As January comes towards its end life in Soller is surrounded by beauty. The Tramuntana mountain range provide the backdrop to our lives and encircles us making us feel either safe or trapped. This is the month when the days get slightly longer and 6 O clock walks along the shoreline with the dog are a possibility. Last Friday, as the dog was investigating the Repic Beach there was a momentary flash of pink light across the mountains – it was spellbinding and we stood and watched as it peaked and then left as quickly as it came. The sun was setting on the golden bowl of the Soller Valley and just for about five minutes bathed the area in a pink luminous light. It was ‘pinch yourself’ perfect!
We shared this time with the boys from Hawaii 5 0. For those younger readers who have never heard of this television programme it showed us what surfing was like in Hawaii in the 70’s. That was exactly what we witnessed as the sun went down except the Soller surfers were in wet suits jumping the waves in the pink light of the setting sun. So cool and so rare to see surf of that magnitude on Soller’s beaches. The atmospherics of Friday were obviously suited to a perfect sunset and perfect surf.
Life is ‘in the pink’ in Soller
As January comes towards its end life in Soller is surrounded by beauty. The Tramuntana mountain range provide the backdrop to our lives and encircles us making us feel either safe or trapped. This is the month when the days get slightly longer and 6 O clock walks along the shoreline with the dog are a possibility. Last Friday, as the dog was investigating the Repic Beach there was a momentary flash of pink light across the mountains – it was spellbinding and we stood and watched as it peaked and then left as quickly as it came. The sun was setting on the golden bowl of the Soller Valley and just for about five minutes bathed the area in a pink luminous light. It was ‘pinch yourself’ perfect!
We shared this time with the boys from Hawaii 5 0. For those younger readers who have never heard of this television programme it showed us what surfing was like in Hawaii in the 70’s. That was exactly what we witnessed as the sun went down except the Soller surfers were in wet suits jumping the waves in the pink light of the setting sun. So cool and so rare to see surf of that magnitude on Soller’s beaches. The atmospherics of Friday were obviously suited to a perfect sunset and perfect surf.
The Repic beach is grinding itself into action with the bamboo that has been washed down the torrents on to the sand being collected. The local bar owners scour the beach each day for all the rubbish they can pile into the braziers that they use to burn it all. They are tired of waiting for the Town Hall to send their men and are doing it themselves. No-one wants the beach to get into the state it was last year with the last minute rush to get it ready for visitors. So each day the gentle little fires burn away in their dustbins and are well suited to a tray of chestnuts to roast on the top. That is purely my imagination I don’t think the beach clearer’s would take kindly to that request. They are much too serious about the job in hand and are longing for the day when there is no bamboo or rubbish to be picked up. The torrents of Soller have a lot to answer for as they rush the acres of bamboo from the mountainsides and drag them into the sea for them to be washed up on the sand.
Meanwhile back in the centre of Soller the people are very confused. Last Monday at 12 noon the traffic was redirected. Men in raincoats and ladders had to fix new ‘No Entry’ signs to six streets in the pouring rain . This means that you can now enter Soller from the nearest roundabout to the Soller Tunnel. This hasn’t been possible for a number of years and the knock on effect to the City Centre is huge. The moans and groans can be heard down to the sea about this one in spite of the fact that it is a much more logical traffic route than the previous one. I am not complaining and I think that the traffic elves have an impossible job to do in our streets that were barely built for a donkey to pass let alone anything with four wheels. I do not subscribe to the illusion that all town planners are deliberately trying to make life difficult for the people.
On Saturday the sun was shining as people headed into the covered Market Hall to do their shopping. We have a good old fashioned market hall in Soller selling meat, fish, vegetables, bread and dry goods. You can also have your clothes mended by the lady with the sewing machine in the corner or have a coffee and tapas from a corner café. This market is at the heart of the Soller shopping experience for six days a week and has been for a century. Last year the market was covered in scaffolding and repairs to its walls, ceiling and roof took place at vast expense. The only problem is that it now leaks, so much so that people have to put their umbrellas up in the market hall when it rains. The traders are not happy, the locals are very cross especially as it their taxes that paid for the repairs that have been done so badly. Tourists and visitors are amused by this quaint custom and think that this is just one of the things that Sollerics do. There is enough hot air racing about our City about this one that I don’t think it will be a problem for too long.
Another week begins here in the paradise that is the Soller Valley. The pinks of the mountains give way to the yellow of the flowers in the fields that tell us that Spring is just around the corner. The excitement begins to mount as another season dawns and more people are set to discover the delights of this magical place in this most wonderful of islands.
The Repic beach is grinding itself into action with the bamboo that has been washed down the torrents on to the sand being collected. The local bar owners scour the beach each day for all the rubbish they can pile into the braziers that they use to burn it all. They are tired of waiting for the Town Hall to send their men and are doing it themselves. No-one wants the beach to get into the state it was last year with the last minute rush to get it ready for visitors. So each day the gentle little fires burn away in their dustbins and are well suited to a tray of chestnuts to roast on the top. That is purely my imagination I don’t think the beach clearer’s would take kindly to that request. They are much too serious about the job in hand and are longing for the day when there is no bamboo or rubbish to be picked up. The torrents of Soller have a lot to answer for as they rush the acres of bamboo from the mountainsides and drag them into the sea for them to be washed up on the sand.
Meanwhile back in the centre of Soller the people are very confused. Last Monday at 12 noon the traffic was redirected. Men in raincoats and ladders had to fix new ‘No Entry’ signs to six streets in the pouring rain . This means that you can now enter Soller from the nearest roundabout to the Soller Tunnel. This hasn’t been possible for a number of years and the knock on effect to the City Centre is huge. The moans and groans can be heard down to the sea about this one in spite of the fact that it is a much more logical traffic route than the previous one. I am not complaining and I think that the traffic elves have an impossible job to do in our streets that were barely built for a donkey to pass let alone anything with four wheels. I do not subscribe to the illusion that all town planners are deliberately trying to make life difficult for the people.
On Saturday the sun was shining as people headed into the covered Market Hall to do their shopping. We have a good old fashioned market hall in Soller selling meat, fish, vegetables, bread and dry goods. You can also have your clothes mended by the lady with the sewing machine in the corner or have a coffee and tapas from a corner café. This market is at the heart of the Soller shopping experience for six days a week and has been for a century. Last year the market was covered in scaffolding and repairs to its walls, ceiling and roof took place at vast expense. The only problem is that it now leaks, so much so that people have to put their umbrellas up in the market hall when it rains. The traders are not happy, the locals are very cross especially as it their taxes that paid for the repairs that have been done so badly. Tourists and visitors are amused by this quaint custom and think that this is just one of the things that Sollerics do. There is enough hot air racing about our City about this one that I don’t think it will be a problem for too long.
Another week begins here in the paradise that is the Soller Valley. The pinks of the mountains give way to the yellow of the flowers in the fields that tell us that Spring is just around the corner. The excitement begins to mount as another season dawns and more people are set to discover the delights of this magical place in this most wonderful of islands.
