Bus to Manzanillo
I never got up to meet the girls because I never set my alarm. Nice. So instead.. I hopped on the bus to Manzanillo.

The funniest part about this busride was when I had fallen asleep. I felt someone touching my leg... Of course me thinking that someone was trying to steal something from me, I slapped and grabbed her arm. Then I let go when I realized she was just adjusting the armrest. Ha! She kinda smiled because she knew why I reacted that way. What do you expect tho? C'mon. I didnt fall asleep again on the bus.

We must have gotten to Manzanillo at around 330pm or so. I decided to actually stay  at a small peninsula called Santiago because I had a feeling it may be close to some surf. I had to find the hotel now. I walked down some streets, then across the beach for a while. Then I found it. Big, open, spacious. Kinda haunting in a way. Like how I'd expect Hotel California to look and feel. Facing the beach, right on the beach it really was a nice sight to see after most of the day on the bus.

I went down to the beach and had some fresh coconut(straight from the coconut) and then a pacifico, natually.

I was so tired at this point. Went to bed. Actually dreamt about waves because I could hear them all night.

A day out in Manzanillo.
I took a local bus from the peninsula of Santiago(Manzanilo) to downtown. Very much a big Port. Lots of big ships. I walked around a bit w/ my big backpack and decided to grab some food.

I sit down and I kid you not, first to my left this girl and her mom come up to me. "Hi I saw you walking around... You have nice eyes..."

I was flattered but didnt really know what to say. She spoke English pretty well. Really sweet and she asked for my email. Didnt see the harm in that, so I gave it to her. Then her and her mom said nice to meet you and headed on their way.

Then I look to my right and theres a group of about 6 girls just decided to set up shop next to me. One of them was starring at me w/ crazy-eyes. It was kind of disturbing. Anyways, started chatting w/ them. One of them spoke english so that made it a lil easier. They were in fashion school and the one w/ the crazy-eyes was their teacher. That girl kept speaking in spanish to me. I could understand most of it, but by the end of the lunch I had figured out a few things. 1. That she kinda had a mustache(Which some mexican women kinda do... sometimes), 2. lots of make-up, 3. a slight adams-apple looking thing going on. Yea. "She" was a "He". Guess I attract all kinds.

I finished my lunch and got outa there. Got a hotel and ventured to the internet for a few hours, naturally.

I did make a late night run to get some food(at a quickie-mart), and there was  a big event going on outside near the pier. Lots of music and lights and so-on. See the pic.

As an 18 year old at the time, this was a dream com true. Here I am in one of the most beautiful, eloquently decorated resorts I had ever seen in my life. If there has ever been motivation in my life to succeed financially, this would be it. The resort itself is something that has to be seen to understand fully. I’m sure many reviews claim what was just written, but this resort truly is unbelievable. You first might notice the secluded location which this resort is located at. There really is no large town nearby, and really only the adventurous traveler would be the one who might take a taxi cab or bus to one of the popular beaches a ways away. I believe that most people will find that when they arrive at this resort and settle in, there really is no urge to leave. The Resort has been designed in a very authentic manner with a very authentic Spanish feel. When I say that, I don’t mean what many, more touristy resorts often claim to offer. This resort is different. It is different in the sense that it doesn’t seem to try and cater to the same typical expectations of a Mexican resort. One truly feels that this is Mexican luxury at its best. The employees at this resort are people who seem to truly like their jobs, and are some of the most friendly and personal people I have had the pleasure of being around. They have no problem with starting up a game of soccer, or say a game of croquet (I never played that, but watched it), even if it is only a small group of people. The pool itself is in a very peaceful setting, with plenty of palm shade around the lounging area and an adequate number of poolside chairs, though one should try and claim a chair in the early afternoon just to be sure. In my experience, it has everything that one would want from a resort, except that this resort has one feature that not many other places can offer. By this, I am talking about the neighboring local town of Barra de Navidad In all honesty, I never physically slept a night in the Grand Bay Resort. All of the above testimonial is my experiences during the day, and some times relaxing at night. It was my parents who were spending their nights in the resort, and one day I might be able to convince them to write a review of their experience. This fact should not diminish from my review, as every word of it the truth. I had actually spent my nights a short 3 minute motor boat ride away in the local town of Barra de Navidad. My parents said that it was because they thought we would have a better time there, and as an 18 year old that was probably true, but I figured they probably simply didn’t want us hanging around. As I had said before, in my opinion it is the town of Barra de Navidad which makes the Grand Bay Resort something special and unique, different than most other resorts. The town is not your typical tourist-based town. There is no real in-your-face tourist aspect of this town at all. Of course, there are the hand made help necklace and ornament stands, but it is my understanding that these items are as much for the locals as much as they are for tourists. I had been told that this town is a very popular location for the local population in the area to come and take a day off. With a huge, beautiful (but steep) beach, you will see that when the Siesta starts mid afternoon, the entire local population seems to some out and relax on the beach. And it is this characteristic of the Resort and the town that gives it a very unique experience. One can walk through the town during the day and feel as though they are actually walking through a Mexican town amongst the local population. The few tourists you might see are likely from the resort and are lightly dispersed through the town. Grab a drink at one of the local bars, which most have open walls that offer spectacular views of the ocean, especially during sunset. Make sure to check out the street market which happens twice a week, and you are guaranteed to find an interesting souvenir (I recommend an authentic knock-off Rolex). If you are really feeling adventurous, be sure to check out the local dance club, which has a small but lively dance floor which the locals seem particularly enthusiastic about (be sure to pay the cover charge as you walk in, or else you will have the bouncers chase you in to demand payment!). What I am mostly trying to convey is the true authentic experience that the Grand Bay Resort has to offer, whether with its spectacular resort or the local life. It can be hard to find a holiday that is not tainted by the typical tourist experiences, but in my opinion this place did just that. I can’t think of a better introduction to Mexico than spending a week here.

After our training was done in El PasoTX /Camp McGregor N.M. before we headed to Iraq, we had 10 (12)days to ourselves to take some leave/liberty.    I went home to PA to visit my family and then headed back after 10 days so I could go experience a bit of Juarez.  We were warned,  no liberty without a 'battle buddy',  no traveling to Juarez and absolutely 'NO' tatoos!!! Guess what????

On Aug 10 I came back to El Paso,  and on Aug 11 I rode the bus downtown to El Paso and then walked over the border into Juarez........  I only wanted to get some good food and shop a bit, but.........   I walked in a tattoo parlor in Juarez and asked the manager if they could do United States Marine Corps symbols.  Well,  they didn't have any to look at so we walked down the block to a computer lab and got on the USMC website in Spanish and found what we were looking for.  4 hours later, after I scared everyone out of the tattoo parlor due to my loud groaning/screaming because I am a big baby and needles hurt, I had the most beautiful Eagle/Globe and Anchor on the left side of my back on my shoulder blade.  It is absolutely beautiful and means so much to me.  Why because I served proudly in the USMC for 12 years never got a tattoo and after 13 weeks of relentless training before Iraq, I owed it to myself!   Now I have my special memory of the beloved USMC and will have it forever!   So heres a tribute to the nice young artist from Guadalajara who took good care of me and my first tattoo experience!

While in old Mexico we were on a dirt road in the mountains and I saw a road that turned to the right down a steep incline and took it….Bridget SCREAMED… she thought we were driving off the side of the mountain. ROFL

Traveler rating: 5 of 5 stars Ciudad Juarez: Hotel Maria Bonita: "Best experience in a suite for the price of a hotel room. http://www.hotelesmariabonita.com/ The suite is priced the same as a room in another hotels in Juarez. It included breakfast buffet for two with anything you can possibly want or eat. They can transport you for free to the airport, American Consulate, border, etc. You can also walk to the Consulate, it is like 7 blocks. Also a bus stops across the street to downtown and the bridge into El Paso for 3 pesos. The Restaurant offers excellent buffets and a la carte meals, reasonable priced and excellent service. We had a beautiful and comfortable suite with 2 queen sized beds, living room and a very comfortable ( I mean it!) sofa bed. We were a family of 4 people staying at the suite and had a wonderful stay. The staff is very well trained to please and give good service to clients. When we requested an iron it was brought to us. Mexican hotels do not keep it in the room unless you ask for it. They made the sofa bed for us, brought us glasses with ice when we requested it. They arranged for us a taxi in El Paso. We will go back when in Juarez to the same Hotel Maria Bonita, it felt like a home. This hotel is like a hidden secret and is even prettier and nicer than the pictures!!! Thanks to all the staff at The Maria Bonita, you make this beautiful 4 star hotel the best in Juarez. I went back and my experience was not as nice. The staff had changed. I will change my rating. to 3 stars. reservaciones@hotelesmariabonita.com This review is a subjective opinion.

I had to go again to Juarez and found again the people very nice, the place has the most wonderful people
in Mexico. All that killing does not affect the "normal, everyday person".

I Will be going back to Juarez from April 8 to 11 

Well, our attempt to take it easy last night and movie it up failed miserably. Our friends came and practically dragged us out of our room to a bar they frequent. This is no ordinary bar; this is a magical secret bar that sells beers for 1 peso apiece. One peso! Thats about 10 cents a beer. We would have never found it if we did not befriend some locals who let us in on this Veracruz secret, untapped by tourists, and we ended up salsa-ing the night away. Unfortunately for us, our bus to Oaxaca left at 8am this morning but we made it- barely.

After a 12 hour bus ride through the night, we arrived at Veracruz, a coastal city known for its distinct cuisine and happening night life. The day of our arrival and one of the reasons for our long journey was El Dia de la Independencia, the Mexican independence day. It is a big deal here in Mexico and the whole city is decorated in red, green, and white. They shut down all the streets around the Zocalo and set up a big stage where there would be live music and dancers all night long. The streets around the Zocalo were packed with people celebrating and huge screens around the city were showing the performances that were occuring on the stage. Dancers in traditional Mexican dress swirled around the stage while the stiffling heat forced us out of the area to a cooler location. This location happened to be a trendy air-conditioned  bar that handed us free shots of tequila as soon as we walked in. The celebration did not end for us until the sun came up in the morning. The next day we eventually got out of bed and dragged ourselves to the beach, which in no way met our standards for cleanliness. We walked through the sludgy sand to the eerily warm water and made it just 10 minutes before we walked across the street to the luxurious Holiday Inn pool. Afterwards, we spent the night drinking with our new friends at the bar, and have now vowed to not drink another sip of alcohol in Veracruz. Tonite, a movie will do.

Nunca he estado en el Gran Cañón del Colorado, pero dicen que por las dimensiones y su majestuosidad, esta enorme red de cañones la supera. Este Parque natural se ubica en la Sierra Madre Occidental del Estado de Chihuahua, México, y tiene una extensión de 600 km de longitud y 250 km de anchura. Las dimensiones de profundidad de las Barrancas del Cobre varían de entre 1,520 m a 1,879 m y se conforma por las barrancas de Urique, Sinforosa, Batopilas, Candameña, Huápoca y Septentrión, por mencionar algunas. Sus impresionantes paisajes son el hábitat de una incontable variedad de flora y fauna de la cual se puede disfrutar a través del recorrido que realiza el ferrocarril Chihuahua-Pacífico, mejor conocido como CHEPE, ya que hace varias paradas en diferentes puntos de las barrancas. Entre los pinares surgen espectaculares cascadas, formaciones rocosas impresionantes y extrañas y remansos lagos, parte de los cual se puede contemplar desde el ferrocarril antes mencionado o desde sus inigualables miradores. Estos cañones, escasamente habitados, son la morada de los indios tarahumaras o rarámnuris ("los de los pies ligeros"), tal como ellos mismos se hacen llamar. TIPS: 1.- Se recomienda hacer caminatas para conocer la vida de los rarámuris 2.- Bajar al fondo de la barranca le tomará facilmente un día 3.- Compre artesanía Rarámuri, pero no regatee...así ayudarpa a que ellos pueden tener mejor calidad de vida y desarrollen su precioso arte 4.- Una noche de hotel en el sector, incluyendo alimentación para dos personas cuenta aproximadamente 3,000 MEX.

January 2008

Dear Friends & Family,

I recently returned from my 5th service trip to Juarez, Mexico. This trip did not fail to disappoint me. The poverty shocked me more than it has in the past- I remember thinking that I seemed to be “numb” to it because I had seen it before and was perhaps getting used to it. But not this time. I’m glad it struck a chord with me. As I sit in my 1,270 square foot home and worry about some of my “problems”, it is a good reality check for me to have a recent, in-your-face taste of what life in much of the world is like.

The family we built the (450 sq. ft.) home for is, according to many of the volunteers, one of the poorest our group has ever built for so far. The family consists of a middle-aged couple who are both unable to work, and two teenage sons. The mother has been in a wheelchair for a year and has no feeling in her legs. I’m not sure why the father is unable to work but he made it sound like it’s because of his diabetes. The two sons, ages 17 and 19, work in the factories, or maquiladoras, to help out the family. We did not see much of the sons, since they were working, but the parents were there the entire time. The mother did not speak Spanish but we were told she understands most of it. They are from the state of Oaxaca, in southern Mexico, and so her main language is Mixtec (?).

There were quite a few neighborhood kids we played with. Some of us played soccer with the next-door neighbors the first day. I think it was the second day that some more of the neighborhood kids came around. There was a particular group of mostly young girls who made an impression on me- especially one of the girls who had a strong personality and was maybe only about 5 years old. The first time I saw this group she said to me: “Money?” I was speechless for a few seconds because I was surprised that she was so bold for her age and also that she knew the word for money in English. It’s always kind of tough knowing how to respond to solicitations for money or other things. I just said, “Oh, hablas ingles? (Oh, you speak English?)” or something like that and then she got a little flustered because that was probably one of the few English words she knows.

This group of kids challenged me mentally/emotionally. Their neediness was really intense. For example, one day they were asking us to spin them around, helicopter-style. We started spinning them but they just kept asking us over and over again. Maybe this is not unusual for kids, but the physical exhaustion of the task made their insistence seem like more than the average request. They were always asking us for stuff. I felt challenged because they were starting to annoy me and I was losing my patience with them. I love kids and enjoy spending time with them, so the fact that they were testing my patience says a lot. We gave out a few books one day and so they would ask us for more books, apples, toys, or for us to play with them.

One day some of us were taking a walk and we discovered where a bunch of these kids lived or hung out. They asked us for presents and I think I said something like: “What about our presents?” because that was around the time I was starting to be annoyed by their neediness. After that I believe one of them gave what seemed like, due to the playful expression on his face, a joke gift of a beat-up teddy bear. I told them that maybe we could just be friends who didn’t give each other things. When I gave them the teddy bear back they started kicking it around like a soccer ball. I felt a little bad/weird about this interaction but one of the other volunteers told me that I handled the situation diplomatically and that made me feel better.

It seems that these kids were not going to school. The father of the family we built for said that they sometimes stole things. He was hesitant to loan us the soccer ball one time because of this. On the last day I went over to the place where we had found the kids hanging out, to give them a bag of apples we had left over. They were excited and walked back with me to our van, holding my hands. When one of the little girls saw Rachel, another volunteer, she said “Oh, there’s my friend!” They gave me one of the apples and I ate it on our way back to the compound.

Some other random memories from this trip…
• The neighbors held a cockfighting competition in their yard. Luckily the roosters (?) didn’t seem too interested and nothing much happened.
• It was nice to be up on the roof. Crista graciously gave up her spot on the roof for me. I love being up there, mostly for the view I guess. In the winter it’s also nice because it’s warm.
• We noticed that some of the houses have bottle caps serving the same purpose as the metal disks we used to hold the edge of the rolled roofing down (nailed into the side edge of the roof). This is one of the things I like to see when I’m in Juarez- the way people reuse things that we would simply toss in the garbage.
• One of the Mexican workers, Anair, has a wife who had just given birth before we got there. The baby was sick, though, and Anair had to go on a wild goose chase to find the medicine the doctors recommended for his baby. (The sickness had something to do with the wife being anemic, I’m told). The director of Gateway, Dan, said that if Anair had not been such a stubborn guy his baby would likely have died. The doctors say that many of the parents give up when they have trouble locating the medicine. I wonder why there isn’t any of this medicine for sale at the hospital. Also, Anair will be paying off the bill for the extra time at the hospital for a while, because it was so expensive.

I spoke with another of the Mexican workers, Hector, quite extensively. He’s a pretty interesting guy. He lived in the United States for four years, beginning when he was about 14 years old. He was living with his father and working. At that time he wasn’t very interested in learning English, but now that he’s back in Mexico he is… He went to a technical college (university) in Juarez for four and a half years to study computer programming (or something like that). He could afford it because he had a contracted government job. However, when the contract ran out he had to drop out because it was too expensive. I think he said it was a 6-year program. Now he is working in computer repair when he’s not working for Gateway. He is currently waiting to get a visa to visit the United States. I think it’s really hard for many people living in poor countries to get visas to the U.S., however, Hector seems to be seriously trying because he was explaining to me many of the steps he needed to take, such as prove that he owns a car and has a good job (things that he would want to go back to). Jose Limas, the lead Mexican worker, was teasing Hector about his supposed marriage goals- saying that he wants to marry a woman who can take care of herself (or something like that). Hector says that if he gets married, he won’t be able to live the way he wants because in Mexico the man has to pay for everything. Jose Limas believes that the husband and wife should both work and says that his wife does work.

Now I am back in Santa Fe, studying Spanish with a renewed vigor. I’m also setting a goal of thinning out my collection of stuff. I would be somewhat embarrassed for someone from Colonia Anapra in Juarez to see the size of my house and the quantity of my possessions. Maybe I’ll take some of the extra stuff down to Mexico on my next trip!

Gracias, y hasta la proxima!

Do not miss: Villa and Hidalgo historic places.
   

• Pancho Villa house and museum
• The place where Hidalgo was kept captive in 1811 and the place where he was executed at Palacio Federal. A priest, Hidalgo started the Independence movement and is considered the father of the  United Mexican States after getting independence from Spain in  September 16, 1810. At that time The Mexican United States had New Mexico, all nevada, all california, Arizona Colorado and Texas.
  

Dear Friends and Family,

I want to tell you all about my January trip to Juarez, Mexico. The Friday before MLK weekend I left- with a group of 20 other people- on a 5-day “mission” trip to build a home for a family in one of the more poor neighborhoods of Juarez, which is right over the U.S. border from El Paso, Texas (about a five hour drive from Santa Fe). I got connected with the group by meeting one of the organizers at a Habitat for Humanity build a few months ago.

I almost didn’t go because I have a lot going on with my teaching program and needed to do a lot of preplanning before the trip (which didn’t quite happen) and thought I would probably get behind after the trip (which has happened)…But, I am so glad I went. It was a really good experience that will stay with me for a long time.

Unfortunately it was nighttime when we got to El Paso. I was told it is interesting to see Juarez from El Paso- to see the distinct contrast of the United States and Mexico. We left our vehicles in El Paso and were transported across the border in vans belonging to the organization that plans the house building, Gateway Mission Training Center. Our group brought so much stuff to donate (clothes, house supplies, etc.) that quite a bit of it had to be left behind (which we donated to a church in El Paso on the way back).

We stayed at a church in Juarez in a building with bunk beds and bathrooms, and a separate building where we were served Mexican food (except breakfast, which was cereal, toast, and bananas). For lunch we had different kinds of yummy burritos. One day at the worksite I was in the process of sitting down to eat and before my butt hit the ground one of the dogs had put a quick move on me and snagged a bite of my burrito! (I guess it is survival of the fittest for many of the dogs there). For dinner we had different kinds of things like meat flattened thin as tortillas and fried- yum.

The family we were building for was somewhat ambiguous in the exact number of people that constituted the “family”. I know there are two parents, Maria and Nieve (which means ‘snow’ in Spanish) and five children, ages 6-17. We met all the family members except for the oldest, who I was told lives somewhere else with his wife or girlfriend or something. The house we built is right next to the house they appeared to be staying in while we were building their new one- whether that house was there home or not was unclear. There were other people coming and going and a young child that may also be staying with them. Also their grandmother was going to come live with them when the new house was built.

The first day we built the frame of the house. The foundation is the only thing that was already done before we got there. The program will use the same plan for each house that they build, and I believe that this house was the first one built with their newest house plan revision. (The families that receive new homes are selected by the priests in the neighborhood parishes which partner with Gateway).

The second day was spent putting on the roof (tar paper and rolled roofing), putting chicken wire on the side of the house, and putting insulation in the inside of the house. The chicken wire is nailed onto the outside walls of the house. It is used to hold the stucco in place.

The stucco (a mixture of cement, sand, and I forget what else) is slathered on to the sides of the house and spread out over the chicken wire. We were supposed to put enough on so that you couldn’t see the chicken wire. After the stucco has started to harden a little, we went back and smoothed it out more with wet sponges. It was pretty hard to get used to putting the stucco on the wall without most of it ending up on the ground, but by the end I was pretty good at it! The third day I also got to do some electric work. This was exciting because I had just finished teaching a few lessons about electricity to my 4th grade students. Now I have a better clue of what I was teaching them but it’s still kind of confusing to me. People who were not stuccoing or wiring were putting up drywall on the inside walls and ceilings of the house. The thing I did not realize until we were on our way back to Santa Fe was that they did not have any kitchen in the house! I knew there would not be a bathroom but for some reason didn’t think about the kitchen. I guess there is not much of a system set up in the neighborhood for plumbing (although the house they were staying in next door did have a flush toilet). As for the cooking, I think they will do their cooking outside.

We finished the house in three days! On the fourth day we went back to the house in the morning to dedicate it. Anyone who wanted to say anything to the family could, and the family said a few things to us. The family’s priest was there and he gave a blessing and sprinkled water on everyone. Then we gave the family all the donated things we had brought. The night before I helped sort some of the stuff. We had a bag of clothes for everyone, stuffed animals for the kids in the family and in the neighborhood, and lots of other miscellaneous things. One of the volunteers in our group bought a lot of school supplies. These were intended to be distributed between the family and neighborhood children, but instead we ended up giving them to one of the private schools that Gateway sponsors. One of the long term volunteers for the program told me that there are 5,000 kids in the neighborhood we worked in and only three schools- an elementary, middle, and high school! They do split the day in half so that there are two shifts, but that is still an awful lot of kids and so few schools. After giving out the gifts we had a delicious meal that was prepared by the mother of the family. They really went out of their way to cook for so many of us!

After the dedication we went to the tourist market. That was ok. I ended up buying a soccer ball and one of the people in our group helped me bargain for it. I’ve never felt very comfortable when it comes to bargaining. The day before we went to the big grocery store in town. It was pretty much like grocery stores in the U.S., but with some different foods. I bought hibiscus leaves to make juice out of, pineapple Nutri-Grain bars, and a Spanish pocket dictionary. Outside of the store they were selling some kind of corn soup or something.

What else?? Driving through Juarez was interesting. The place where we stayed was kind of far from the worksite. You could see that people reused things like tires and the tops of buses to make walls and shelters. One street we drove down had an outdoor market where people were selling all kinds of things. Where we stayed the roads were paved, but the neighborhood we were in was not. The road by the house was really sandy. I played soccer in the street a few times. There were public buses that passed by regularly. One day a truck came through the neighborhood with a loudspeaker to announce that it was selling food. There was a pretty big mountain near the house, and a hill next to it that the neighborhood kids played on. One kid had a little car that they rode down the hill on. It looked fun, like sledding.

I was glad I could speak Spanish because it made the trip all that much better. I spoke with one of the paid workers (there were two) quite a bit. He (Daniel) is 18 and his father was the other supervisor. They live in the same neighborhood we were working in. Every day we would meet them at the shed where the tools and materials were kept to load up the vans. One day Daniel was riding on top of the van behind us. The roads were kind of bumpy and we were going kind of fast so I kept looking back to see how he was doing. When we went over a pretty big bump I looked back and Daniel’s hat went flying off. Right away a kid ran over and took it. Soon after we arrived at the worksite and I thought Daniel would go back for his hat but he didn’t.

Well, this is getting a bit long so I will wrap things up. Again, I had a great time on this trip. I love seeing new places, especially economically poorer countries than the U.S. because it is very enlightening to see how people make do with what they have. It is easy to romanticize the life of people living in poverty because that is not my reality. I am certainly grateful for the luxuries I have, but seeing the stark differences in ways of life only a short drive away, I can’t help being disgusted with the way I and others carelessly use resources. Maybe if we didn’t all have cars and perfectly paved roads we would know more of our neighbors, get more exercise, and make less of an impact on the earth. Ok, enough of my complaining. Thanks for reading this. Whenever you have a chance to go somewhere new, go for it! If I am still in Santa Fe next year you could come out to visit and go on this trip with me- I think it will be MLK weekend again next year. I wanted to go with them this summer (they go twice a year) but it is the same week as my first week of summer classes☹ !Hasta luego!

Love,
Tammy

Hands down the best burritos in town. You place and pay for your order and are handed a piece of paper where your order has been hand written. you then go over to where the guys are wrapping burritos you hand him your order and watch him am make the fasted burrito you have ever seen. all the while you see a group of women making fresh tortillas behind him and watch as they deliver a fresh stack to his station. You can take the burritos to go or sit and eat at one of the picnic tables available.