THEY CALL ME CALLA NOVA

I am riding Wolffy every morning and have to say, really enjoying how many km I can chew up with e-assist. Riding through Estepona heading north is the most fun as the path just continues forever…….clearly a few jogs here and there when housing or hotels get in the way, but somebody once said you could ride along the shore all the way to Marbella and beyond. Saw a sign that said 33km to Marbella, so maybe on a day off with a full battery charge, and a tail wind, I will give that a go.

Fully caffeinated after a stop at Las Ninas, we get ready to head out for today’s round at Cala Nova. This course is in the same pocket as others we have played just north of Marbella, but when approaching the GC we are climbing pretty high up the coastal mountains. This club is seriously up there, and just getting out of the car the views are fabulous. I am sure when we walked into the clubhouse to check in our mouths gaped open in unison………..a huge room filled with golf shoes for sale……..every square inch of floor space was golf gear………bags, gloves, you name it, but mostly shoes. Funnily enough though, there were no clothes, so I asked……..”Clothes are downstairs senor”. So after checking in I went down for a look…….holy crap…….wall to wall clothes. This appears to be the place to buy everything golf related in Costa Del Sol……..why would you go anywhere else?

Thankfully no time to shop, and we head out to the first tee. I have a chat with some Irish lads who have played here many times before and they tell me I am in for a treat. If the first hole is any indicator, they are telling the truth…….incredible view, downhill par 5, away we go. The course is a little bit of a carnival ride, but sure is fun to play…….some local knowledge would help immensely but we are all surviving and enjoying the round. I hate to mention again, but slow play is an issue here, the same as it is everywhere…….can’t believe it. The Irish lads are behind us, and were given the evil eye and a stern talking to by the goats when one of them came a little too close with a premature approach shot……..I spoke to them while waiting on the next tee, and told them they had no idea what they were dealing with here……..never saw them again the rest of the round. It was 4:45 to get it in, and that appears to be pretty standard in this part of the world……..don’t know who the slow culprits are, but ready to string them up.

Staying home this evening……..enjoying our nights at home with a loaf of bread, vat of olive oil, and jug of olives.