is my favorite place in Uruguay (I come here… a lot). Perfecto for a road trip.

Why?

Because everything is so close together.

You can visit places like Cabo Polonio for the day, hoping on the front of a 4×4 combi, giggling like an adventurous five year old before arriving to an isolated coast saturated with sea lions.

Or head to La Laguna de Rocha. A giant lagoon that gently kisses the sea under the veil of isolated beaches.

And of course, the main attraction, La Pedrera, a surfer/beach bum’s paradise.

From here it was on to the capital of Montevideo…