Our Epic Latin American Adventure: The First Steps of a Legendary Journey
October 14, 2025 marks the kick-off of an adventure that just might change our lives forever. We’re ready to leave France behind and land in Uruguay, the very first stop on an open-ended road trip with no return ticket.
Suitcases zipped, parents’ attic stuffed with the rest of our stuff, and stress levels through the roof.
It’s go time!
October 14, 2025 marks the kick-off of an adventure that just might change our lives forever. We’re ready to leave France behind and land in Uruguay, the very first stop on an open-ended road trip with no return ticket.
Suitcases zipped, parents’ attic stuffed with the rest of our stuff, and stress levels through the roof.
It’s go time!
DAY 1 – The Big Goodbye – Tuesday, October 14, 2025
It all kicks off in Le Mans.
Mom and Dad drop us at the tram stop—cue the waterworks. Adeline’s eyes are Niagara Falls; Thomas, true to his British-level stoicism, doesn’t blink. Tickets in hand, we zoom to the train station.
Plot twist: we misread the timetable. Train leaves at 16:58, not 16:30. Chill, we’ve got time! The ride to Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle via Marne-la-Vallée is smooth as butter.At the airport, the buzz hits hard—this is REALLY happening. After 30 minutes of “Where the hell is the bus stop?”, we hop on the shuttle to a Formule 1 hotel in Paris. Sleeping on airport benches? Hard pass. We want a pillow before the 30-hour odyssey. Short, restless night, zero regrets.
Mom and Dad drop us at the tram stop—cue the waterworks. Adeline’s eyes are Niagara Falls; Thomas, true to his British-level stoicism, doesn’t blink. Tickets in hand, we zoom to the train station.
Plot twist: we misread the timetable. Train leaves at 16:58, not 16:30. Chill, we’ve got time! The ride to Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle via Marne-la-Vallée is smooth as butter.At the airport, the buzz hits hard—this is REALLY happening. After 30 minutes of “Where the hell is the bus stop?”, we hop on the shuttle to a Formule 1 hotel in Paris. Sleeping on airport benches? Hard pass. We want a pillow before the 30-hour odyssey. Short, restless night, zero regrets.
DAY 2 – 11-hour flight + boarding panic
Wednesday, October 15, 20254:00 a.m. alarm—ouch.
The shuttle driver channels Sébastien Loeb; we arrive alive. Online check-in = VIP treatment. Quick Paul’s croissant and the hype is REAL—even Thomas is vibrating at this ungodly hour.Then, boarding gate drama.
One-way ticket? RED FLAG for the airline. “Show proof you’re leaving Uruguay!”
Panic level: 11/10. A return flight would cost a kidney.
Angel employee whispers: “Just buy any onward bus ticket.”
Two clicks on Busbud, $28 later—WE’RE IN. Bullet dodged!
The shuttle driver channels Sébastien Loeb; we arrive alive. Online check-in = VIP treatment. Quick Paul’s croissant and the hype is REAL—even Thomas is vibrating at this ungodly hour.Then, boarding gate drama.
One-way ticket? RED FLAG for the airline. “Show proof you’re leaving Uruguay!”
Panic level: 11/10. A return flight would cost a kidney.
Angel employee whispers: “Just buy any onward bus ticket.”
Two clicks on Busbud, $28 later—WE’RE IN. Bullet dodged!
11-hour leg to Bogotá. Emergency-exit seats = royal legroom. Movies, neck cramps, repeat. Touch down at 12:30 local.
8-hour layover = pure torture. Jet-lag slaps us silly; benches win the sleep battle.
Finally board for Montevideo at 21:00… after one hour baking on the tarmac.We meet a retired Utah badass rocking the same Mosko Moto backpacks. Dude delivered a camera on the Ukrainian front line. Yep, ex-Special Forces. Mind blown.We pass out before take-off.
07:05 – Wheels down in Montevideo.
Immigration? Breeze.
Stamp. Smile.
WE’RE IN URUGUAY, BABY!
8-hour layover = pure torture. Jet-lag slaps us silly; benches win the sleep battle.
Finally board for Montevideo at 21:00… after one hour baking on the tarmac.We meet a retired Utah badass rocking the same Mosko Moto backpacks. Dude delivered a camera on the Ukrainian front line. Yep, ex-Special Forces. Mind blown.We pass out before take-off.
07:05 – Wheels down in Montevideo.
Immigration? Breeze.
Stamp. Smile.
WE’RE IN URUGUAY, BABY!
DAY 2 – Continued: First Steps in Montevideo
07:30 – Still jet-lagged zombies, we hit the airport McDonald’s for a life-saving McMuffin. Fuel = restored.
09:30 – Old Town, here we come! Our hostel, Casa Vegana, won’t free the room until 13:00. Too wrecked to sight-see, we collapse on a bench in Plaza de la Constitución.
Bench → park #2 → bench #3 → repeat. Survival mode: horizontal.
09:30 – Old Town, here we come! Our hostel, Casa Vegana, won’t free the room until 13:00. Too wrecked to sight-see, we collapse on a bench in Plaza de la Constitución.
Bench → park #2 → bench #3 → repeat. Survival mode: horizontal.
13:15 – our hostel room is ready: SHOWER. BED. PURE BLISS.
Late afternoon – Hunger drags us back into the wild.
Mission: find the Bitcoin smoothie bar flagged on btcmap.org.
Result: shuttered. Epic fail. Plan B: wander to Plaza Independencia, then stumble into Flor de Kaffee.
Plot twist: it’s run by Jeff, the friendliest Frenchman on the continent.
His grilled-cheese sandwich? A religious experience.
His Montevideo hot-tips? Gold. Sunset o’clock – We haul ourselves to the Rambla.
The Río de la Plata lights up like liquid gold.
(Legend says locals applaud the sunset. Tonight? Zero claps. Still 10/10 magic.) Quick grocery run, then back to Casa Vegana.
Lights out at 20:47.
Official sleep record: 11 hours straight.
Mission: find the Bitcoin smoothie bar flagged on btcmap.org.
Result: shuttered. Epic fail. Plan B: wander to Plaza Independencia, then stumble into Flor de Kaffee.
Plot twist: it’s run by Jeff, the friendliest Frenchman on the continent.
His grilled-cheese sandwich? A religious experience.
His Montevideo hot-tips? Gold. Sunset o’clock – We haul ourselves to the Rambla.
The Río de la Plata lights up like liquid gold.
(Legend says locals applaud the sunset. Tonight? Zero claps. Still 10/10 magic.) Quick grocery run, then back to Casa Vegana.
Lights out at 20:47.
Official sleep record: 11 hours straight.
DAY 3 – Montevideo Unlocked
Friday, October 17, 2025 Jet-lag 1 – 0 Us
A 30-minute power-nap turns into a black-out until midnight, then another coma until 9 a.m.
Official verdict: we’ve gone full Uruguayan “tranquilo” mode. Breakfast of champions: Pain au chocolat (or chocolatine—we spark the Great French Pastry War with the bakery ladies). They laugh so hard they give us an extra one. Score.
10:30 – Mercado del Puerto
Expectation: local food heaven
Reality: tourist-trap central. Hard pass.
Thank you, Jeff the French Oracle, for the lifeline itinerary.
Expectation: local food heaven
Reality: tourist-trap central. Hard pass.
Thank you, Jeff the French Oracle, for the lifeline itinerary.
Stop 1 – Palacio Taranco
Built end-19th century by a French architect who clearly never heard the word “budget”.
We touch 120-year-old crystal vases like it’s IKEA.
Downstairs: the servants’ quarters. Tiny beds, zero glamour, 100 % history lesson. Mind blown.
Built end-19th century by a French architect who clearly never heard the word “budget”.
We touch 120-year-old crystal vases like it’s IKEA.
Downstairs: the servants’ quarters. Tiny beds, zero glamour, 100 % history lesson. Mind blown.
Stop 2 – Museo Romántico
Secret garden + rooms frozen in 1850.
Highlight: a hand-painted table showing Louis XVI chilling with his side-chicks. Subtle, Louis. Lunch back at Casa Vegana—avocados the size of softballs for $0.30 each. We inhale two plus a mango that tastes like sunshine. Afternoon sprint
Cheapest avocados on planet Earth
Mango so good we almost cry
Secret garden + rooms frozen in 1850.
Highlight: a hand-painted table showing Louis XVI chilling with his side-chicks. Subtle, Louis. Lunch back at Casa Vegana—avocados the size of softballs for $0.30 each. We inhale two plus a mango that tastes like sunshine. Afternoon sprint
- Biblioteca Artigas: cute, but meh.
- Librería Linardi y Risso: 100-year-old shelves that smell like time travel.
- Museo del Gaucho y de la Moneda: inside the old central bank. Marble counters, vintage coin presses, and zero English. We nod like we understand. Nailed it.
Cheapest avocados on planet Earth Mango so good we almost cryExpectation: Tapas + cold Patricia beer on the Rambla.
Reality: Legs say “nope”.We’re in bed by 20:30.
