Pickleball in Playa Del Carmen: Embracing the Growing Craze

The friendly seaside town of Playa Del Carmen on Mexico's Riviera Maya is becoming a prime destination for the rapidly expanding sport of pickleball. While this quirky fusion of tennis, badminton, and ping-pong is still gaining traction on the east coast of Mexico, the opportunities for players in Playa and the surrounding areas are growing at an increasingly rapid rate.

The Poliforum Sports Complex: The Heart of Playa's Pickleball Community 

At the heart of the pickleball scene in Playa Del Carmen is the Poliforum sports facility located on the west side of the city. This impressive venue offers six well maintained courts, with the option of a seventh, making it the central hub for the largest community of "Picklers" in the area. The group's organizer and staff are well known for their friendly, welcoming, and helpful approach, ensuring both short-term visitors and local regulars feel right at home on the courts.

Accommodating All Skill Levels 

The Poliforum courts cater to players of all abilities, with opportunities to be grouped by skill level to guarantee an enjoyable experience for everyone. Newcomers and experienced players alike are welcome, and the facility even provides paddles, balls, and beginner-level instruction as part of the nominal playing fee.

Convenience and Connectivity 

Accessing the Poliforum pickleball courts is a breeze, with multiple transportation options available. Visitors can take a taxi, ride a bicycle, or even coordinate with local players for a convenient ride if staying nearby. Beyond the Poliforum, other pickleball facilities can be found in the nearby communities of Playacar Fase II, Puerto Morelos, Puerto Aventuras, and Akumal, offering even more opportunities for players to explore the sport throughout the Riviera Maya region.

Preparing for the Perfect Pickleball Outing 

When visiting the pickleball courts in Playa Del Carmen, it's essential to come prepared. Sturdy tennis or pickleball shoes, ample water, sunscreen, and a hat are must-haves to ensure a comfortable and enjoyable experience. Most importantly, a positive and friendly attitude will help players make new connections and fully immerse themselves in the vibrant pickleball community.

The Bright Future of Pickleball in Playa 

As the pickleball craze continues to sweep across the globe, Playa Del Carmen and the surrounding Riviera Maya region are poised to become a thriving hub for this fast-paced and social sport. With the existing facilities, dedicated community, and increasing accessibility, the opportunities for both experienced players and newcomers to the sport are sure to expand in the near future, making Playa Del Carmen a premier pickleball destination in Mexico.

The Banana Plant, Tree, Whatever!

So……. I live in a tropical climate, right? Right. Tropical climates have coconut palm trees, right? Right. Tropical climates also have banana trees, right? Wrong. Tropical climates have banana plants because there is no such thing as a banana tree. Mrs. Princess and I have been watching the banana plant right outside our patio closely for the last two years or so and I finally decided it was time to learn a little more about this most interesting plant. We‘ve been lucky to watch the plant develop as it grew up to us rather than as it grew away from us. All the big banana action has been right at the level of our second floor terrace. We’ve watched this one grow since it was a baby after I accidently killed the full grown mother plant with a single errant chop from my machete two years ago. When I told Mrs. Princess (aka Cupcake) what had happened, she immediately called me inside, pried my machete from my hand and advised me to grow up. She still has my machete hidden away and to this day refuses to tell me of its whereabouts. When George Washington confessed to purposely cutting down a cherry tree he became a general, a hero and a President. I make one little tiny miscue with my machete on a banana plant tree and it’s all over for me. At least I still have my Swiss Army knife on my keychain.

Now that “the baby” is a full grown plant complete with sixty or so bananas, I decided to study up on the internet for fifteen or twenty minutes and now consider myself to be a leading authority on banana tree plants. Are you ready for this? The italicized comments are some of the information that I stole, I mean learned from the internet.
“Banana plants are the world's largest herbaceous plants.” More importantly, herbaceous is a really great word and I was lucky to be able to use it here. Someday, I may even know what it means.

“By combining a small tree's stature with enormous yet graceful leaves, banana plants provide an unmistakably tropical look.” I thought this was a rather obvious and useless statement but it must have been important because the person I copied it from has a PhD in banana tree plants. I am going to give him the benefit of the doubt here because besides having a PhD, he has a lot of other abbreviations after his name as well and I don’t have any after mine. For this reason and this reason only, I am going to include his statement in my article. However, I think that I will begin looking for some better sources of information for the rest of my article, I mean thesis. One thing this guy got right is the leaves. They really are enormous and they really are very graceful and attractive. Some of the leaves on our tree are 12 feet long. The leaves grow incredibly fast as they unfurl from a tightly wound, compact stem into a huge beautifully dark green leaf seemingly overnight. That last sentence was all mine. What a great sentence. Who needs a PhD?

Okay….. Here’s a few more comments I took from Mr. Know It All. Notice how he’s really hung up on this “worlds largest herbaceous plant” thing. This is already the second time he’s used it in just a couple of minutes. If I see this word one more time, so help me, I’m getting out my dictionary.“Bananas, the genus Musa, are the world's largest herbaceous plants, and around 50 species can be found from tropical Africa, India and southeast Asia to northern Australia. The family Musaceae also includes Ensete with six species. Species and cultivars from higher altitudes or latitudes tend to be the best for growing outdoors in the UK.Musa have huge, paddle-shaped leaves that are prone to shredding by the wind, a natural damage-limitation device to prevent the whole leaf being broken off in tropical storms. The leaves split into parallel strips at right angles to their stout central midrib, which can look untidy but they still function effectively. Wind resistance varies considerably between species and cultivars.The stout central 'trunk' that leads to bananas being regarded as trees is not woody, but made up of tightly wrapped leaf bases, so botanically is classed as a pseudostem. The growing point, at the tip of the true stem, remains deep inside the pseudostem at the base of the leaves, and in this respect bananas are broadly analogous to bearded iris and canna. Each shoot is monocarpic, dying after flowering, but basal suckers take its place.”

Blahh…. Blah….. Blah……. What a windbag. I could have said all of that in a couple of sentences without using all the big words that he probably just made up to sound smart. He must think we’re stupid. Everyone knows that a pseudostem is just a fake name. And… who gives a rip about growing banana tree plants in the UK? Ever since I read this statement I’ve tried to envision a banana plant next to the Tower of London and no matter how hard I try I just can’t make it happen. If God wanted banana tree plants in the UK he would have put them there a long time ago. Also I think the way this guy throws in the phrase “basal suckers” at the end of the paragraph is really tacky. I don’t know what a “basal sucker” is but I very seriously doubt that it has anything to do with a banana. Okay, that’s it. I’m done with this guy.

Here are some things that I know about bananas:

If you step on a banana peel you will slip.

Green bananas do not taste good. Ever.

It is hard to eat a banana gracefully.

It is a myth that brown bananas should be kept to make banana bread. They should be thrown away. You will never make the banana bread and the bananas will simply rot on your kitchen counter.

The little stringy things along the side of a peeled banana are very annoying and there is always a decision to be made as to whether or not to eat them.

Trying to pull the little stringy things away from the side of a peeled banana will as often as not result in breaking off half of the banana and watching it fall to the ground.

Bananas cut from the plant all ripen at once and you must be prepared to eat a LOT of bananas.

Bananas cut from the plant also turn brown immediately after they turn yellow and you already know what you need to do with brown bananas.

The “Banana Republic” is an overpriced clothing store that sells clothes that wrinkle very easily.

Strangely a “banana belt” is not a clothing item at Banana Republic but a geographic term describing a warmer region of a typically cooler area.

Here in Playa a banana is left unpeeled and squished in the hands until the inside is a mush. Then the top is cut off and the insides are squished into the mouth. I haven’t tried it yet but I am thinking about it.

The average American eats 28 pounds of bananas a year. Someone else must be eating most of mine.

In 1516, Friar Tomas sailed to the Caribbean bringing banana roots with him and planted them here in the tropics, thus beginning the banana's future in American life. Nice guy.

Once the main plant produces its fruit, it dies. The next one that will take its place is already half grown before the first one dies. This cycle repeats itself over and over. We are getting ready for more bananas.

Sadly, a couple of days ago the second mother plant was cut down by the gardeners. The baby plant is now about six feet high. The watch begins. The Queen is dead. Long live the Queen!

Playa 2003 While We Were Still Tourists!

JAN 27,2003 MONDAY

 

Arrived Cancun pretty much on schedule. No trouble with customs. Took about ½ hour to depart plane, clear customs & get our luggage. Picked up some cash at the airport ATM. The ATM is located in the departure terminal around the corner from the arrivals. Plunked down 400 pesos for a quick shuttle ride to Playa instead of waiting 45 minutes for the bus for $9 US.  Forty-five minutes later as we watched the bus leaving from the airport non stop for Playa, our shuttle driver informed us for the fifth time that we would be leaving soon and only making one stop in Puerto Morelos before taking us on to Playa. Unable to mask our excitement any longer, we quickly boarded our shuttle where we sat for another fifteen minutes before finally leaving. It was nearly dusk as we pulled away from the Cancun airport and any remnants of anxiety towards our shuttle driver from our long wait were quickly erased, primarily due to the exciting form of driving which he entertained us with from Cancun to Playa. I must say he did a remarkable job of keeping us guessing the entire way as to whether there was something mechanically wrong with our van or whether this was simply his flamboyant driving style. The basis of the trip revolved around the acceleration or lack thereof of our van. It was either in a state of full blown total acceleration or complete deceleration. As we lurched along highway 307, I had visions of the gas pedal being strapped all the way down to the floor and a little Mexican stowed under the hood refilling the carburetor with gas from a can every time it ran low. There were two other couples on the shuttle with us. Neither spoke much English so we just sat back and endured the ride.

 

We got to Natz Ti Ha after dark at around 7:30. Didn’t have too much trouble finding the place even in the dark although the shuttle driver had never heard of Natz Ti Ha. The bumpy dirt road and lack of outdoor lighting as we approached was a little unsettling since what we could see seemed pretty undeveloped and isolated. Juan the “security” guard who we would get to know much better as the trip went on, greeted us, more or less, near the gate. Juan spoke no English whatsoever but did seem to have an inkling that we would be arriving.  Flashlight in hand, speaking to non-understanding ears, he guided us to what he thought was our room. Although we were pretty sure that the room he had taken us to was not ours, it was pointless to try to convey this to Juan and since no one else seemed to be around, we resigned ourselves to stay put and resolve the matter the following day.  We were just glad to have arrived.  After giving Juan a tip for helping us to the wrong room and for assisting us with our luggage, as he was leaving we asked for the key to the room by saying “llave por favor”, Spanish for “key please” and one of the “for sure” phrases in our very limited arsenal of Spanish vocabulary. After another ten minutes of pointless chatter, it became apparent that there was no key and we would probably get one “manana”.

 

Tired, hungry and anxious to get to town, we were nonetheless reluctant to have just arrived in an unknown location, after dark and just leave everything in our room while we headed off to 5^th Avenue without a key to lock our room. A few more minutes of ridiculous non conversation, sign language and traipsing around after Juan  we arrived at someone elses door a floor below us. After Juan knocks on the door an attractive, dark haired woman with dark complexion answers the door. Juan asks in Spanish “Do you speak Spanish” to which she replies in Spanish “yes, a little”.  I’m thinking okay, maybe I can get my point across to this gal, she seems a little brighter than Juan. Before being able to test my theory, a shirtless man in pool shoes enters the room from behind with a can of beer in his hand speaking some kind of deeply guttural, garbled nonsense that occasionally resembled the English language.  Initially dismayed, I was instantly encouraged when the charming woman replied to him in nearly perfect English, seemingly able to understand everything he was saying. Things were looking up! And this is how we met Mark and Cheryl.

 

After explaining our keyless situation, Cheryl and supposedly Mark assured us we had nothing to worry about security wise and urged us to go relax and enjoy ourselves in town which we promptly did. And by the way, they were right. We walked from our room to the new section of 5^th Avenue about 1 mile where it joins up with the older section of 5^th. We ate at Saber on 5^th where we have eaten before. Had fun miscommunicating with our waiter about the two for one drinks that came with our meal which for some unexplained reason we didn’t qualify for. Oh well we’re on vacation, who cares! Dinner was great especially the shrimp tacos. Sue insisted on leaving a $10 tip for our waiter, which was just about what our entire dinner cost. Down the street to Karen’s to listen to the Expression Band, one of our favorite pastimes whenever we are in Playa. In fact, I don’t believe we have ever missed them when we go into town, which is almost everyday. We are disappointed to find that Enrique had left the band and headed off to Canada to play. He was the ringleader and we thought, the most talented member of the band. Although we still enjoyed their music, they were never quite the same during our entire visit. Several margaritas later we tumbled back to Natz for some much needed rest.

 

 

JAN 28, TUESDAY

 

Got up early and went to La Cueva del Chango to meet and talk to Pedro who was to be our rental contact during our visit.  His small breakfast restaurant is very unique and has become quite popular in Playa. Wood and natural stone are the main materials used for his open sided palapa restaurant. Used wine bottles of various colors are molded into the ceiling and allow light to pass through for a very colorful and unique effect. Water runs everywhere throughout the restaurant including a waterfall and a pond with fish.  Even the bathroom is equipped with a small waterfall to wash your hands, instead of a faucet. With tropical birds flying around in the jungle garden the natural touch is complete. The open kitchen contains about the same amount of cooking equipment that most of us back home would take on a one week camping vacation and yet they are able to turn out some really interesting meals.

 

I explained our room situation to Pedro and he was unsure of where we were supposed to be but promised to look into it right away. Satisfied that things would come out right, I headed down the dirt road and back to Natz.

 

Down to the pool around nine to catch some Mexico sunshine for a couple of hours. Met a few of the Natzi’s and talked briefly with them. They were pretty busy talking among themselves and didn’t pay us much notice. Around 9:30 a cheerful woman who I guessed to be in her mid thirties (okay Shari, you owe me one!) walked out to the pool and introduced herself as Shari while Peter, her significant other we would meet a little later in the morning. Shari determined after a few minutes that the day would be a suitable one for sunning and lounging and disappeared only to return shortly thereafter to take up her place poolside. Throughout our trip Shari and Peter provided us with great information, pretty good driving and riding directions, a library full of books, several very memorable patio parties and even grocery delivery service. They also provided us with all of the little things we didn’t bring or have to make life more comfortable. They never made us feel like we were intruding, which we were, and their door was always open. Thanks Shari and Peter, you guys are great! Shari and Peter are also two of the original Natzi’s and spend several months a year in Playa at Natz Ti Ha.  Lucky them. Stateside they live in Colorado.

 

Weather today mostly sunny around 75 – 80 degrees. This would remain the weather pattern for almost our entire trip with the temperature gradually rising to end of day highs of around 88 degrees by the time we left in March. Occasional showers for an hour maybe once a week followed immediately by more sunshine.

 

Within an hour of our pool arrival while we lounged luxuriously on our lawn chairs, we were approached confidently by a sauntering middle aged gentleman obviously of Mexican descent with long, flowing, albeit somewhat graying and thinning hair, dressed in a very business casual style later to be identified as Banana Republic. His gait, his demeanor, his language and indeed his entire attitude plus the fact that he wasn’t wearing a swimsuit or carrying a beach towel or floatie immediately indicated to us that this was someone of great importance. His walk, his talk and even his appearance reminded me of an overgrown Danny DeVito with an accent. Peering over our sunglasses, we watched guardedly as he waved and cajoled with some of the poolside guests, all of whom he was obviously well acquainted.  After stopping briefly here and there around the pool and apparently satisfied that he had reestablished his dominance over this piece of turf, he steadily continued on toward Sue and I at the far end of the pool. We were about to meet our new companion, our confidant, our tour guide, our friend and one tenacious salesman. “Hello Hon, I’m Carlos”! Carlos and his partner Leroy are the developers of Natz Ti Ha.

 

After introductions, Carlos quickly determined we were in fact in the wrong room.  We had completely unpacked the night before, anxious to settle in.  Since we were moving again, we wanted to get it over with as quickly as possible. We left everything at the pool and went back to the room to repack.  Carlos sent a couple of workers up to move our luggage to the new room. The new room was great and we were its first rental occupants. After unpacking and resettling for about an hour, I reached in my pocket for my wallet which I quickly realized was missing with about $1000 US cash in it. I raced back down to the pool to find my wallet undisturbed, lying right on my pool chair where I must have left it. Halleluiah!

 

Lunch was poolside with empanadas para llevar from La Cueva del Chango.  After lunch we decided to go to the new supermarket “Chedraui” for supplies. Sue who had been hobbled by a nasty computer accident back in November was still limping badly as we slowly made our way along the road from Natz and up the small hill past La Cueva when a rental car pulled over and an elderly American couple offered to give us a lift after noticing Sue with her arm over my shoulder struggling along the road.  We readily accepted their offer. In retrospect, we would have been better off walking. After a harrowing 20 minute ride through town out onto the highway first going north then going south well beyond town, we turned north again and were eventually deposited at the front door of Chedraui. Grateful for the ride and even more grateful to be alive we waved and wondered as our new acquaintances sped away to enjoy their vacation. Hopefully they made it back alive.

 

Chedraui is a great new Super Mercado filled with almost anything you could want.  We exchanged $100 US for 1090 pesos which was the best exchange rate we found. A couple of weeks later the rate was even a little higher at 1100. After scoping out the store for a while, we purchased about 300 pesos of groceries and walked out to catch a cab. We asked our driver to take us to Covi the liquor store down the street. There are hundreds of liquor stores all over town including Chedraui which we had just left but I had been told that Covi was the cheapest place to buy.  While our driver waited outside, we went in for some El Jimador tequila. Priced at 153.39 for 1 liter we could have purchased the same at Chedraui for 130.40. We also grabbed a bag of ice and returned back to Natz by cab

 

After cleaning up in our room we walked into town in search of food and fun.  Asking around and looking for places we had never been, we were told by the owner of Captain Dave’s, a local expatriate bar on 10^th Avenue, that Tango Taco would be our best bet for tacos.  Although the prices were great, the food to us, was only mediocre. Chips and salsa, a variety of tacos with sprites for beverage (no alcohol served here) came to 80 pesos, which is less than $8 US.

 

After dinner, looking for a margarita we headed back to 5^th, we stopped on the street in front of a large open restaurant whose name I still can’t remember to listen to a reggae type singer with a bongo backup and some sound effect backup music. Extremely energetic and entertaining, he waved us inside.  With nothing better to do, we accepted his offer. Sitting directly in front of this great entertainer, his beat stomping feet literally knocked the silverware off our table.  We needed to keep our hands on our drinks to keep them from falling to the floor. “Dino” was the next friend we made and we enjoyed music, drinks, stories and town politics with him for the rest of our vacation.  Although we would visit him occasionally at this restaurant, the margaritas were highly overpriced at 50 pesos and some of the worst we had on the trip. Additionally they put a mandatory gratuity on the bill. This probably explains why we don’t remember the name of the place. We much preferred to visit Dino at Bourbon Street with better atmosphere, great drinks and better prices. Our first full day in Playa was now complete.

 

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 29^TH

 

Mostly sunny this morning. At poolside we received instructions from Peter and Shari for getting to La Bamba Cockteleria for lunch. On a bicycle graciously provided by Carlos for the duration of our visit, I headed off to purchase and bring back lunch for my basking bride. Ended up with 2 crab tostadas for 27 pesos each, just okay; 1 medium shrimp cocktail, 58 pesos, really good, with limes, salsa, chips and bread for 112 pesos total.

 

Decided to stay home tonight for dinner with a regular favorite of ours, rotisseried Sinaloa chicken from Sinaloa chicken on Avenida 10. Sue, still limping, decided to stay at the pool while I ventured out on a bicycle excursion and to pick up dinner. Headed south to Xaman Ha to make sure it was still standing.  Place looked good with new paint and well manicured grounds. A great place with a wonderful setting and view. Back to Sinaloa and Super Mas, a mini mercado where we eventually ended up shopping frequently for groceries. Less than a mile from Natz, it’s an easy bike ride and has most everything we needed.

 

Our Sinaloa chicken was 2 half chickens, Mexican rice, marinated purple onions, salsa and fresh corn tortillas for 64 pesos. A really great meal!  We’ve tried other chicken places, there are many in Playa, but enjoy Sinaloa the most. A really unique flavor the others don’t seem to have and an interesting owner who remembers you each time you return. Super Mas sells rotisserie chickens as well for only 30 pesos but when we tried it, it was bland and tasteless and not at all worth the savings. Quiet relaxing day, no trip to town  tonight. Costco, Cancun tomorrow?

 

 

 

THURSDAY, JANUARY 30^TH

 

Cloudy this morning.  Good day for a Costco run. Tried to work Pedro a little on a car rental but ended up paying $50 US for 1 day.  Picked up the car at La Cueva around 10:30 and after asnack from yesterdays leftovers, we headed for Cancun on Highway 307. After an easy hours trip from Playa, we found the Costco without any problem. Inside, we found many of the same items we have back home as well as quite a few different items. US steak was nice to find and we stocked up on things we thought we would need.  Also picked up some spicy crab dip that Shari and Peter wanted us to bring back. About $200 later and after picking up a Hebrew National hot dog outside the store, we headed back towards Playa stopping at a few beachside areas along the way.

 

Still mostly cloudy this afternoon but pleasant. We stopped at the Atomic café, 30 pesos per hour to test email, wandered around town for a while and headed back to Natz.

 

Tonight we decided to dine at the Blue Lobster where we celebrated our 20^th Anniversary dinner 5 years ago.  Although it has moved off of 5^th Avenue, the menu is the same and it’s still busy nearly all the time. The dinner was poor, the service okay and after a similar experience in 2001, we decided to give up on what had always been one of our favorite places to eat. We did not go back for the rest of the trip.  Maybe one more chance when we return again.

 

After dinner, Sue decided she could make the walk down to Senor Frogs an old hangout, not to far from Xaman Ha. When we stay at Xaman Ha it’s necessary to walk past Senor Frogs coming into town and going back home at night. Although it’s certainly not our favorite place, we gotten fairly familiar with it and even have gotten to know Andreas, the owner over the years. We’re never certain if he will remember us from year to year or not but he always does.  Tonight was no different. Andreas is of German descent but born and raised in Mexico. Andreas already lives with his family in Playacar but told us he had just purchased a two bedroom condominium in Real Pakal in Playacar 2 for $110,000. He said to be sure to take a look at it before we left.  We did.

 

We hung around for a drink or two, remembering some of the good times and crazy things we have seen at Senor Frogs but before ourselves becoming one of the crazy things someone  else has seen, we decided enough was enough for one night and headed back to Natz by cab, about two miles and twenty pesos.

 

FRIDAY, JANUARY 31^ST

 

Today turns out to be just about the only completely cloudy day of the trip. Sue has an upset stomach, I’m feeling okay. We’ve been invited to a patio party at Shari and Peter’s this evening but we’ll have to see how Sue is feeling. Neither of us feels that great. We suspect the tequila from last night is the actual culprit. Publicly of course, we are blaming it on the food.

 

I stopped by Cueva in the morning and talked with Carlos who was having breakfast there as he usually does. We talked about Playa, Natz and the entire area for a while.  Carlos also coughed up another bike for Sue. Although she couldn’t walk well, I thought the bicycle might be just fine. Back at the room, we had crackers and cheese for lunch and decided to venture out on the bikes. Sue was instantly thrilled, when with little or no pain in her foot and the ability to cover lots of ground in seconds she sped off ahead of me up the dirt road past Cueva and onto the very northern tip of Avenida Quinta. From here all the way to the ferry dock, 5^th Avenue runs in a straight line, paralleling the Caribbean Sea for about one and one half miles. Filled day and night with pedestrians from around the world, 5^th Avenue is truly a unique place and the site most tourists think about first want to see when they arrive in Playa.

 

We rode along 5^th for about ten blocks to a payphone where we made our first call to the pub to check up on things there. 

Sargassum In The Riviera Maya 2019

While we have had sargassum every year here in Playa, it has usually been in small amounts and only present for a few weeks. The last few years however have been a much larger challenge for us.  2019 was the tipping point between surrendering completely to Mother Nature or to taking feeble steps to salvage our beaches.  In the end it was a combination of human effort and a reprieve from Mother nature that got our beaches back to normal. Here is a short video of the human effort.

Click the photo to see for yourself:

Click To See Video

"HAPPY" Playa Del Carmen

"HAPPY" times in Playa Del Carmen! I'm in there somewhere. With Pharrell Williams. Click the photo to see for yourself

Click To See Video

Here's What's Cookin' In Kike's Kitchen. From Sea To Ceviche

Our good friend and one of Playa's top fishermen, Kike, was out graciously sharing the fruits of his labor this afternoon so I decided to hang around and partake in his bounty.  Not only is Kike a great fisherman, he's a darn good cook too.  Today, 30 feet from his boat Kike mixed up some fresh ceviche in about 30 minutes with some of his fresh catch and a little help from his friends. The fish today was Jurel and Kike's tailgate served as his beachside kitchen.  The following photos show the process more or less from start to finish. For the men who may be viewing this tutorial, I have spiced things up a bit, midway through the presentation in an effort to maintain your interest. Nonetheless, please try to remain focused on the actual food preparation and do not let your eyes or mind wander to less important matters.  This is an instructional cooking episode with the sole purpose of showing you something you have not seen before or for that matter, in all likelihood, something you will not ever see again.  Okay Kike... let's roll!  On to the photos. You can click on any of the photos to enlarge them.

The all important lime juice. At least 12 limes

Step 1:  Squeeze a dozen or more fresh limes into your plastic container. Use a lime squeezer to make this simple and effective. Try to leave out as many paint chips and pieces of rust as possible from the kitchen counter which in this case is the bed of Kike's pickup truck.



2 or 3 purple onions, finely diced

Step 2:  Finely dice 2 or even 3 small purple onions to add to the lime juice.  Be sure to dice the onions very slowly while tellling a couple of funny stories to your audience. The stories are best if they are about  about one of your friends misfortune and even better if the friend is present during the telling. It is also quite important to drink at least one warm beer while dicing and storytelling to keep your knife hand steady and your vocal cords well lubricated.

1 bunch chopped cilantro leaves and stems

Step 3: After rinsing 1 bunch of fresh cilantro in saltwater (located 30 feet away in great abundance although you can use fresh water in a pinch), chop the cilantro finely and add to the lime juice and onions.  As you can see from the photo, you should be on your third warm beer by now with nine more left in reserve.

Please keep your eyes on the habanero

Step 4:  In step 4 it is very important to pay close attention to the written instructions as following the photo only, could cause you to be distracted and end up with a nasty little knife wound. In this step we are very finely dicing dicing at least 3 of the fiery hot, orange habaneros.  If it's not already hot enough here, include the habanero seeds and add them in with the mix. You may use more or less habaneros as you see fit. You should also avoid touching exposed skin after chopping habaneros.

About 1 to 1 & 1/2 kilos of fresh fish (cubed) 

Step 5: Time to start adding the fish. It is at this point that Kike decided to invite an assistant in to help out with the cutting, which most of us on hand agreed, was a stroke of genius on his part as we were getting somewhat tired of his stories and his chopping. Now, with renewed interest we watched the assistant very closely while we sipped on warm beer so as not to miss whatever it was she was doing.

Use a kitchen helper whenever possible

Step 6:  Because adding the fish is such an important step in the preparation of the ceviche, we decided to add another picture of it here.   

6 or 7 roma tomatoes diced very small

Step 7:  Fortunately for us the inclusion of the diced tomatoes is also very important as you can also see here. Use about 6 roma tomatoes for this and be sure they are diced very small. You can leave the seeds in if you like. These tomato slices will need to be cut crosswise several more times to be small enough. Please note the extra orange habanero at the ready should it be deemed necessary by the chef.

Add salt and pepper to taste and mix well

 Step 8: After adding the diced tomatoes, add as much salt and pepper as you would like and mix thoroughly into the ceviche.  By now you should also be nearly finished with the first 6 pack of warm beer.

The coup de grace!

Step 9: As the culinary masterpiece nears its completion, a ceremonial orange habenero is added as a colorful garnish. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT, ever, eat a whole habenero in one bite unless you are a professional. For that matter, even 2 bites. If you do and should you survive, you may wish you hadn't. More on this in a moment.

Step 10: The addition of the avocados is the final step in the preparation of the ceviche. Kike cuts the avocado in half, removes the pit and then uses the skin of the avocado as a cup while he thin slices the avocado right out of its skin.  3 or 4 avocados should be just about right.  You may also notice that the ceremonial orange habenero has already been half eaten by Kike's first mate. What a show off!

Time to eat! Thanks Kike!!