Costa de la Luz, February 2006
Not for the first time I flew to Andalusia for a sunny winterbreak with golf, food and some fishing. I tried a different venue this time, the very new Fuerte El Rompido Hotel, very close to the El Rompido golfcourse. It was an all inclusive arrangement. That explains the 5 lbs added to the waist :-( A pretty good hotel even though it was not all running smoothly yet. Here is the view from my room and from the hotel terrace.
What I like about the El Rompido golfcourse is that it is a bit rough, not too manicured. It has some almost links-like qualities. The estuary that cuts into the hart of the course attributes to that. Many of the golfcourses in the area are like construction sites and have appartments right up to the fairways that to me spoil some potentially nice courses. Take a look at La Islantilla, Nuevo Portil and La Canela and you see exactly what I mean. These pictures show some of the views and also the spots where you don't want your ball to end up.
Of course I brought some fishing gear along and spent a few hours on this pier at Santa Luzia (Portugal) and on this beach at Punto Umbria. With very limited success I have to admit. Not much more than some small fry and this twaite shad and mullet. But never mind that, I always enjoy messing about on the waterfront in strange places.
Sevilla is always a nice place to spend a day. Last year I checked the cultural sites and I've not recovered from that yet. So now I just strolled through the town and along the river for hours. It was a really good way to spend a sunny day. As it was still not warm enough for the terraces or beaches.
I'll come back to this area again. It will depend on the package deals available where I'll stay but I like the area. And the new 18 hole course that is in development at El Rompido looks very promising. It will open before the summer of 2006. Even though I guess it will need a few years to really mature I look forward to playing it. Hopefully that will be a week without the torrential rain that I had an the arrival and departure day. But those are the days where bad weather does the least damage. Most of Europe had absolutely horrendous conditions in this week and Andalusia was still pretty pleasant. So watch this space for the 2007 edition .....
