Nature as teacher
Every trail becomes a lesson in ecology, geology and the strange, interconnected systems hidden beneath the canopy.
Part I · 2023
Costa Rica
Costa Rica · January - February 2023
Pura vida, in every possible sense.
The route enters from Nicaragua and moves through volcanic rainforest, river country and the urban centre of San José before continuing towards Panama.
Costa Rica slows the road down. Volcanoes, rainforest, rivers and wildlife turn each day into a lesson in paying attention, while reunions and farewells keep the human story moving towards Panama.
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Destinations discovered
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Journal entries
3
Week exploring
2
Ocean coasts
Before the diary
About Costa Rica.
Begin with the country itself - its land, people and past - before following the journal through one of Central America’s most biodiverse landscapes.
Read Chapter I.VII
Rainforest, rivers and the road south.
Follow the Costa Rica route in chronological order, with each destination keeping its journal entries together.
After Costa Rica
Look back on the wildlife, friendships, lessons and moments that remained after the Costa Rica chapter gave way to the final Central American border.
¡Vivan Siempre el Trabajo y La Paz!
Long live work and peace!
Costa Rican national motto
What Costa Rica becomes
A country that teaches you to notice.
The route is remembered less as a checklist of places and more as a succession of small encounters with nature, people and a slower way of moving.
The complete gap-year journal
Costa Rica is one chapter of a much longer road.
Continue through Panama, South America, Antarctica and the long route back home in the complete Reflections of a Roving Doctor collection.
The last Central American border waits.
Costa Rica gives way to Panama, where cloud forests, Caribbean islands and the great canal carry Part One towards its final country.
Continue with Panama.