El Castillo

Tomorrow morning, por la madrugada, I leave for the beautiful little river town of El Castillo.  This is the town where I lived for 8 months during my Fulbright year.  While the river is gorgeous and the surrounding jungles are teeming with wildlife and the air is fresh, what really keeps me coming back to El Castillo are the kids.  When I was living there, I taught poetry to a group of fourth, fifth and sixth graders.   They were so talented, enthusiastic and adorable, that I've committed to coming back every year to do some sort of educational programming with them. 

This year, I will help to organize a Children's Literature Festival and Reading Competition (thanks for the grant, FIU!).   So, at 5:00 am sharp, Alex and I will hop on a bus to San Carlos (9 hours) and then a boat to El Castillo (3 hours).  There is no internet access over there, so I will post again in a week.