Between Two Oceans
Caribbean islands and Pacific horizons sit remarkably close together, making the country feel like a compressed version of an entire continent.
01
Part I · 2023
Panama
Panama · February 2023
One narrow country. Two oceans. The end of an era.
Panama is both a bridge and a threshold - the slender link between continents, the meeting point of Caribbean and Pacific worlds, and the final country of the first great overland journey.
The route moves from Caribbean islands and mountain air to the Pacific coast, Panama City and the canal. South America waits beyond the Darién, but first comes a final chance to absorb how far the Central American road has already travelled.
—Route stages discovered
—Journal entries loaded
2Oceans connected
1Final Central American chapter
Before the diary
About Panama.
Begin with the country itself - its national identity, geography, people and history - before following the final Central American route.
Read Chapter I.VIII
The last route through Central America.
Follow the final Central American route in chapter order, with each destination keeping its journal entries together.
After Panama
The Central American road reaches its final country: islands, mountains, surf, skyline and canal converging into one last reflection before the map opens into South America.
Pro Mundi BeneficioNational motto of Panama
For the benefit of the world
What Panama represents
A bridge, a boundary and a beginning.
Panama closes the first movement of the gap year while pointing unmistakably towards everything still waiting beyond the Darién.
The complete gap-year journal
Panama finishes only the first act.
The route continues through South America, Antarctica and the long journey home in the complete Reflections of a Roving Doctor collection.
Eight countries. One continuous road.
Panama closes the Central American route and creates a pause before the journey crosses into South America. The next reflection looks back on the distance travelled before the map opens again.
Finish Part One with After Central America.